iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 13/07/2026

(Sharing on behalf of Teba Naqash, event organizer and current PhD student at the University of Leeds) This seems like a great (and free!) event for PGRs interested in learning more about corpus linguistics! The event runs 9:30-14:00 BST on 27 July; registration is via the QR code in the image.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 03/07/2026

So cool to see my work with @danaroemling.bsky.social mentioned as part of "Forensic Linguistics in the United Kingdom"! Thanks to @ralphmortonlang.bsky.social, @emchiang.bsky.social, and Malcolm Coulthard for including us, and shout-out to our paragraph neighbor @lucia-busso.bsky.social.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 26/05/2026

Registration is now open for next month's Conspiracy Theories & Pseudolaw conference on 18 and 19 June. Both online and in-person atteance are free and the event will also be the official launch of @pseudolaw.org! The program is below and you can register at: tinyurl.com/55yrx627 See you there!

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 17/07/2025

Coming up on 29 July: I'm excited to present a keynote as part of AASTMT's symposium on "Forensic Linguistics across Legal, Digital and Public Discourses"! I'll be discussing what makes data "legal" and why that status does (or sometimes doesn't) matter. It'll be a fun day; come along if you can!

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 01/07/2025

This afternoon at #CL2025: Annina Van Riper on "Linguistic mechanisms of trust in the Pick-Up artist community: a multidimensional analysis". There are some interesting parallels here between PUAs and Sovereign Citizen "gurus"!

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 30/06/2025

@debbiecabral.bsky.social leads us through her approach to dealing with issues of relevance and dispersion in corpus analysis as the BAAL Corpus SIG panel continues #CL2025

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 30/06/2025

Siân Alsop opens the BAAL Corpus SIG panel on "Methodological innovation in applied corpus linguistics" by explaining her work on the Children's Storybook Corpus. Next up @debbiecabral.bsky.social and then me! #CL2025

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 30/06/2025

And we're off! @robbielove.org opens #CL2025 on what is looking to be a sweltering day in Birmingham

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 01/03/2025

I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this one for a while! Congratulations to @drjoemcintyre.bsky.social @dnetolitzky.bsky.social @drsarteschi.bsky.social and everyone else involved in this important and exciting project.

A photo of the book "Pseudolaw and Sovereign Citizens" on a wooden tabletop

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 12/12/2024

We got married at the end of November! It was the absolute best day.

A bride and groom (me!) hold hands as they walk down a stone pathway towards the camera. Wedding guests stand on either side of the couple throwing dried flower petals into the air in celebration.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 16/11/2024

I hope to be able to announce some more publications in the not too distant future, but that's it for now! Finally, as promised, a photo of my dog, Cori, chilling out on a sheepskin rug.

Cori, a ten year old white and tan Australian cattle dog mix, relaxes on a sheep skin rug.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 27/09/2024

I'm fascinated by these "social media post as revocation of consent" things. They're essentially chain letters with a few legal-sounding terms thrown in to make them seem "powerful", but the second you try to really parse what's going on they all fall apart; classic SovCit behavior, really.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 18/09/2024

I haven't lived in the US since 2016 or in the Chicago area since 2013, but that has not dampened my enthusiasm for newsletter I get from my home suburb. Can't wait to see the improved Crawford Avenue! (Another recent newsletter announced some "public art" which was basically a fancy bench).

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 17/09/2024

I signed up when you still needed an invite code! Though I've only really been active more recently.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 27/08/2024

Finished my new half sleeve with George Marsden at Stronghold Tattoo in Cardiff today! George is the best and I'd recommend him to anyone.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 25/08/2024

I took a shot at American/Scottish fusion cuisine yesterday with my second attempt at haggis deep dish #pizza. Turned out great! I'd love to have a clearer whisky element in there but it just kind of disappears when I work it into the sauce; I'd love any suggestions! Paging @jeffsachs.bsky.social

Two haggis deep dish pizzas fresh out of the oven. Each is in a large cast iron pan

Six slices of haggis deep dish pizza individually plated

A close up shot of a slice of haggis deep dish pizza

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 23/08/2024

I've made a similar joke for a few years now! It usually gets at least one groan of recognition, but my followup suggestion that "Law is patient, law is kind" is only ever met with baffled silence (I don't intend to stop, regardless).

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 19/08/2024

I've always found it difficult to define legal language in a way that is both comprehensive and satisfying. Maybe that's because, unlike Prof. Dr. K.L. Bhatia, I've never tried to do it in verse. From "Textbook on Legal Langauge and Legal Writing" (3rd ed. 2016) pp. 5-8: #poetry #law #linguistics

A photograph of a page from a textbook displaying the first part of a poem about legal langauge. It reads:

Legal language
Is
Interplay of words,
A
Stream of expressions,
A
Deluge of vocabulary,
An
Inexhaustible repository of words,
A quest for
The knowledge and science of words.
It is a snare of semantics,
A syntactic rigmarole,
The wonder of words.
Poverty of words
Is the bane of legal language;
Legal langauge
Is the matrix
Within which truth and falsehood collide.
The union of falsity and justice
Is legal language.
Truth and injustice
Are the parallels
Within the algebra of legal language;
Dispensation of justice

A photograph of a page from a textbook displaying the second part of a poem about legal langauge, the content of which is too long to reproduce in this alt text.

A photograph of a page from a textbook displaying the third part of a poem about legal langauge, the content of which is too long to reproduce in this alt text.

A photograph of a page from a textbook displaying the fourth and final part of a poem about legal langauge. It reads:

Is,
The force, the motivating and
Inspiring energy which makes,
Humans adorn the Benches,
Gives them the credibility,
The authenticity,
As moral custodians of justice,
Transparency
And
Immutable and ever-shining
Grandeur, greatness and genius.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 10/09/2023

Some exciting personal news: we got engaged last night while camping in west Wales! I'm absolutely thrilled.

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David Griffin @linguistlawyer.com · 24/07/2023

I submitted my PhD thesis last September, passed my viva in November, turned in my corrections in December, received my diploma in January, and last Friday I attended my PhD graduation! It doesn't get any more officially over than this; what a journey!

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