Blog Update - November 29

Another month gone by for Ace Linguist! Here's a little blog update of what's been going on. I've been quite busy with school this semester, believe it or not. I'm taking a break from classes next semester, which should make it easier to do more research and post more!

If you somehow missed it, there's a new Dialect Dissection for ABBA!

A second edition of the classic The Linguistics Wars is out. I've only read the first edition, but I'm excited for this second edition which covers what happened after the first edition ended. This book is great in making linguistic controversies understandable to laymen without sacrificing relevant details for, well, linguists. I would call it a must-read in giving a history of the field. It also talks about important cultural shifts that happened in the field. An academic discipline isn't just disembodied thoughts, after all; it's made of real people vying for a limited amount of resources and attention.

Waiting on the arrival of Millenials Talking Media by Sylvia Sierra, a book on how millenials create identities through the use of media references. While millenials are far from the first generation to make use of pop culture references, millenials do have an even broader array of references to pull from, including the still-being-explored field of memes. Sierra does work on discourse studies, and I'm excited to dip my toes into the field through her book.

"Why does Labov have such weird transcriptions?": If you've ever wanted an explanation of what 'diaphonemes' are, this blog does a pretty good job of explaining it.

The year, overall, has been rather a difficult one again, what with starting a new degree during a pandemic, as well as additional personal complications. I am glad, overall, to keep updating this site monthly. I wish I could do more, but this is about what my personal circumstances will allow. I am, as always, grateful for all the people who read and comment on this little place I've made. Here's hoping 2022 will be a calmer, more fruitful year.