In August, I organized a project on Crowdsourced Linguistics, to help bridge the gap between common questions people have about linguistics and linguists who can answer them. The three organizational posts with the plans and summary of the series are here:
- Crowdsourced Linguistics Part 1: What linguistics terms do you still have trouble with?
- Crowdsourced Linguistics Part 2: What linguistics terms can you help explain?
- Crowdsourced Linguistics Part 3: Summary and future editathons
I’d also like to highlight a few of the more in-depth explanations that people wrote:
As a result of the Crowdsourced Linguistics project, I’ve also begun working with the LSA to organize an editathon at the January 2015 Linguistics Society of America annual meeting, where linguists can learn how to edit Wikipedia and tackle a few of the many linguistics stubs. More details to follow as we work them out, but if you think you might be interested in helping out, do get in touch!
I also wrote about crash blossoms for Grammar Girl and marked my 1000th post on All Things Linguistic.
Highlights of my recent writing for Lexicon Valley:
- Do all languages derive from a single common ancestor?
- Robin Williams and Koko the Gorilla
- Homophonophobia
Selected blog posts:
- A linguist walks into a bar…
- 28 tips for doing better in your intro linguistics course
- What do xkcd, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song, and Shakespeare’s MacBeth have in common?
- A clock made out of “time flies”
- Learning languages using your subconscious
- Katakana in a Gothic blackletter font
Gretchen McCulloch 