#gavagai

[lingthusiasm]

When useful folk categories, like “trees” and “fish”, don’t line up with evolutionary taxonomies…

From ‘Lo! An undetached collection of meaning parts’, the episode where we get enthusiastic about how we manage to understand each other when we’re learning new words.

Listen to the full episode here.

[crowscriven]

Siren's Lure

The distress call from the trawler Andromeda was badly distorted. "Found— stranded— attempting rescue." Then the signal cut out, and the ship dropped off our radar.

There's no sign of the Andromeda now, but we’ve found a survivor. I track her in glimpses between breakers that toss the Coast Guard MLB like a toy. A pale arm, a bright orange life vest. She hasn't grabbed the ring buoy — likely shock or hypothermia.

I lean over the railing as we ease closer. She catches my hand easily. Icy fingers clamp tight around my wrist. I shout reassurances over the gale as I try to pull her up, but something resists.

Lightning splits the sky. In the flash, I finally see her clearly.

Her faceless shape was only plausible from a distance. Not a life vest, but puckered flesh shifting in hue like cuttlefish chromatophores. Not a hand, but a grasping tendril. In the murky water below, in place of a torso, a tapering stem stretches unfathomably deep.

My scream is lost in the wind. Spires of needle-like teeth breach on all sides as a swirling black abyss opens beneath the boat. 

The jaws snap shut.

Cold, crushing saltwater.

Silence.

Somewhere above, the tempest rages, and the anglerfish lure resurfaces.

---

((Find more of my microfiction on Gavagai))

[motnakaktus]

idk. feeling like him rn.... neviens mani nesaprot....

[allthingslinguistic]

What is Linguistics? Crash Course Linguistics #1

The first full-length video for the Crash Course Linguistics series I’ve been co-writing for is now up! More to follow every Friday for the rest of 2020. Description: 

Language is everywhere. Linguistics is the study of language, but what does that even mean? In this episode of Crash Course Linguistics, we'll begin talking about some of the features and levels of structure of language, and introduce some of the other topics we'll be covering throughout this series. 

 Want even more linguistics? Check out the Lingthusiasm podcast, hosted by the writers of Crash Course Linguistics. 

[linguaphiliax]

After FIVE LONG YEARS of me wishing this was a thing, CrashCourse is finally making a Linguistics series! WOOOOOO!!!

@dsm-wannabe-linguist @linguisten @lingthusiasm

[crowscriven]

Thin Walls

I lie awake as the apartment moves around me. Pipes groan; timbers creak. The building constricts, sways, breathes. By day, the thin walls bleed only muffled sound. In the dark, they hemorrhage.

A stale waft of rot and old cigars sighs from the vents. The wall distends as a hand pushes from within, rupturing the wallpaper membrane. A pale figure climbs through. I know it’s harmless, but dread still churns my stomach as it settles in bed beside me.

The building doesn't sleep. It hums like an anthill. In my kitchen, a strange woman washes unseen dishes and stifles sobs. A warped child-shape presses small hands against the TV screen, crackling with static. Footsteps echo in the empty unit next door. Somewhere, a dog barks. Glass shatters. Someone screams.

How many people, I wonder, have lived here?

The landlord says there's nothing he can do. It’s the nature of old buildings — lead paint, black mold, and ghosts. I can’t afford to move. We all would have moved long ago, if we could. I’ve seen neighbors’ rooms crowded wall-to-wall with specters. I’ve seen friends break down, screaming for space and quiet. But what else can we do?

The bedsprings creak. The new apparition snores, pressed cold against my side.

I close my eyes and pray for sleep.

---

((Find more of my microfiction on Gavagai))

[crowscriven]

Threshold - New Short Story Available on Gavagai

(I'm trying out something new and writing microfiction for a weekly writing contest on Gavagai. Not sure if I'll do this every week, but when I do, I'll share the stories here after each week's contest is over. These will usually be about 100-300 words and are free to read, no account needed.)

---

Never listen to the singing in the woods. Mother told us both — remember? Never follow the flickering firefly lights. Never trust the whispering girls with beastly eyes and hollow backs. Never, never linger after dark.

Keep reading on Gavagai

[lingthusiasm]

New Lingthusiasm merch! Gavagai, Ask Me About Linguistics, and More people have read the text on this item than I have!

A new round of Lingthusiasm merch is here! We have three new designs available across a range of items.

Gavagai: lo, un-detatched rabbit parts!

Imagine you're in a field with someone whose language you don't speak. A rabbit scurries by. The other person says "Gavagai!" You probably assumed they meant "rabbit" but they could have meant something else, like "scurrying" or even "lo! an undetached rabbit-part!" We undergo this experience practically every time we learn a word, and yet we still manage to do it.

Inspired by the famous Gavagai thought experiment, these items feature a running rabbit and the caption "lo, an undetached rabbit-part!" in a woodblock-engraving-crossed-with-vaporwave style in magenta, indigo, teal, cream, and black/white on shirts, scarves, and more!

More people have read the text on this item than I have

"More people have been to Russia than I have" is a sentence that at first seems fine, but then gets weirder and weirder the more you read it. Inspired by these Escher sentences, we've made self-referential shirts saying "More people have read the text on this shirt than I have" (also available on tote bags, mugs, and hats, with the appropriate tweaks in wording), so you can wear them in old-time typewriter font and see who does a double take.

See our bonus episode Linguistic 〰️✨ i l l u s i o n s ✨〰️ (#57) for more about this classic sentence.

Ask Me About Linguistics

We've made a design that simply says "Ask me about linguistics" in a style that looks like a classic "Hello, my name is..." sticker, and you can put it on stickers and buttons and shirts and assorted other portable items for when you want to skip the small talk and go right to a topic you're excited about.

Lingthusiasm merch generally

If you’re looking for subtle-to-obvious ways to signal that you’re a linguist or linguistics fan in public, gift ideas for the linguistics enthusiast in your life (or handy links to forward to people who might be interested in getting you a gift sometime), we also have many previous items of Lingthusiasm merch!

There are subtly linguistics-patterened scarves, mugs and water bottles with linguistics-related jokes on them, NOT JUDGING YOUR GRAMMAR, JUST ANALYSING IT shirts, nerdy linguistics baby clothes, and more items to browse.

We love to see your photos of Lingthusiasm merch or any diy linguistics crafts projects you might make! Feel free to tag us @lingthusiasm on social media or share in the #merch-crafts-objects channel in the Lingthusiasm Discord.

Stay lingthusiastic!