Martin Haspelmath
@haspelmath.bsky.social
comparative linguist, MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig); https://www.eva.mpg.de/linguistic-and-cultural-evolution/staff/martin-haspelmath
November 27, 2025 at 2:57 PM
A brief summary of Verkerk et al. (2025) (the Grambank universals paper): www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 PM
A brief summary of Verkerk et al. (2025) (the Grambank universals paper): www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Zohran Mamdani’s win shows how multilingualism bridges divides in diverse democracies
Zohran Mamdani’s win shows how multilingualism bridges divides in diverse democracies
When a politician addresses issues such as Islamophobia, immigration or housing in multiple languages, they’re engaging with a wider world of shared experiences that migration has woven together.
theconversation.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Zohran Mamdani’s win shows how multilingualism bridges divides in diverse democracies
Morphology conference rescheduled (because the original date collided with the Champions League final):
nytud.hu/esemeny/22nd...
nytud.hu/esemeny/22nd...
November 26, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Morphology conference rescheduled (because the original date collided with the Champions League final):
nytud.hu/esemeny/22nd...
nytud.hu/esemeny/22nd...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Review on language evolution just published - haven't read properly yet but from a quick skim looks important!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Review on language evolution just published - haven't read properly yet but from a quick skim looks important!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
It's so amazing to me that "A Grammar of Mandan" already has almost 900 downloads after being put online less than a year ago! It's amazing to see how Open Access publishing really boosts visibility, so I'm pleased to see more publishers go that direction.
November 20, 2025 at 3:47 PM
It's so amazing to me that "A Grammar of Mandan" already has almost 900 downloads after being put online less than a year ago! It's amazing to see how Open Access publishing really boosts visibility, so I'm pleased to see more publishers go that direction.
November 20, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Coming soon - Turner & Hoffmann on Creative Construction Grammar. In this, we argue that the domain-general process of Conceptual Blending is the cognitive operation that combines constructions. BTW this will be published open access!
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
November 17, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Coming soon - Turner & Hoffmann on Creative Construction Grammar. In this, we argue that the domain-general process of Conceptual Blending is the cognitive operation that combines constructions. BTW this will be published open access!
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Our Anthropological Linguistics group at Uni Zurich has a webpage now:
www.isle.uzh.ch/en/AnthroL.h...
www.isle.uzh.ch/en/AnthroL.h...
November 16, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Our Anthropological Linguistics group at Uni Zurich has a webpage now:
www.isle.uzh.ch/en/AnthroL.h...
www.isle.uzh.ch/en/AnthroL.h...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
#CfP alert! 🚨 The call for papers and theme sessions for the next International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Conference (Bielefeld, 31.08.-02.09.2026) is finally out 🎉 www.uni-bielefeld.de/fakultaeten/...
www.uni-bielefeld.de
November 15, 2025 at 3:27 PM
#CfP alert! 🚨 The call for papers and theme sessions for the next International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Conference (Bielefeld, 31.08.-02.09.2026) is finally out 🎉 www.uni-bielefeld.de/fakultaeten/...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Denkt dran: Morgen ist die Deadline für die 23. Sprachwissenschaftliche Tagung für Promotionsstudierende in Osnabrück! Noch nichts eingereicht? Hier geht's zum CfP: staps.stuts.eu/call-for-pap...
Call for Papers | STaPs
staps.stuts.eu
November 14, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Denkt dran: Morgen ist die Deadline für die 23. Sprachwissenschaftliche Tagung für Promotionsstudierende in Osnabrück! Noch nichts eingereicht? Hier geht's zum CfP: staps.stuts.eu/call-for-pap...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
#OTD 223 years ago, August Friedrich Pott (1802-1887) was born 🥳 He started working as a schoolmaster in Celle, but would later become one of the pioneers of (historical comparative) linguistics as well as the leading scholar of Romani in the 19th century.
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
November 14, 2025 at 9:53 AM
#OTD 223 years ago, August Friedrich Pott (1802-1887) was born 🥳 He started working as a schoolmaster in Celle, but would later become one of the pioneers of (historical comparative) linguistics as well as the leading scholar of Romani in the 19th century.
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
New paper on back-formation and "forward-formation": If one takes the right view of the inventorium (or "extended lexicon"), there is no distinction between "potential words" and "existing words", and the problems with "back-formation" disappear. www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/...
November 11, 2025 at 9:08 PM
New paper on back-formation and "forward-formation": If one takes the right view of the inventorium (or "extended lexicon"), there is no distinction between "potential words" and "existing words", and the problems with "back-formation" disappear. www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/...
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
The Romance Inter-Views no. 4 on theory and experimental evidence is online on #Isogloss!
Six linguists talk about the integration of experimental and theoretical linguistics, when experiments challenged theory and when they confirmed it, and share ideas for new research directions in Romance ling!
Six linguists talk about the integration of experimental and theoretical linguistics, when experiments challenged theory and when they confirmed it, and share ideas for new research directions in Romance ling!
November 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
The Romance Inter-Views no. 4 on theory and experimental evidence is online on #Isogloss!
Six linguists talk about the integration of experimental and theoretical linguistics, when experiments challenged theory and when they confirmed it, and share ideas for new research directions in Romance ling!
Six linguists talk about the integration of experimental and theoretical linguistics, when experiments challenged theory and when they confirmed it, and share ideas for new research directions in Romance ling!
hit-ašknz-u!
