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Jessi Grieser

@jessgrieser.com
3.1K followers 1K following 9K posts

Sociolinguist, novelist, photographer, quilter, saxophonist and Boglehead. Associate Professor of Linguistics at UMich.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 28/08/2026
Students: Yes, read your syllabi and know that this information is in them. Parents: Absolutely do not do this. This is unhinged. Also the use of GPT for this purpose is WILD. No, GPT is not likely to summarize my syllabi in a way that will tell you, or your student, what I expect. I tell them.
A Facebook post from a college parents group which reads: 

To all the parents sending their kids off to college for freshman ear: one thing I did was research my son's professors and classes through ChatGPT, look at past syllabi, and learn ho each professor runs their classroom, what they expect, and what's important to them. I made him packets so he can review everything before classes start. 

This isn't about doing the work for him--it's about teaching him how to prepare. Next year and every year after, he should know that the week before college starts, he needs to research his professors, read his syllabi, know where his classes are, and understand what's expected of him. 

He has four years to finish that bachelor's degree. I'm not paying for two extra years! I'd rather help pay for his college experience now so he can graduate with as little debt as possible, start his own business, buy investment properties and build wealth. 

And please save the "they're adults, let them figure it out" comments. You parent yours, and I'm going to parent mine. This is parenting beyond the nest. 

