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Martin Haspelmath

@haspelmath.bsky.social

2.4K followers 370 following 280 posts

comparative linguist, MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig); https://www.eva.mpg.de/linguistic-and-cultural-evolution/staff/martin-haspelmath

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Martin Haspelmath is a German linguist working in the field of linguistic typology. He is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, where he worked from 1998 to 2015 and again since 2020. Between 2015 and 2020, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. He is also an honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Leipzig. .. more

Communication & Media Studies 41%

Psychology 20%

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 6h

Good to be back home after a week-long trip to Germany for a symposium at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology on "What Makes Us Human?" (www.eva.mpg.de/events/2025-...).

I spent about the same amount of time traveling as I did at the symposium, but it was worth it.

Guests at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology symposium on "What Makes Us Human?"

Me with Nobel Prize laureate Svante Pääbo

Me with legendary cognitive scientist Mike Tomasello

Me with my good buddy, legendary composer J. S. Bach

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath, Simon J. Greenhill

Kilu von Prince @kilinguistics.bsky.social · 2d

Because I think better in pictures, here is a visualisation of languages according to documentation and endangerment status (I'm calling it glottocloud).

glottolog.org/langdoc/status

Graphic distribution of languages represented as dots in a two-dimensional space.
X: AES (endangerment level, ranging from "extinct" to "not endangered"
Y: MED (documentation level, ranging from "wordlist or less" to "long grammar"

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath, Charles West

Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 2d

A bit of linguistic cartography to brighten your day. This map shows how the words for camel 🐫 spread across the Old World.

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Remi van Trijp @remivantrijp.bsky.social · 2d

Thrilled to announce the publication of my paper "A Modern Synthesis: The Fillmorean Construction and its Hidden Lineage" in Constructions! The article digs into the prehistory of #ConstructionGrammar and is based on the first chapter of my upcoming book
constructions.journals.hhu.de/article/view...

A Modern Synthesis: The Fillmorean Construction and its Hidden Lineage | Constructions

constructions.journals.hhu.de

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

PoPville @popville.bsky.social · 3d

What the Helen of Troy Does this Sign Mean? www.popville.com/2025/10/what...

What the Helen of Troy Does this Sign Mean? - PoPville

www.popville.com

Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Linguist List @linguistlist.bsky.social · 3d

Confs: 4th International Conference "Prominence in Language"

Prominence relations establish a ranking between linguistic units, such as prosodic units, arguments of a verb, and discourse referents. Prominence is one of the key notions in language and communication: it accounts, for instance, for prosodic highlighting and for the building of linguistic structure and discourse representations. The CRC 1252 Prominence in Language (University of Cologne) investigates the role of prominence from an interdisciplinary linguistic perspective, involving phonology

dlvr.it

Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 5d

“It is precisely because social media has democratised the public sphere that it has contributed to trends liberals (including myself) are so worried about.” 👏
www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/is-social-...

Is Social Media Destroying Democracy—Or Giving It To Us Good And Hard?

It’s easier to blame the algorithm than the bewildered herd.

www.conspicuouscognition.com

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Linguist List @linguistlist.bsky.social · 5d

Confs: Workshop at the 22nd International Morphology Meeting: Morphology in Context

Convenors: Sabine Arndt-Lappe (Trier) Barbara Schlücker (FU Berlin) Complex words are produced, understood, and also coined in context, and a by now large, but diverse body of literature has explored different facets of the role of context. By ‘context’ we mean the linguistic context, both immediate (e.g. preceding and following words) and with a larger scope (e.g. text types), and the extralinguistic context such as the speaker and the listener or the situation of speaking and the discours

dlvr.it

Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Martin Haspelmath @haspelmath.bsky.social · 7d

Deine und meine Optionen sind ziemlich gut, oder? Ja, Lateinamerika ist weit weg vom europäischen Kriegsschauplatz, deshalb wäre es die erste Wahl.

Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Martin Haspelmath @haspelmath.bsky.social · 7d

Ich habe auch genug geopfert. Meine Optionen sind nicht so gut, aber in Lateinamerika würde ich mich wohl deutlich sicherer fühlen (vor dem drohenden Krieg in Europa).

Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

IPPNW Germany @ippnwgermany.bsky.social · 9d

Heute 13 h in Berlin und Stuttgart: Gemeinsam setzen wir vielfältige und deutliche Zeichen. Gegen alle Kriege. Gegen die Aufrüstung. Für diplomatische Initiativen, Verhandlungen und gemeinsame Sicherheit.
friedensdemo0310.org

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Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Martín Haspelmath, Kevin McManus

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics @mpi-nl.bsky.social · 9d

We're seeking the next Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics! Lead cutting-edge research in language & cognition. Nominations (incl. self) due 19 Dec 2025.
mpi.nl/career-education/vacancies/vacancy/nominations-and-self-nominations-sought-position-director-max

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Reposted by Martín Haspelmath

Reposted by Martín Haspelmath, Heike Baldauf-Quilliatre

Cambridge University Press - Linguistics @cambup-linguistics.cambridge.org · 10d

"A compelling and thought-provoking analysis of human sociality and the origins of language."

The Interaction Engine by Stephen C. Levinson (@mpi-nl.bsky.social), Out Now & #OpenAccess

https://cup.org/4nusznG

#OA #Linguistics #LangSky 🐦🐦

Abstract painting of two people gesturing

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Martin Haspelmath @haspelmath.bsky.social · 11d

My paper on two types of comparative concepts (construction-functions and construction-strategies) is now published: langsci-press.org/catalog/book...

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Martin Haspelmath @haspelmath.bsky.social · 12d

Congratulations!