iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 13h

Currently working on lexical documentation of Atɔmb [ttf] in Boneck, central Cameroon as part of a multimedia dictionary project for language revitalisation. First time I see a monitor lizard in real life!

Monitor lizard on ground with limbs tied up

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Back in Yaoundé at the Nelson Mandela fried chicken place

Plate of fried chicken with sauces and a mocktail in a diner-style restaurant with a portrait of Nelson Mandela smiling with hands clasped in a prayer pose

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The annual United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) is coming around - you can sign up as a volunteer marker until 2nd Nov, for marking 19th-30th Nov. I've been doing this since 2015 and it's normally quite fun (I like to have a go at the paper first) www.uklo.org #UKLO #linguistics 🐦🐦

uklo.org

welcome - UKLO

UKLO = UK Linguistics Olympiad Welcome to UKLO! We run an annual competition in which school children solve problems based on real languages. It's a test of skill and insight, not of how well you know...

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Reviewer 2 didn't accept this lack of clear distinction of tone-marked characters as a good enough argument to reject the more accurate IPA <ɪ> in favour of the community orthography <ɛ>, and now I see a second typographical problem in that -ATR <ɪ> merges with +ATR <i> when capitalised 🥲

Nomaandé sentence beginning with a subject marker /ɪ/ which appears as I on the surface line

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VIEWS project @viewsproject.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Join us for a special VIEWS/EWRN event: Monday 28th September 19.30 BST Korede Aderele “A Computational Approach to Yoruba Symbolic Systems: Interpreting Door Panels as an Extension of Oral History” Zoom registration: cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

cam-ac-uk.zoom.us

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: VIEWS/EWRN seminar: Yoruba Symbolic Systems. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Cheerful morning at the grants seminar: “think of guided missiles, think of radars, etc” “think about how your research might be seen as exploitation or a form of neo-colonialism” “then there would be a high risk that the research results you produce will be misused for violation of human rights”

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Lauren "Hope is Praxis" Lastname @verbingnouns.bsky.social · 12/09/2023

About the #linguistics feed: Become a contributor: @ me & I'll let you know when you're added Use one of these to post to the feed: 🧠💬 👐💬 🗣💬 🐦🐦 #linguistics Rules: 1. No misinformation 2. Credit photos 3. Give context to links off site 4. Use alt text 5. Have fun! FAQ: write.as/6dkz40sb4ddr...

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Philipp Krämer @phkraemer.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Our university welcomes applications for 3-year postdoc projects across all disciplines, including linguistics. Applicants need a letter of support from a VUB supervisor. I'd be happy to host a project related to my research areas: please spread in your networks and reach out with proposals!

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Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 05/09/2026

You can use this UN-approved Equal Earth projection right now in #rstats #gis #databs

library(tidyverse)
library(sf)
library(rnaturalearth)

world <- ne_countries() |> filter(sov_a3 != "ATA")

ggplot(data = world) +
geom_sf() +
coord_sf(crs = "+proj=eqearth") +
theme_void()

A basic world map using the Equal Earth projection

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kobayashi ḫamṭu @mattboot.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

4yo word of the day: upset = "sunrise" "the sun is going on a upset. i call it is a upset because the sun is setting all the way up."

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Jenneke van der Wal @jennekevanderwal.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Voorproefje van wat er over een maand komt: de Stemmen van Afrika scheurkalender! We zijn druk bezig met de laatste dagen nakijken, maar wat wordt ‘ie tof! Nog even geduld en je kan ‘m bestellen voor al je vrienden 🤩

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Endangered Languages Project @e-l-p.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Opportunity alert: Applications are now open for the Endangered Language Fund-UNESCO Traineeship Program, "a unique opportunity for Indigenous people to get hands-on experience contributing to UNESCO's work in education and language preservation"! Learn more and apply by October 15:

endangeredlanguagefund.org

ELF-UNESCO Traineeship — The Endangered Language Fund

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Not so sure about the accuracy of this, but regardless, it's a strange thing to brag about at the entrance to the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy

Large Ghent University sign standinf in hallway saying "BOSTON. LONDON. NEW YORK. GHENT." (with Ghent standing out in a different colour), "Ghent in the world's top 10 tech cities."

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

It's a failure of the IPA that <a> and <ɑ> indicate distinct vowels, but common fonts change the former to the latter under italicisation (Proto-Mande reconstruction from Podzniakov & Vydrin 2026)

In-text italicised *ɑ and non-italicised *a in vowel sets

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Happy job/grant application season to all those who celebrate!

