iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Does anyone know of a comprehensive book about x-bar theory in #Spanish? #linguistics #x-barra

Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

A neighbor has been a wonderful support as my mom heals from a broken back. In gratitude, I made this filet #crochet blanket for her. The pattern came from Bella Coco’s website.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I think @scalzi.com was in charge of yesterday’s searchle

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Sneezed so hard my neighbors downstairs said, Bless you

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

At church: I’d like to start with a parable—it’s not one of Jesus’ parables. It’s called the parable of the Karate Kid.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

I have now crocheted in four states at once. #crochet rocks.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

{Christmas in the South} Silent night [fireworks] Holy night [FIREWORKS] …fireworks

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

The ridiculous problem with having my Alexa wake-up word as “Computer” is that I’m a huge #Trekkie and Janeway and Uhura and Picard and Geordie send Alexa down A LOT of rabbit holes while I (re)watch.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

It’s a travesty that they aren’t calling the #AflacKickoff the Poultry Bowl. I mean, it involves 2 bird mascots sponsored by another.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

An accidental lost in translation portmanteau that I think we should invite onto our speech. From @ jess_doesstuff_ On Instagram 🐦🐦 PERJUMENTAL!!

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Latest neologism by a sports announcer: hændkʌftɪɾɪd 🐦🐦 A #linguistics novelty.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

I suggest the graphic novels La Mort de Staline (Robin, Nury) and the movie adaption, The Death of Stalin. The only difference is in the capability of our current kakistocracy. Anyway, the leadership under Stalin was just as craven as ours, but they were better at their chosen jobs. Gross.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

I’m watching #MallorcaBarça en español and the play-by-play announcer’s ratatatat reminds me of when we’d go visit my grandma at the auction.

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Reposted by Vanessa

ℳatt @matttomic.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

This video from Fairmount Bagels in Montreal from their Instagram is the most impressive thing I've ever seen

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

"Sam Philandering" is the supposed name of a cartoon show a six-yr-old was describing to her teacher today while walking to their primary class at church. I'm skeptical, but intrigued.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

I #crocheted 🧶 myself a Yipyip monster yarn bag holder thingie with a carabiner to thread the yarn. Cro Chet Cro Chet Cro Chet Cro Chet Crochet!

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

#UnexpectedMormon in Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series. Although, with the kind of joke that it was building to, it’s more of a *Slightly Expected Mormon*. #TeamGertie

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

#UnexpectedMormon and slightly skewampus understanding of Mormon private/public lives re: elders in Douglas Phillips’ Quantum Time. #ExpectedMormon narrator Kirby H.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Sports announcing is one of my favorite places to collect innovations. Sometimes the innovations are one-off unicorns

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

I’m at church on vacation in Deep South Georgia and the bishop has a pink suit jacket and the woman that gave the opening prayer was wearing fancy black gloves. True South.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

My Great Great Great Grandma Malcolm totally prodropping the first person singular at the beginning of her letter to husband (she quickly begins using pronouns and pronoun-ish <words> when clarity seemed necessary). He was at the Chicago World's Columbia Exposition of 1893. #linguistics 🐦🐦 #prodrop

Prodropping of first person singular in English at the beginning of the letter from 1897, then my great great great grandma begins using pronouns pronoun-ish elements.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

I saw a creepy bumper sticker today and didn’t get a pic b/c driving and not wanting to crash. Found it online. Seriously, how wacko do you have to be to stick this on your car?

Creepy bumper sticker: my other ride is the comet hale-bopp

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

#UnexpectedMormon in ~Proto~ by @laurainparis.bsky.social It’s a good listen, good pop linguistics book that I might assign a reading from here or there in my classes.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

About a half dozen times a year, I have dreams where I get to visit & visit with my friend & her husband that died of covid. In the dream I know sometimes that they died of covid, that the dream is impossible, but the dream keeps going because I want to talk to them.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

My nephew: “Daddy, you can squooshen this!” Fantastic double-verben-ing, kid.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Fascinating #sociolinguistics moment at church in Eastern Pennsylvania: Over the pulpit, man asks congregation rhetorical question, uses “you all”. (not y’all) Then says, “Sorry, I lived in Texas for a little while.” 🐦🐦 #LDS

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

This book was published in **2015**. What the ever-loving hells bells were the author and editors of WWNorton & Co thinking? “Lol lol racism-ginger joke lol. harmless play on words lol lol lol”???!!! Yeesh.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Generally I’m very forgiving of sketchy pronunciations in audiobooks. (Why would a Brit know that it’s ˈQuantico and not Quanˈtico?). But how do you not know how to pronounce Bette Davis?