#BlackMomFromTheHood
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 30/07/2026
No. Really??? That can’t be. 👵🏾👵🏾👵🏾
A window in front of Rally House Michigan store reads “welcome class of 2030”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 22/07/2026
Me being geniunely confused. “I dunno. Is Demnark in the G20? Sweden, perhaps?” My friend: “I don’t think that’s what they mean by superpower.”
A Sprocle opinionation quiz question which reads “name a superpower that would help world leaders solve global issues peacefully?”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 21/07/2026
I stole this currency folder idea from a blog once. Not only is it convenient, it makes me happy because it’s my promise to myself that I will go visit these cool places again. Just added a ZAR pocket.
A blue plastic coupon file. The tabs are labeled with the names of different international currencies.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 20/07/2026
Careless People by Wynn-Williams. Eye-opening account of the author’s time as chief diplomat at Facebook. While in many ways unsurprising, it’s a insightful account of how extreme wealth blinds people from their own humanity. That the author was fired hurts the credibility. #booksof2026 #booksky
A copy of careless people by Sarah Wynn Williams sits on a black table in front of a French press and a yellow coffee mug. The cover has a blue square reminiscent of the Facebook logo, but with a shark fin instead of the classic Facebook white f.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 23/06/2026
Thank you for the heads’ up!
David Zinn, a street artist, sits in front of a chalk drawing of an orange bear which appears to be rising out of a crack in the pavement. He is gesturing up as a small crowd of children look at him.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 10/06/2026
Wake up y’all new structure ambiguity exercise just dropped. #linguistics
An image of a Health poster hanging on the wall. It shows a variety of fruit organized in rainbow order. And reads “download advice on feeding newborns to teens”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 09/06/2026
The Quitters Club by Strawser. Another really great Strawser book. Four really interesting women characters with relatable concerns, and just the right amount of romance without moving the focus from friendship. And mostly gets academia right, which is rare! #booksky #booksof2026
The cover of The Quitters Club by Jessica Strawser in black-and-white on a Kindle screen. The cover show shows four doors and four silhouettes of people walking through them.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 09/06/2026
McBride, Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Wonderful wordcraft and many characters are absolutely fabulous. Partially my fault for putting it down, but there were so many characters and subplots that it was hard to keep track and come back to. Ending nevertheless delivered. #booksky #booksof2026
The cover of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride depicting an artistic rendering of black person with a blue turban carrying a red ball.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 30/05/2026
#conflicts #caturday
A black cat is on a lap that is wearing plaid pajama pants. Behind the cat a wrist is visible with an Apple Watch turned toward the camera. The Apple Watch has a fitness reminder to stand up visible on its face.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 21/05/2026
ek ek ek ek
A black cat sits in the foreground, gazing out a screened in window at a birdfeeder.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 18/05/2026
You’re trapped in the last TV show you watched, where are you? Gilead.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 14/05/2026
Reid, Game Changer. Much better than HR. An actual plot, two characters who aren’t trapped in gay panic, and a cast of side characters who feel real instead of like props. And there was hockey! The audiobook narrator is breathtakingly awful, though. Be forewarned. #booksof2026 #booksky #latepost
The cover of game changer by Rachel Reid as shown on a Spotify now playing screen. It shows an illustration of a blonde man in jeans’s jacket, holding a hockey stick, leaning against the counter, where a brown haired man is wearing a green apron.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 13/05/2026
Weir, Project Hail Mary. Decided I needed to read this after seeing the movie. It is even more charming than the movie was. The characters are drawn well, the science makes sense, and as much as it can, and the non-linear storytelling works well . #booksof2026 #booksky
The cover of project Hail Mary by Andy Weir on a Kindle paperwhite. It is the movie cover, which shows Ryan Gosling upside down in 0 G.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 12/04/2026
STG you let *one* male live in your house and he just assumes he’s necessary to replace a garbage disposer…
A black cat is in a kitchen cabinet, looking down underneath a white PVC P trap and next to a black garbage disposal
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 07/04/2026
Palindrome! Palindrome! #finalfour #marchmadness #umichalumniband
 A woman in a Michigan sweatshirt is cheering in front of a TV where the NCAA Men’s basketball final is being aired. The score visible onscreen is 56 Uconn 65 Michigan.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 07/04/2026
Palindrome! Palindrome! #finalfour #marchmadness #umichalumniband
