News

October 2014: #LingTomSwifties, teaching yourself syntax trees, and conference pins

Gretchen McCulloch

The abstract for my LSA panel about popularizing linguistics online is now up.

I had some fun with #LingTomSwifties on twitter.

On Lexicon Valley:

Selected blog posts:

I ran a series on my blog about the various possible ways to teach yourself to draw syntax trees.

  1. So, you asked the internet how to draw syntax trees. Here’s why you’re confused.
  2. What do we even mean by a syntax tree?
  3. Type 1: A sentence is an S
  4. Type 2: A sentence is an IP
  5. Type 3: A sentence is a TP
  6. Reconciling theories and final notes
  7. Other resources and topics

I also attended NWAV 43 (New Ways of Analyzing Variation) in Chicago (which memorably involved witnessing this song to Bill Labov), and NELS 45 (North-East Linguistics Society) in Boston. Here are my Lexicon Valley and All Things Linguistic pins for conference-wearing!

Lexicon Valley and All Things Linguistic (ATL) pins

September 2014: Interview with Steven Pinker, poetry, pop linguistics advice, and continuing editathon plans

Gretchen McCulloch

In September, I interviewed Steven Pinker about his new book, The Sense of Style, for which I also wrote a review.

I wrote about how rhythmic differences in language affect their poetry for Schwa Fire, season 1, issue 3 (working title: “Why Shakespeare didn’t write haikus”). Normally Schwa Fire is by subscription, but this one is available for free, at least for now, so do check it out!

I also wrote advice for writing pop linguistics articles. It’s of general interest, but you should especially check it out if you’re planning on pitching to me for Lexicon Valley. And another advice post for going to undergrad and student-focussed conferences.

Two interviews with me are now online: one with Grammarist and another as part of a longer article by Kyle Chayka on doge and the future of meme culture, up at Matter.

Continuing with Wikipedia editathon plans: the announcement is now up on the LSA’s website. I’m also organizing an editathon to happen in Montreal this fall, as a sort of trial run for the bigger LSA one. Not much about this online yet, but everyone I’ve talked to so far has been very excited about it!

Highlights of my recent writing for Lexicon Valley:

Selected blog posts:

August 2014: Crowdsourced linguistics and plans for a Wikipedia editathon

Gretchen McCulloch

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:

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:

Selected blog posts:

July 2014: Ling Camp wrapup and crowdsourced linguistics

Gretchen McCulloch

I’m starting a new way of getting updates about my linguistic activities: summary blog posts on my website approximately once a month. My blog, All Things Linguistic, continues to update daily, and I continue to write for Slate’s language blog, Lexicon Valley, and elsewhere, but if you’d rather get a highlights version or you prefer to subscribe to things via email, that’s what these posts are for. They’ll also be a useful record, as All Things Linguistic by now has a considerable archive. You can subscribe via email using the “follow” button at the side, via rss, or just check my website and probably other social media profiles.

In July, I taught two linguistics sessions to 9-14 year olds at Explorations summer camp in Montreal. I wrote summary blog posts each week with the activities we did and some reflections on the experience.

Highlights of my recent writing for Lexicon Valley:

Selected blog posts:

For August, I’m starting a new project on crowdsourced linguistics, which you can read about here.