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

I can’t believe they still have this open, & that the email addy doesn’t have to be real. Anyway, I’ve been complaining about campus protests advocating giving clothes to DEI house elves. If you’re in the mood to submit a *very real* complaint so they have their *very real* proof… enddei.ed.gov

enddei.ed.gov

Department of Education FormLock

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

My 4-yr-old nephew was playing by himself, his cars were (of course) talking to each other. One kept saying, “Well actually…”… And I’d like to say to Inspector Well Actually via @alexanderckane.bsky.social “There is not going to be a 4th Andrea Vernon novel to bring joy to our souls.” 🤞🤞

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

I went to a gymnastics meet tonight and a gymnast ended a tumbling pass on the floor WITH A DEATH DROP. Like I might be the only one in the stands that realized it b/c NO ONE REACTED. It was amazing.

media.tenor.com

a woman in a plaid dress and yellow shoes is standing in a room with a lot of mannequins .

ALT: a woman in a plaid dress and yellow shoes is standing in a room with a lot of mannequins .

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Ice storm freezes campus, so I stay home and make various Abbey Road Pessoa Heteronym memes. #fernandopessoa #heteronimos #todosOsSonhosNele #neles?

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Every once in a while you find a pure gem of a neologism (that doubles you over in laughter) in a book you’re listening to. I present to you, from @peterboland.bsky.social‘s Beach Hut Murders: FARTLIGHTING

Definition of fartlighting:
It's like gaslighting but it's when these stupid attention-seekers in the media say something incendiary just to cause a stink — hence fartlighting!

Audiobook cover art of The Beach Hut Murders by Peter Boland

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

🧐 “He just renegotiated his Name-Image-Likeness deal for next season. I hope he isn’t vegan, because he’s going to be eating a lot of bread.” I repeat, 🧐 … [I used to keep a running list of weird things (sports) announcers say. It was a long list.]

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Michael J. Stern @michaeljstern.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

A friend posted this on Facebook. It is absolutely on point and is a perfect tribute to Jimmy Carter.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Know what pisses—and I mean *PISSES*—me off about these people weaponizing LakenR.? I was @UGA, about to teach class the day it happened, wanting to help my students. She wasn’t k*//ed b/c of immigration. She was k*//ed because of friggin misogyny & the idea that men deserve power over women.

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

It just so happens that I wrote this piece tonight before learning of President Carter’s passing. It contains some essential history about Carter’s loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

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Reposted by Vanessa

Prof. Nicole Holliday @mixedlinguist.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

“There is no reason to believe that any nonstandard vernacular is in itself an obstacle to learning. The chief problem is ignorance of language on the part of all concerned. Our job as linguists is to remedy this ignorance.”-Labov, in 1972. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/24/u...

nytimes.com

William Labov, Who Studied How Society Shapes Language, Dies at 97

He laid the foundation for sociolinguistics, and he showed that structures like class and race shaped speech as much as where someone lives.

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

My backyard neighbors on the other side of a mini-forest are having a eurobeat rave with occasional chainsaw sounds. It’s a …whole thing

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

My Portuguese has always had me reading “Xitter” as shitter b/c {x} can equal ʃ. (xingar [ʃĩŋˈɡah]) I’ve always wondered how others pronounce it. (if at all, b/c maybe it only exists in writing on our feeds?)

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Reposted by Vanessa

Casey terHorst @ecoevolab.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Holy wow, I just learned about Rainbow Parentheses in R! Paired parens appear as same colors! Never count your close parentheses again Tools->Global Options->Code->Display Tab->Click Rainbow Parentheses

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Vanessa @vrslinguist.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Young Sherlock Holmes vibes

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