Google form with "First Name" field as "Elisabeth" and "Second Name" field as "Kerr", showing an error in red: "Must be a valid email address"

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

‘And while some people have it easier… very few get to where they want to be in life without exposing themselves to regular, repeated rejection.’ Good from @igmansfield.bsky.social showing how ‘success shows its face to the world, but failure is invisible’ www.edrith.co.uk/p/on-rejecti...

edrith.co.uk

On Rejection

Behind every successful person lies a litany of failures

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Josephine Quinn @josephinequinn.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I am VERY EXCITED to see the ad come out for post-doc positions associated with my Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies: please pass on to anyone who might be interested and works across ancient regions/languages/worlds... www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

cam.ac.uk

Research Associate (Fixed Term)

Applications are sought for three Research Associates to join the Cambridge Lab for Ancient World Studies (CLAWS), directed by Professor Josephine Quinn. Starting no later than 1 October 2027, you wil...

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Annual pilgrimage to Leiden for the Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics #CALL

Dutch houses seen with canal reflecting clouds in sky

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Day 1 of the 11th International Conference on the Bantu Languages, happening here in Ghent! #Bantu11

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Once again, "syntax" and "grammar" come out as unpopular with non-linguists. I have learned to avoid these words when explaining what I do to people at parties/family gatherings, whereas talking about fieldwork/language documentation/reconstructing population history gets a lot more interest

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Going through a colleague's comments on my grant proposal and it is really refreshing to also get *positive feedback* about what is good and should be kept in

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Jonathan Kasstan @jrkasstan.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

#Humanities Forward is out and it’s all 🔓 thanks to funding from AHRC. Therein we ( @inmfl.bsky.social ) we offer a manifesto for #linguistics in UK-based #language teaching off the back of work we have done with teachers ! www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.... @hetanshah.bsky.social

liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk

Humanities Forward | Home

Opportunity, Innovation, Policy in the 21st Century

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Something is Being Born @nabelew.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Go check out @geraldroche.bsky.social's review of @sophiasgaler.bsky.social's "How to Kill a Language" for a surgical dissection of the history of language oppression denialism, clear and informed reminders of its political nature, and a buncha links to good research (incl. by @chirila.bsky.social):

theconversation.com

Languages are disappearing, and the problem is political

Language loss is often a reluctant choice made to escape violence, not a willing choice made to gain benefits.

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Maarten Kossmann @maartenkossmann.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Very good thread on writing a book review. We often forget it is a genre on its own and if done well it can be a beautiful art form. I wish people would spend less time on teaching absolute non-genres such as conference abstracts and more on book reviews ⬇️

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Upcoming in Yaoundé, Oct 12-15 2027

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Rasmus Puggaard-Rode @rpuggaardrode.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The OSF is being axed 😔

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African Studies Centre Leiden @ascleiden.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Still time to submit your brilliant thesis on Africa! Don’t miss your chance to apply for the Africa Thesis Award 2026 – and win €500 plus publication! ⏳ Deadline: 30 Sept 📍 Details: buff.ly/IYPm8bZ #AfricaThesisAward #AfricaStudies #CallForSubmissions #MasterThesis

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

After an afternoon rereading Heine (1976) on word order typology in African languages and the properties of SVO / OSV / VSO languages, I logged onto social media in the evening and read a post beginning "POV" as a word order type 🤦‍♀️ In Dutch there is a specific word for this: "beroepsdeformatie"

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Christian DiCanio @cdicanio.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

When it comes to the question of clitics, Carmen thinks you should sleep on it.

A tuxedo cat sleeping its head on two books on clitics

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Charlie Lynch @charlielynch.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

“I’m afraid there is a chance this child may become an academic.”

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Sarah Florini @florini.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

This is a tragedy. The corporatization of universities has the US and the UK destroying their world-renowned higher educations systems.

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Joey Lovestrand @joeylovestrand.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Anyone know to make a world map in R (ggplot) that is centered around the Pacific?

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

A few photos from honeymooning in the Outer Hebrides #HebrideanWay #Scotland

White sandy beach of Vatersay on a sunndy day, with cows on the beach

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Darin Flynn @phono-logical.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

“What African languages can teach us about phonology” at UC Berkeley on Sep. 17–18, 2026 sites.google.com/berkeley.edu...

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

When I visited the new Africa Museum exhibit in Tervuren with a fellow PhD researcher on the BaSIS project we did the quiz on African linguistics, solving puzzles about Swahili verbal morphology etc. We got 19/20 and the unintentional burn "Well done, you're almost as good as a real linguist!"

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Facebook making the AI tools literally nobody is asking for... If you are thinking of getting my review of Bloom Ström et al. (eds) tattooed on your body, please do not!

