Emma Humphries (she/her)
@emhumps.bsky.social
Researcher working on prescriptivism in popular culture. Interested in language attitudes and language policy. And Cruising with Jane McDonald.
Subway hot takes: Allow people to pronounce words wrong www.tiktok.com/@subwaytakes...
Episode 96: Let people pronounce words incorrectly! feat @Lauren Davis 🎤 @KAREEM RAHMA 🎥 @Anthony DiMieri @Willem Holzer #nyc #newyorkcity #podcast #subway #hottakes #interview #conversations #su...
TikTok video by SubwayTakes
tiktok.com
Are you coming tomorrow? After the AGM at 10-12 am, exciting panel discussions follow in the afternoon. Book now: ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Calls for Romanian to become an option for GCSE students buff.ly/ZyXXQWR #langsky #xl8
Calls for Romanian to become an option for GCSE students
Romanian is the most widely spoken foreign first language in London with 159,000 speakers.
buff.ly
Did you🫵 procrastinate submitting your abstract for the Henry Sweet Society Colloquium 2026? There's still time until 1 March!⌛Papers on any topic in the history of linguistics welcome. Colloquium to be held on 2-4 September 2026 at the University of Nottingham. www.henrysweet.org/2026-annual-...
2026 Annual Colloquium — Henry Sweet Society
henrysweet.org
And another petition, sadly 😪 You might be aware that the Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies (LINCS) at Heriot-Watt University is under threat. More information and to sign the petition: heriotwatt.web.ucu.org.uk/2026/02/05/s...
Save LINCS petition
To Principal Richard Williams, the University Executive and Court The Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies (LINCS) at Heriot-Watt University is under threat to lose a third of its staff, f...
heriotwatt.web.ucu.org.uk
A timely submission to YourWrong.co.uk "Have you noticed, Catherine, his frightful Yorkshire pronunciation?" (Brontë, Wuthering Heights) How "frightful" will the accents in the new film adaptation be? #WutheringHeights #JacobElordi #MargotRobbie
Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions! These summaries are impact-led and a great way to increase the visbility of your research.
Modern Humanities Research Association@themhra.bsky.social · 8mo agoResearchers in Modern Languages: consider submitting your research to the brand-new @ucflangs.bsky.social Languages Research Database, created for policymakers. Even if you don't think your research has policy implications – you never know! university-council-for-languages.org/research/lan...
What can a pop song teach us about grammar? Drawing on examples from different forms of popular culture, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow @emhumps.bsky.social explores prescriptivism. Listen to her TED talk: media.leverhulme.ac.uk/video/ehumph... @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social
Is Sabrina Carpenter saving the English language?
What can a pop song teach us about grammar? Drawing on examples from across popular culture, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Dr Emma Humphries explores how prescriptivism is framed and spread in ways ...
media.leverhulme.ac.uk
Call for LavLang32 now on Linguist List. Submit a paper here: lavlang32.ppls.ed.ac.uk
LavLang32 - Lavender Languages & Linguistics 32
2-4 September 2026: Queer (dis)belonging
lavlang32.ppls.ed.ac.uk
Linguist List@linguistlist.bsky.social · 8mo agoCalls: Lavender Languages and Linguistics 32
For more details about my project and to contribute your own examples of prescriptivism in popular culture, please visit YourWrong.co.uk
Your Wrong
yourwrong.co.uk
Emma Humphries (she/her)@emhumps.bsky.social · 8mo agoIs Sabrina Carpenter saving the English language? Find out in my TEDx talk! 🤯 m.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7J... @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social #TEDx #TEDxQUB
Linguistic racism on full display.
Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social · 8mo agoHow much more in your face can it be? "Why are you asking me for my paperwork?" "Because of your accent." "You have an accent too." "Where were you born sir?" "Where were you born at?" "Put your hands behind your back."
We're hiring! Come join Nelya & I on the Autism in Affinity Spaces project - we're looking for a postdoc with expertise in working with multimodal datasets. Autistic researchers are highly encouraged to apply. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQC919/p...
