Prescriptivism Must Die!
@mgrammar.bsky.social
Psycholinguist, and the guy who used to write Motivated Grammar. He/him.
Erstwhile blogger: https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com
Prosecute ICE and send Homan to the Hague.
Erstwhile blogger: https://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com
Prosecute ICE and send Homan to the Hague.
Do you ever think about number systems in #language? English's number words are actually pretty efficient. You only have to learn a few distinct words: zero to twelve, the semi-regular teens and tens, then hundred, thousand, etc. So maybe you don't think about them. But number words vary A LOT.
January 20, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Do you ever think about number systems in #language? English's number words are actually pretty efficient. You only have to learn a few distinct words: zero to twelve, the semi-regular teens and tens, then hundred, thousand, etc. So maybe you don't think about them. But number words vary A LOT.
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
A non-zero-sum worldview is, in my mind, the core of what it means to be "on the left." You believe that through cooperation & solidarity, we can *all* benefit. Indeed, if you look back through history, you find that non-zero-sum cooperation is the root of pretty much every human advance!
August 28, 2025 at 7:30 PM
A non-zero-sum worldview is, in my mind, the core of what it means to be "on the left." You believe that through cooperation & solidarity, we can *all* benefit. Indeed, if you look back through history, you find that non-zero-sum cooperation is the root of pretty much every human advance!
It is a real societal problem that the people who have put themselves in charge of distinguishing good and bad ideas a) are gullible rubes and b) think that they are not gullible rubes. I say this as a gullible rube myself, but one who's smart enough to know how easily I'm tricked.
Bruh literally everybody and their mother said it was exactly what it turned out to be, except you
January 16, 2026 at 8:23 PM
It is a real societal problem that the people who have put themselves in charge of distinguishing good and bad ideas a) are gullible rubes and b) think that they are not gullible rubes. I say this as a gullible rube myself, but one who's smart enough to know how easily I'm tricked.
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
elected democrats who want their constituents to remain non-violent in their protests of these abuses must actually offer a path for ending the abuses non-violently. they currently are not as a party and it’s a major problem.
🚨WHOA. The El Paso Medical Examiner says it will rule the death of a 55-year-old Cuban man at ICE's "Camp East Montana" tent camp as a homicide.
He was allegedly choked to death by a guard during a "struggle" after he refused to enter a housing unit without his medications.
He was allegedly choked to death by a guard during a "struggle" after he refused to enter a housing unit without his medications.
January 15, 2026 at 11:07 PM
elected democrats who want their constituents to remain non-violent in their protests of these abuses must actually offer a path for ending the abuses non-violently. they currently are not as a party and it’s a major problem.
It's interesting that my governor will not only listen to, but be convinced by, an paid out-of-state agitator instead of the millions of people in California who are pushing for him to stand up to ICE.
January 16, 2026 at 5:17 AM
It's interesting that my governor will not only listen to, but be convinced by, an paid out-of-state agitator instead of the millions of people in California who are pushing for him to stand up to ICE.
I'm reading about an Indonesian language with a few thousand speakers, and it has a really cool morphophonological process: in some words with an /l/ sound, you can change it to an /r/, and it intensifies the word. It'd be like if in English, you could say "smarr" to mean 'very small'. #linguistics
January 16, 2026 at 4:18 AM
I'm reading about an Indonesian language with a few thousand speakers, and it has a really cool morphophonological process: in some words with an /l/ sound, you can change it to an /r/, and it intensifies the word. It'd be like if in English, you could say "smarr" to mean 'very small'. #linguistics
go to hell.
January 15, 2026 at 8:12 PM
go to hell.
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
Today, @wikipedia.org turns 25 years old. It's never been more important — or under more attack from authoritarians. Here's what to know about how we got here, and what we can do to push for its future. There's no better example of the web we make together. www.anildash.com/2026/01/15/w...
Wikipedia at 25: What the web can be - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Today, @wikipedia.org turns 25 years old. It's never been more important — or under more attack from authoritarians. Here's what to know about how we got here, and what we can do to push for its future. There's no better example of the web we make together. www.anildash.com/2026/01/15/w...