This article contains the longest consonant cluster I've ever come across in a Semitic language other than Moroccan Arabic, from a Hebrew article written in 1897:
hit-ašknz-u "they Germanised", a denominal verb from Ashkenaz (which, in this context, meant "Germany")
hit-ašknz-u "they Germanised", a denominal verb from Ashkenaz (which, in this context, meant "Germany")
In a new article (open access!) I argue that the Ottoman state played a crucial role in creating Ashkenazi identity in Jerusalem - as an overarching category for Yiddish speaking Jews from Central and East European countries.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
November 4, 2025 at 11:37 AM
hit-ašknz-u!
It's striking how good AI assistants are at reading linguistics texts. I couldn't have explained the neologism "synexpression" better. In fact, saying that synexpression is about bundling, while coexpression is about sharing is perhaps better than anything I have said. (ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/007...)
November 4, 2025 at 11:36 AM
It's striking how good AI assistants are at reading linguistics texts. I couldn't have explained the neologism "synexpression" better. In fact, saying that synexpression is about bundling, while coexpression is about sharing is perhaps better than anything I have said. (ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/007...)
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Episode no. 51 is out 🤩
Martin Haspelmath (@haspelmath.bsky.social) talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current state of the field.
🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2025/11/01/p...
#Histlx
Martin Haspelmath (@haspelmath.bsky.social) talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current state of the field.
🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2025/11/01/p...
#Histlx
Podcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath
In this interview, Martin Haspelmath talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current…
hiphilangsci.net
October 31, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Episode no. 51 is out 🤩
Martin Haspelmath (@haspelmath.bsky.social) talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current state of the field.
🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2025/11/01/p...
#Histlx
Martin Haspelmath (@haspelmath.bsky.social) talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current state of the field.
🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2025/11/01/p...
#Histlx
Yuen-Ren Chao was a phenomenal linguist. I recently discussed the enduring relevance of his key 1934 article here: dlc.hypotheses.org/3381
#OTD 134 years ago, Yuen Ren Chao (1892-1982) was born 🎉 He was an expert on Chinese grammar and phonology and the author of the Gwoyeu Romatzyh, a Latinised spelling system for Standard Chinese. He served as the president of the Linguistic Society of America in 1945.
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
November 3, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Yuen-Ren Chao was a phenomenal linguist. I recently discussed the enduring relevance of his key 1934 article here: dlc.hypotheses.org/3381
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
📅 The deadline to submit abstracts has been entended to November 23rd!
📅 La date limite de soumission des résumés est prolongée jusqu'au 23 novembre !
📅 La date limite de soumission des résumés est prolongée jusqu'au 23 novembre !
📢 10th international conference of the French Cognitive Linguistics Association - 𝗔𝗙𝗟𝗶𝗖𝗼𝟭𝟬
📍𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 (campus Condorcet)
📆 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱-𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
The theme of the conference will be 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. Submit your abstract before October, 31st. More information here: aflico10.sciencesconf.org
📍𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 (campus Condorcet)
📆 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱-𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
The theme of the conference will be 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. Submit your abstract before October, 31st. More information here: aflico10.sciencesconf.org
October 30, 2025 at 9:02 AM
📅 The deadline to submit abstracts has been entended to November 23rd!
📅 La date limite de soumission des résumés est prolongée jusqu'au 23 novembre !
📅 La date limite de soumission des résumés est prolongée jusqu'au 23 novembre !
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
We accepted "I always migrated by reindeer: Lamunkhin and Bystraja Even narratives about their traditional way of life" by Brigitte Pakendorf langsci-press.org/catalog/book...
October 31, 2025 at 2:22 PM
We accepted "I always migrated by reindeer: Lamunkhin and Bystraja Even narratives about their traditional way of life" by Brigitte Pakendorf langsci-press.org/catalog/book...
What is a “copula”, and what is “predicative inflection”? This new blogpost continues the comparison between the comparative concepts of Creissels et al. (2026) (in Bertinetto et al. 2026) and those of Haspelmath (2025): dlc.hypotheses.org/3865
October 28, 2025 at 11:26 AM
What is a “copula”, and what is “predicative inflection”? This new blogpost continues the comparison between the comparative concepts of Creissels et al. (2026) (in Bertinetto et al. 2026) and those of Haspelmath (2025): dlc.hypotheses.org/3865
Many thanks to Lilián Guerrero for inviting me to give lectures at UNAM in Mexico City! (The lecture materials are here: zenodo.org/records/1743...)
October 25, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Many thanks to Lilián Guerrero for inviting me to give lectures at UNAM in Mexico City! (The lecture materials are here: zenodo.org/records/1743...)
Reposted by Martin Haspelmath
Just published "Notes on the grammar of Andakí" by Jelien Moens and Matthias Pache #openaccess #ela langsci-press.org/catalog/book...
October 15, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Just published "Notes on the grammar of Andakí" by Jelien Moens and Matthias Pache #openaccess #ela langsci-press.org/catalog/book...
Bertinetto, Ciucci and Creissels just published a fantastic new cross-linguistic handbook. But I have some critical comments on their introductory chapter. It turns out that it's not so easy to say what exactly is "nonverbal predication". dlc.hypotheses.org/3832
October 15, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Bertinetto, Ciucci and Creissels just published a fantastic new cross-linguistic handbook. But I have some critical comments on their introductory chapter. It turns out that it's not so easy to say what exactly is "nonverbal predication". dlc.hypotheses.org/3832