A woman in a Michigan sweatshirt is cheering in front of a TV where the NCAA Men’s basketball final is being aired. The score visible onscreen is 45 Uconn 54 Michigan.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 05/04/2026
Palindrome! #marchmadness #umichmbb
A photo of a TV screen where a player in a blue basketball jersey stands nearly in the lane of the court. The score at the bottom shows that Michigan has 74 points and Arizona has 47.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 02/04/2026
My timeblocking software @sunsamahq.bsky.social started keeping track of when you did the actual work, and not just when you planned to do it. It really reveals the fragmented nature of an academic day and why it's so crazymaking.
A view of a timeblocked calendar. Blocks are color-coded. At the top reads LING 780 in teal, marked from 14:30-16:00, but it is overlapped by a striped block indicating that Weekly teaching tasks were done from 15:40-16:40, but underneath that is a planned block for "correction to proposal" in purple" and on top of it is a purple block makred "re: Stuff". These overlaps continue down the calendar for several hours, marking a back and forth of many different tasks in different domains.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 30/03/2026
Since I count audiobooks, I am not going to deny myself the entirety of a book read aloud. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. An amazing production of a book with such a rich visual imagery that it slides onto the stage with zero scripting. One of my all time favorite novels.
The black and white cover of GATZ by elevator repair service; indicating three showtimes on Friday, March 27 at 2 o’clock, Saturday, March 28 at 2 o’clock and Sunday, March 29 at 1 o’clock.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 23/03/2026
Happy Oberon Day!!! My drinkkng buddy informs me this is called a “nucleation site.” #whenacademicsdrink
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 12/03/2026
The stat isn’t even beat Serena Williams, it’s guys who think they’d get at least one point. And the answer is the same except it’s @emilymbender.bsky.social with the racket:
A tweet from @longwall26 quoting a YouGov Paul that report reports that 12% of men think they could take a point off of Serena Williams in a match. The tweet reads “ confident in my ability to properly tennis, I take the court. I smile at my opponent. Serena does not return the gesture. She’d be prettier if she did, I think. She serves. The ball passes cleanly through my skull, killing me instantly.”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 06/03/2026
@jofrhwld.bsky.social posted this once and wrote “is it like, a prosody thing, or…?” and now I crack up laughing every time I come home. #detroitmichiganisintheeasterntimezone
Assignment the Detroit airport that says “there’s a difference between an answer and a Michigan answer.”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 06/03/2026
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown. Forgettable. I accidentally left it on the plane and I don’t even care that much. Langdon wasn’t even involved in solving any of the mystery, really, and there was no real “a ha!” foreshadowing of the villain. Next time Brown should just make the woman the star.
The red cover of THE SECRET OF SECRETS by Dan Brown. A blue away brand suitcase is in the background.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 01/03/2026
This is a hilarious juxtaposition. Is chapter one “how to preemptively pick a fight about something that doesn’t matter and then claim everybody else isn’t engaging?” And, yes. Most recently and most WEIRDly Aotearoa. But it’s happened to lots of non WEIRD countries also.
Two posts by Joshua Foust, one a pinned post advertising a co-authored book which claims to explain how to do public relations when people dissent, and the second taking offense at the term, USian and asking for other examples of demonyms forced in the name of social justice.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 01/03/2026
Still Life by Louise Penny. A good introduction to this world. Sometimes harder to follow because lots of characters and names are introduced and their specific concerns (eg Philippe) are not resolved until the end. But the mystery is satisfying & the characterization is solid. #booksof2026 #booksky
The black and white cover of Still Life by Louise Penny displayed on a black Kindle.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 01/03/2026
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. A tour de force of well developed female characters and excellent attention to the matters if the era. I am especially appreciative that the author didn’t force unrealistic happy endings; the story seemed very real. #booksof2026
The black-and-white cover of the book club for troublesome women by Marie Bostwick displayed on a black Kindle.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 22/02/2026
What so proudly we HAIL
The flags of Canada, the United States and Finland (L-R) are raised indicating second first and third place for Olympic hockey. Behind them, a crowd is visible and a university of Michigan Block M flag is hanging from one of the railings.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 14/02/2026
A good sociolinguist always learns and respectfully accommodates to the cultural language practices of the local community.
A title slide reading "Generative Language Models and African American LanguagE: The What, the How, and the why". It identifies the author as Jessi Grieser from the University of Michigan, and that the talk is being given at The Ohio State University on 13 February 2026. 