Postdoctoral Research Associate at Queen Mary University of London
Apply now for the Postdoctoral Research Associate role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
jobs.ac.uk
Is Sabrina Carpenter saving the English language? Find out in my TEDx talk! 🤯 m.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7J... @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social #TEDx #TEDxQUB
Stephen Flynn criticises Nigel Farage from attacking children who speak more than one language #BBCQT "A man who aspires to be PM of these isle would pick a fight with school kids, would hold school kids up as an object to beat, absolutely repulses me and it should repulse all of you as well"
Elphaba’s insistence on correctness speaks to a broader challenge facing anyone positioned as an outsider: having to work that much harder to be accepted.
Wicked: what lies beneath correcting the way people speak?
Elphaba’s insistence on correctness speaks to a broader challenge facing anyone positioned as an outsider: having to work that much harder to be accepted.
tcnv.link
A little something I wrote for @theconversation.com about Wicked and prescriptivism theconversation.com/wicked-for-g...
The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...
The latest threat to UK modern languages is yet another faux pas
Nottingham and Leicester are taking a swing at language departments. But those proposing closures have taken their eye off the ball, say four linguists
timeshighereducation.com
The effects of the proposed cull of languages provision at the University of Nottingham and the University of Leicester will be massive: for the wonderful staff, for current students, and for future budding linguists. Esp those who, like me, come from working-class backgrounds in the East Midlands.
Jonathan Kasstan@jrkasstan.bsky.social · 11mo agoStaggering harm is being done to #language learning in Higher Ed. No oversight or strategic thinking, with cold spots now present. Petitions alone this week in response to closures: Nottingham · Change.org Leicester · Change.org #edusky #langsky @britishacademy.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social
The University of Nottingham is suspending all Modern Languages degrees. A short-sighted and terrifying decision from a 'global' university. Please sign the petition started by its wonderful students.
Polly McMichael@pollymcmichael.bsky.social · 11mo agoModern Languages students at the University of Nottingham have started a petition to save languages degrees. Please sign and share www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
Modern Languages students at the University of Nottingham have started a petition to save languages degrees. Please sign and share www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
Sign the Petition
Stop the removal of Modern Languages courses at the University of Nottingham!
change.org
I am hearing that @uniofnottingham.bsky.social is suspending (i.e shutting down) *all modern language courses* in 2026-27. One of the largest departments in the UK. A shocking short sighted move that damages regional and national prospects @britishacademy.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social
Next month I'll be giving a TEDx talk at Queen's on my two favourite topics: prescriptivism and Sabrina Carpenter!
« Quand neuf Français sur dix font une ‘faute’ de prononciation, de vocabulaire ou de grammaire, c’est le dixième qui a tort, fût-il académicien. » – Jacques Cellard dans Le Monde.
Christophe Benzitoun@cbenzitoun.tract-linguistes.org · 11mo agoUne chronique dominicale matinale sur la langue française, c'est une excellente idée ! Mais commencer par les fautes d'orthographe, bof... Et que dire du titre : si "tout le monde" fait ces fautes, ne serait-ce pas plutôt l'orthographe qui est dans l'erreur ? Exemple 🧵 www.lemonde.fr/la-matinale/...
Have done this with @heymrshallahan.bsky.social and @teachertapp.bsky.social - there will be some more on the way soon in various forms - articles and podcasts - about what we've discovered from this survey. teachertapp.com/articles/how...
How Teachers Feel About Their Accents - Teacher Tapp
This September, Teacher Tapp asked teachers about accents — and how their voices are perceived by colleagues and students. We shared the results with Teacher … Continued
teachertapp.com
Are you teaching prescriptivism this year? If so, please consider introducing your students to YourWrong.co.uk. It could form part of a seminar activity or prep! I'd also be very happy to provide some corpus examples for a small analysis task. Just get in touch!
Your Wrong
yourwrong.co.uk
I'm still very much looking for submissions (in any language) to my crowdsourced corpus of prescriptivism in popular culture, YourWrong.co.uk. As the new academic year begins, I'd be hugely grateful if you'd keep an eye out for any examples of prescriptivism in any of the set texts you teach...
Your Wrong
yourwrong.co.uk
Taskmaster and Jason Mantzoukas providing some British vs American English YourWrong-isms! YourWrong.co.uk
Jason Mantzoukas brings his American charm to Taskmaster #Taskmaster
TikTok video by Channel 4 Entertainment
tiktok.com
