Category: Uncategorized
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Erudite Demons and their Discontents
The LSA letter (which can be read here) asks for Steven Pinker to be removed as a fellow and taken off the media list. This (no matter what your stance) bold move has caused quite the series of wails and hand-wringing from linguists, cranks, and crank linguists. It’s made them big mad. Why? Well, free…
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Radical Resolutions: A Brief Manifesto
What does it mean to live a radical life? I wouldn’t know. That is something foreign to my otherwise middle-class suburban existence that I’ve enjoyed for the greater part of my life. My understanding of its meaning is not particularly accurate or useful. And, quite frankly, I doubt I have the wherewithal and intelligence to…
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An Analysis and Reflection on Doug Jones’ Election Victory.
INTRODUCTION: Last Tuesday, December 15th, was a historic day in Alabama. For the first time in 25 years, a Democrat will be sent to Washington as a representative in the Senate. This is quite the feat: Alabama is stereotypically and historically a heavily conservative state. This is why Doug Jones’ narrow victory is so astonishing.…
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A New Year: LSA 2017 and Updates on Future Posts.
I am only a few days into 2017 and it is already shaping up to be a productive year (President-Elects notwithstanding). I have just spent a weekend in Austin, TX, visiting the city while popping in to the Linguistic Society of America’s 2017 meeting, and it was fantastic! I was only there for a day,…
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This Thanksgiving, consider the language of natives.
As we have celebrated Thanksgiving today, I think it would behoove everyone to take a closer look into the events surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline. There is a disturbing amount of force being placed by the state on behalf of big corporations, which should be disconcerting to anyone who has an interest in freedom in…
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“The” African-Americans/Hispanics/Latinos
Political season is great for linguists. It’s usually a playground of rhetoric, discourse, and weird terms that come into common parlance. This season is no different. Recently, Donald Trump has dug a deeper hole for himself in the debates by saying, at the second debate, “I’m going to help the African-Americans. I’m going to help…
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Introduction
Now that I am free from the cold, clammy grips of graduate school, I can now spend time on not taking anything academic seriously. I only joke; however, it is the case that the pressures and schedule of a grad student life are no longer upon me, and that after a bit of respite I…
Minimal yet Optimal 