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
America has always been an argument. An argument between a wealthy white few ready to kill or control the rest to seize more money & power and the bravest possible people determined to make the promise of life, liberty & yes happiness apply to all, no exceptions.
On the ground here in Minnesota, it’s hard to reconcile the immense bonds of community that have been built in a week with the fact that we live in a country whose government appropriated billions of dollars to an unaccountable paramilitary force whose sole purpose is ethnic cleansing.
January 15, 2026 at 4:03 PM
America has always been an argument. An argument between a wealthy white few ready to kill or control the rest to seize more money & power and the bravest possible people determined to make the promise of life, liberty & yes happiness apply to all, no exceptions.
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
Trump is going to invoke the insurrection act no matter what anyone does if that is what he chooses to do Admonishing people for protecting themselves and their neighbors from literal door-to-door raids by fascist police is the single most dangerous thing you could be doing right now
January 15, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Trump is going to invoke the insurrection act no matter what anyone does if that is what he chooses to do Admonishing people for protecting themselves and their neighbors from literal door-to-door raids by fascist police is the single most dangerous thing you could be doing right now
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
"No money furnished by this Act can be used to cancel programs or agencies funded by this Act."
That's the missing one line in appropriations bills that is facilitating all of this illegal impoundment and abuse.
That's the missing one line in appropriations bills that is facilitating all of this illegal impoundment and abuse.
BREAKING
The Trump administration just terminated funding for as many as 2,000 substance abuse programs across the country
As much as $2B worth of cuts, bc programs supposedly don't align w/priorities -- though not clear why www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-take...
The Trump administration just terminated funding for as many as 2,000 substance abuse programs across the country
As much as $2B worth of cuts, bc programs supposedly don't align w/priorities -- though not clear why www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-take...
Trump Takes Another Blowtorch to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service
Potentially $2b was just cut from a key HHS agency with bipartisan support.
www.thebulwark.com
January 14, 2026 at 5:55 PM
"No money furnished by this Act can be used to cancel programs or agencies funded by this Act."
That's the missing one line in appropriations bills that is facilitating all of this illegal impoundment and abuse.
That's the missing one line in appropriations bills that is facilitating all of this illegal impoundment and abuse.
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
We need to pick up this Overton Window and throw it as far as we can. Stop waiting for shit to “be popular” and start advocating for what is transparently right.
January 14, 2026 at 3:02 PM
We need to pick up this Overton Window and throw it as far as we can. Stop waiting for shit to “be popular” and start advocating for what is transparently right.
When you teach, sometimes you ask your students what they think about something. You're not really asking it because it's interesting to you or other students what they think (though it can be!), but because you want to find out what they misunderstand. Then you *teach* them to understand it better!
Free idea for @katherinemiller.bsky.social, NYT Opinion, or whatever: Do one of these panels, but with a guest expert on the topics these people are discussing. See how they react to learning that they have no idea what they're talking about. Could be great content!
January 14, 2026 at 6:07 PM
When you teach, sometimes you ask your students what they think about something. You're not really asking it because it's interesting to you or other students what they think (though it can be!), but because you want to find out what they misunderstand. Then you *teach* them to understand it better!
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
Free idea for @katherinemiller.bsky.social, NYT Opinion, or whatever: Do one of these panels, but with a guest expert on the topics these people are discussing. See how they react to learning that they have no idea what they're talking about. Could be great content!
January 14, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Free idea for @katherinemiller.bsky.social, NYT Opinion, or whatever: Do one of these panels, but with a guest expert on the topics these people are discussing. See how they react to learning that they have no idea what they're talking about. Could be great content!
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
Happy 75th birthday to History Today!
I'm very happy to have written for it in 2016 about the history of English spelling reform, and why it's always doomed to fail www.historytoday.com/brief-histor...
I'm very happy to have written for it in 2016 about the history of English spelling reform, and why it's always doomed to fail www.historytoday.com/brief-histor...
January 12, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Happy 75th birthday to History Today!