Facebook advert from Meta AI app "Elisabeth, try free AI tools" with a picture of the Oxford University Press book Morphosyntactic Variation in Bantu and the caption "Reimagine this as tattoo art" and button "Try it"

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

During one of my MA classes at SOAS, my Swahili teacher commented that it was quite common for academics to move abroad, fall in love, and end up living internationally. "Funny tangent", I thought at the time. 9 years later - just married to someone I met on day 1 of my PhD in the Netherlands!

Photo of two gold wedding rings presented in a white jewellery box (photo credits to Pascal Maurice)

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Lameen Souag @lameensouag.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Here's his comparative Cushitic database: ahmedsosal.github.io/CLD/#/lexicon

ahmedsosal.github.io

Cushitic Lexical Database

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Maarten Kossmann @maartenkossmann.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

It was a great honor to be part of the defence by Ahmed Sosal of his PhD Thesis "A Lexical and Phonological Reconstruction of Highland East Cushitic. Many congratulations to Doctor Sosal! The book csn be downloaded for free through the following link: www.lotpublications.nl/a-lexical-an...

lotpublications.nl

A Lexical and Phonological Reconstruction of Highland East Cushitic: including a Comparative East Cushitic Database

Ahmed Sosal: A Lexical and Phonological Reconstruction of Highland East Cushitic: including a Comparative East Cushitic Database

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Happening now: my former colleague Ahmed Sosal is defending his PhD thesis on "A Lexical and Phonological Reconstruction of Highland East Cushitic, including a Comparative East Cushitic Database" www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/academic-...

Ahmed Sosal standing oppositie committee in Academiegebouw of Leiden University, with audience

Screenshot of lay talk explaining the open Access database created with 8500 words from East Cushitic and 356 reconstructions, covering 23 languages, with confidence scores for reconstructions

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Summer holiday reading has arrived ☀️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Routledge book "Scottish Gaelic: A Comprehensive Grammar" by William Lamb

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I have been working on an application due this week for another uni's internal pre-selection for a grant due Sept. Just found out from the research office I am no longer allowed to apply b/c me and my mentor apparently missed a deadline for an admin form for a pre-pre-selection selection in June 🤦‍♀️

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Today is the last day to register for in-person attendance of the upcoming 11th International Conference on Bantu Languages, which we are hosting in Ghent from 18th-21st August. Registration for online attendance will stay open until 17th August! www.bantugent.ugent.be/bantu11/ #Bantu11 #linguistics

bantugent.ugent.be

Bantu 11 Conference – BantUGent – UGent Centre for Bantu Studies

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Laura Bailey @linguistlaura.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

This is my semi-regular shout out to linguists: if you have/are a PhD student who'd write a great book review for the Journal of Linguistics, especially if it'd help increase our global diversity of authors, let me (reviews editor) know a couple of books they/you'd like to review. #linguistics

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Flying visit to Paris for the workshop today. Apparently there are savoury madeleines now?

Hausmannian buildings with trees and blue sky

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Elisabeth J. Kerr @elisabethjkerr.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Some band bios give helpful info on the group's origins and musical inspirations. Others read like some of my colleague's grant applications

LA LOM stands for The Los Angeles League of Musicians. The trio have been making instrumental music since 2021, specialising in sounds that feel southern, sun-soaked and warm. The first step in their artistic journey came through the soulful ballads of the 1950s and ’60s, discovered through K-EARTH 101, a Los Angeles oldies radio station. Artists like Smokey Robinson and Aaron Neville became firm favourites. From there, they began drawing in influences from around the world. Romantic boleros and cumbia sonidera from Mexico, shimmering chicha from Peru, and Bakersfield country from California all found their way into the mix. Together, it sounds like the perfect soundtrack for summer garden parties and late-night drives. It’s modern nostalgia for anyone who has happily drifted away in the warm soundscapes of Hermanos Gutiérrez and Khruangbin.

The Last Dinner Party has done it again. From the Pyre ranks among the best albums of 2025. It is everything pop music should be. Boldly ambitious, delightfully chaotic and mischievously enchanting. All good things that were also said about Prelude to Ecstasy (2024), the all-female London band's debut album. The five deftly balance on the musical crossover of Kate Bush, Florence + The Machine and Fleetwood Mac. Their narratives are mystical but believable and have an unpolished, dark edge. Producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz) combined all these elements perfectly on Prelude to Ecstasy and was therefore asked again. However, he had to drop out along the way due to illness. Markus Davs (Arcade Fire, Coldplay) took over the job effortlessly.

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