The letter M in "Models" and "Michigan" is crossed out with an X
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 20/01/2026
Game Changer by Rachel Reid. Much better than HR. An actual plot, two characters who aren’t trapped in gay panic, and a cast of side characters who feel real instead of like props. And there was actual hockey! Don’t know why they picked HR to make a show out of. #booksof2026 #booksky
The cover of game changer by Rachel Reid. It shows an illustration of a blond man with a hockey stick leaning against a counter, where a dark haired man stands in an apron.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 03/01/2026
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid. It was free on Spotify and that’s what I can say for it. A plot did emerge out of thin air toward the last third of the book but it was otherwise not a book. #booksof2025 #booksky
The cover of heated rivalry by Rachel Reed, which shows a man with black hair, wearing a red hockey uniform facing off in the center against a man in a black and yellow hockey uniform with brown hair.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 03/01/2026
We have now implicated three flight attendants and one TSA agent in the Michigan sign stealing scandal.
A suitcase with a large Cheez-It Citrus Bowl foam sign on top of it. The sign has the red cheez-it logo and shows a diamond shaped Cheez-It.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 21/12/2025
Hello from the #MichiganAlumniBand!
A Black woman in a yellow niki polo holding a tenor saxopphone in the middle of a band at a basketball game.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 12/12/2025
I feel like I’m watching a Michigan-specific version of The Reynolds Pamphlet. 😳 You ever see somebody ruin dey own life?
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 05/12/2025
I tugged on this door for a good minute before noticing the label. All the left hand doors in this mailroom have this label. The bulk of the people who use this mailroom have Ph.D.s. Yes. 😆
A brown cabinet door with a label maker label which reads in caps “Press latch inside to open.”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 03/12/2025
I like these CFP rankings. Rose: PSU v. Chris Paul Sugar: Steve Young v. Red Wings Fiesta: Honey Badger v. Gators Orange: Errors v. Grey Goose
A screenshot of ESPN headlines with the upcoming topics. “CFP rankings” is highlighted. Beneath it our entries for Penn State, Chris, Paul, Steve, Young, Red Wings, honey badger, Gaitors, errors, and then an ad for grey goose.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 03/12/2025
I have mine!!!!
The 12th edition of Miriam Webster’s collegiate, dictionary, a large red hardcover, sits on a Steelcase pedestal
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 02/12/2025
Blake Cattum with the feather toy carry, first and donut Michigan.
A black cat looks out of a gray donut cap cave. A wand attached to a feather toy is visible, sticking out of the opening.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 24/11/2025
107 Days, by Kamala Harris. Great and interesting pace. Some new insights, some things we already knew. In many places it’s too much apologia and too little self-analysis, but the point of this book is clearly the story and the saga not the politics. #booksof2025 #booksky #blackbooksky
A copy of 107 Days by Kamala Harris on a black table. The book is blue with 107 Days in gold and Kamala Harris in white.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 20/11/2025
This is how long we’ve been in this building. Grabbed a couple for the next time I have to teach sign = signifier + signified
A hand holding two 3.5” floppy disks
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 11/11/2025
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. A satisfying sequel with enough twists and turns to keep things interesting even if you’re very familiar with the world. Loved the character growth arc and background of Aunt Lydia especially, and Ann Dowd doing the reading makes it that much better. #booksof2025
The Libby app, showing the cover of the testaments by Margaret Atwood. It depicts a handmade in a green handmade cloak with a white bonnet on a blue background.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 11/11/2025
James by Perceval Everett. Loved the use of language as a plot device in this, and find it an interesting retelling. I’d never read Huck Finn! Rich storyline, though act III felt like it came a little out of nowhere. The relationship btw Jim and Huck is well done. #booksof2025 #booksky #blackbooksky
A copy of James by Percival Everett. Black cover with the title in a dark yellow.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 10/11/2025
OMG 😭😅
A to-do list manager (Sunsama) with a repeating task labled "NWAV Time." A sub-menu is open, and the option "Delete all incomplete instances and stop repeating" is highlighted.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 08/11/2025
Mood:
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 04/11/2025
Gehringer and Grieser “Shifting Vowels in a Stable Place” retrieved from the printer! Poster session 1; Poster #20. #nwav53 #ncvs #michiganEnglish
A hand holding a poster. The poster is mostly white, rolled up, and inside a plastic bag.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/10/2025
Loving this database view in Notion. Each of my Ph.D. students is a line on a Gantt from start month to planned grad and the color is where they are in the program (pre quals, in quals, pre-prospectus, dissertating). Clicking on the line leads to all my advising notes.
A gantt chart showing 2024 through 2026. There are two green lines, two coral lines and three blue lines. The three blue lines begin in August 2024, and the coral lines being in August 2025.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 29/09/2025
[white [student athlete] jerseys] not [[white student athlete] jerseys] But picking a jersey from a Black player would’ve helped here, M Den!!
An advertisement for “white student athlete jerseys” which shows three white colored University of Michigan football jerseys: one with the number 19, one with the number 96 and the name Zvada, and one with the number 44 and the name Bredeson
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 29/09/2025
Siren’s Song by Elizabeth Salo. An interesting witchy romance that does a good job setting up the series to come. While the plot was a little confusing in places, a fun twist at the end makes the next book a want-to-read.
A blue Kindle on a black table with the cover of sirens song by Elizabeth Salo visible. The cover has a four part Celtic knot on the front.
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 27/09/2025
Dufour: “Hegseth thinks this is cool” My tumblr-addicted ass: “More interesting is the fact that neither Dufour nor Hegseth understand the pragmatics of ‘cool story, bro.’”
Nested tweets. Innermost from Gen. Ben Hodges. “ July 1935 German generals were called to a surprise assembly in Berlin and informed that their previous oath to the Weimar constitution was void and that they would be required to swear a personal oath to the Führer. Most generals took the new oath to keep their positions.” 

Quote tweet by Pete Hegseth: “ cool story, general.” 

Quote Tweet by Anna Dufour: What is the cool story? When the German army relinquished its allegiance to the constitution to swear instead an oath to the pure the supreme leader, Adolf Hitler   Should a man with the fate of the biggest army in the world, think, worse, write “it’s cool”
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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 23/09/2025
Not a bad day. Time for dinner.
A colorful pie chart with a legend which shows a breakdown of type of work. Research (purple) takes up half the chart, with teaching (teal taking up about another quarter) and the rest split between admin, advising, meetings, and NWAV 53
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