I'm very happy to have written for it in 2016 about the history of English spelling reform, and why it's always doomed to fail www.historytoday.com/brief-histor...
I'm very happy to have written for it in 2016 about the history of English spelling reform, and why it's always doomed to fail www.historytoday.com/brief-histor...
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
i have reason to cite this 2021 twitter post several times a year
January 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
i have reason to cite this 2021 twitter post several times a year
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis or we WILL lock up our own citizens
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says 29 people were arrested in downtown last night during a noise demonstration at a hotel reportedly housing ICE agents: "For those that are taking the bait and causing property damage or otherwise, there are consequences. We're holding the line here all the way."
January 10, 2026 at 8:40 PM
ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis or we WILL lock up our own citizens
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
I think nothing makes people lose trust in news organizations as much as when they’ve seen something with their own eyes — and then see news coverage that doesn’t comport with what they themselves experienced. presswatchers.org/2026/01/why-...
Why would anyone trust a news organization that treats obvious truths as debatable? | Press Watch
The ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good was the aggressor, not the victim. That’s not a hard one.
presswatchers.org
January 9, 2026 at 9:51 PM
I think nothing makes people lose trust in news organizations as much as when they’ve seen something with their own eyes — and then see news coverage that doesn’t comport with what they themselves experienced. presswatchers.org/2026/01/why-...
Reposted by Prescriptivism Must Die!
To anybody who is offended by the governor of Minneapolis telling ICE “get the fuck out of our city,” but not offended by ICE ethnic cleansing secret police summarily executing a local mom, a message: Go fuck yourself.
Learn the difference between a swear word and an obscenity.
Learn the difference between a swear word and an obscenity.
January 8, 2026 at 3:35 PM
To anybody who is offended by the governor of Minneapolis telling ICE “get the fuck out of our city,” but not offended by ICE ethnic cleansing secret police summarily executing a local mom, a message: Go fuck yourself.
Learn the difference between a swear word and an obscenity.
Learn the difference between a swear word and an obscenity.
I can't stop thinking of Mamdani's line about good grammar used to mask cruelty. So much of our current situation is that. JD Vance went to Yale, Trump to Penn. Pete Hegseth and Donald Rumsfeld both went to Princeton, and I did too. We all learned how to speak well no matter what we were saying.
January 8, 2026 at 4:21 AM
I can't stop thinking of Mamdani's line about good grammar used to mask cruelty. So much of our current situation is that. JD Vance went to Yale, Trump to Penn. Pete Hegseth and Donald Rumsfeld both went to Princeton, and I did too. We all learned how to speak well no matter what we were saying.
The streets of San Diego having been ringing with anti-ICE slogans for hours now. I'm hearing chants echoing off the buildings in the distance; I tried to join the march but couldn't track it down from street level, figured it had ended. Nope, still going strong. People are really angry here.
January 8, 2026 at 4:07 AM
The streets of San Diego having been ringing with anti-ICE slogans for hours now. I'm hearing chants echoing off the buildings in the distance; I tried to join the march but couldn't track it down from street level, figured it had ended. Nope, still going strong. People are really angry here.
If there's anything that speaking with LLM AIs should teach you, it's that you can make anything sound good when you write it. #ChatGPT can make a lie sound just as good as the truth. Often, the lies sound better, because they're not constrained to be true.
January 7, 2026 at 7:56 PM
If there's anything that speaking with LLM AIs should teach you, it's that you can make anything sound good when you write it. #ChatGPT can make a lie sound just as good as the truth. Often, the lies sound better, because they're not constrained to be true.
Jonathon's #AmEditing threads are always a treat in part because he's indirectly teaching you applied psycholinguistics.
Writing/editing tip of the day: If you create an acronym or initialism for a phrase that you use a lot (AOIFAPTYUAL) but you then find yourself just writing it out most of the time anyway, that's probably a sign that you should just write it out all the time. #AmEditing
January 6, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Jonathon's #AmEditing threads are always a treat in part because he's indirectly teaching you applied psycholinguistics.