(And yes, I know that it's horribly ugly—I'm still working on it.)
![]() | This user is an academic. |
![]() | This user has published peer-reviewed articles in academic journals. |
![]() | This user is a linguist. |
Name | This user's name is David Bowie. |
No, really, that is my name.
![]() | This user is interested in linguistics. |
[lɪŋ] | This user's favourite subject is Linguistics. |
Well, not just interested, actually—I am a variationist sociolinguist, and most of my degrees are in linguistics.
![]() | This user graduated from Prince George’s Community College. |
AA | This user has an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies. |
![]() | This user is a student or graduate of the University of Maryland. |
BA | This user has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics. |
![]() | This user attends or attended the University of Pennsylvania |
PhD | This user has a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Linguistics. |
While attending grad school, I learned one of the great truths of life.
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This user prefers his cheesesteaks with Whiz from Jim's on South Street, and knows that Pat's and Geno's are low-brow, trashy tourist traps. |
Since I am a linguist by training and profession, people often ask me how many languages I know.
en | This user is a native speaker of the English language. |
de-3 | Dieser Benutzer hat sehr gute Deutschkenntnisse. |
gsw-2 | Dä Benutzer hät fortgschritteni Schwiizerdütschkenntnis. |
pdc-1 | Daer Yuuser do schwetzt ebbes Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch. |
hu-1 | Ez a szerkesztő alapszinten beszéli a magyar nyelvet. |
la-2 | Hic usor media latinitate contribuere potest. |
en-us-user64 | Like 64% of native English speakers, this user speaks American English. |
SoE-n | This person is a native speaker of Southern American English (Southern bah the grace o' God) |
pig-5 | Isthay userway ancay ontributecay Igpay Atinlay atway away ofessionalpray evellay. |
sar-4 | This user is a near-native speaker of sarcasm. |
... | This user would like to be able to speak more languages. |
People also sometimes ask me for my professional opinions on their grammatical usage.
they | This user considers singular they standard English usage. |
to¦go | This user chooses to sometimes use split infinitives. |
…in. | Ending a sentence with a preposition is something that this user is okay with. |
who | This user prefers using who for both the object and subject case. Who does it hurt to simplify things? |
English Singulars: "The data is..." | This user recognizes that "data", "media", and "agenda" have become incorporated into English as singular nouns. |
which & that | This user joins with Dickens, Melville, and other great writers[1] in rejecting the canard that which may not be used for restrictive relative clauses. |
A, B, and A and B | This user uses the serial comma unless its inclusion is confusing. |
"…"? | This user thinks "British punctuation is best for quotation marks". Do you? |
by | The passive voice may be used by this user. |
snk | This user says either sneaked or snuck. |
As a linguist, I know several methods of representing speech phonetically. Some I use regularly (the IPA), while I’ve gained experience with others due to my work (the Deseret Alphabet).
ipa ə | This user has a native-like understanding of the International Phonetic Alphabet. |
Dsrt | This user understands the Deseret alphabet, a phonetic alphabet for the English language. |
I have a number of non-professional but serious interests, as well.
![]() | This user is interested in the Supreme Court of the United States. |
![]() | This user is interested in higher education. |
![]() | This user is interested in politics. |
In many ways, though, I am your run-of-the-mill nerd:
![]() | This user can write Cascading Style Sheets. |
CG | This user's alignment is Chaotic Good: the "Rebel." |
![]() | This user knows the Ultimate Answer. |
Moving to a purely personal level, I enjoy many wastes of time.
B | This user is a fan of black or dark comedy. |
I | This user is a fan of Improvisational comedy. |
S | This user is a fan of surreal comedy. |
![]() | This user's news source is The Onion. |
![]() | This user knows Who's on First. |
fan-3 | This user thinks that Bob Newhart is the greatest comedian of all time. |
Calvin | This user enjoys sports where the rules are always changing. |
Sellout | This user watches the Super Bowl for the ads. |
![]() | This user enjoys psychedelic rock. |
![]() | This user enjoys Gospel Music. |
![]() | This user enjoys folk music. |
![]() | This user appreciates progressive rock. |
![]() | This user enjoys cooking. |
![]() | This user is a bibliophile. |
And so forth.
SI-0 | This user thinks the metric system is bureaucratic and inhuman. |
=1 | This user knows that 0.999... is exactly 1, but acquired a migraine learning it. |
![]() | This user loathes, but is forced to observe, daylight saving time. |
X | This user is a member of Generation X. |
![]() | This user is a Libran. |
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This user is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |
![]() | This user is a citizen of the United States of America. |
![]() | This user lives in and hails from the U.S. State of Maryland. |
![]() | This user lives in the state of Florida. However, this user is not a native. |
![]() | This user is a blood donor. |
Oh—and it had to be:
![]() | This user is a fan of David Bowie. |