People have been telling us, I’m extremely bored of this pandemic still (still!) existing and is there a way that I could get more linguistics joy and whimsy in the mail?

People have also been asking, is there a way to get Gretchen to sign my copy of her book Because Internet, especially since irl conferences are, uh, not much of a thing these days?

We’re excited to announce a special offer that we’re running on Patreon that solves both of these problems!

Special Offer: Sticker pack!

Join the Ling-phabet tier or higher by November 3, 2021 anywhere on earth and get a sticker pack of FOUR stickers:

• Two round “Schwa never stressed” stickers (one floral, one geometric)
• One classic square Lingthusiasm logo sticker
• One BECAUSE INTERNET bookplate sticker signed by Gretchen, for you to stick inside your copy or anywhere else you like

Here’s what the stickers look like! (IPA scarf and hot cup of tea not included)

Plus, we have a stretch goal!

If we reach a total of 1400 1380 (!) patrons at any level before November 3, then the sticker pack will also include:

• Two mini Lingthusiasm green cutout stickers, one of which is called “bouba” and the other “kiki” — which is which? That’s an experiment you get to run on your friends when you stick them on your phone case, water bottle, laptop, etc.

Here’s what the sticker set looks like, including the kiki bouba twins:

Ling-phabet tier

This special offer is part of the Ling-phabet tier, which also has the ordinary perk of letting patrons sponsor an IPA symbol or other special character and be recognized on the Lingthusiasm website on our “Supporter Wall of Fame” page. You can get your symbol through our ~*~super scientific~*~ Which IPA Character Are You Quiz, or just tell us what your favourite character or other Unicode symbol is. Then you get an image with your name and favourite symbol on it (see samples here!) recognizing you as a supporter, which you can share on social media/print off and use as a bookmark/gaze at in warm satisfaction/etc. 

Plus, after 3 months at this tier, you get its regular “Lingthusiast” sticker in the mail, so that could be a total of 5 (or 7) stickers and 2 joyous mail occasions for you!

(Patrons at the Phil-ling-thropist tier will get two sticker packs — an extra one to share with a friend or to make sure your next laptop is still sufficiently lingthusiastic — plus the IPA Wall of Fame tile. Phil-ling-thropists also have the impact of 10 patrons in lowering our stretch goal — many thanks to the two people who have already done so! Patrons at this level also receive a “Lingthusiast” mug after three months at this tier instead of the three month sticker.)

Patrons at all tiers help keep the show running

We’re still incredibly appreciative of all kinds of support for our completely independent linguistics podcast! Whether you’re talking about Lingthusiasm on social media or just sending a link to one friend who you want to listen with you, every little bit helps. Plus, patrons at every level are contributing to progress on the kiki/bouba sticker stretch goal. Existing patrons at the relevant tiers will still receive sticker packs, and we’ll be in touch to confirm addresses closer to the shipping date. 

The bonus episodes and access to the Lingthusiasm Discord will continue to be available at the Ling-thusist tier and above the way they always have, so definitely don’t feel like you have to go for this special offer if you can’t spare the cash, but if you can afford it and you’d like to help cross-subsidize Lingthusiasm for the many people learning about linguistics for free from our main episodes, then we’ve got these new special perks to make it even sweeter!

Get the limited time Lingthusiastic sticker pack by becoming a patron at the Ling-phabet tier and above by Nov 3rd.

Since starting Lingthusiasm three years ago, we’ve enjoyed hearing from so many of you how Lingthusiasm got you into linguistics or helped you reconnect with your long-lost enjoyment of linguistics. But for many of you, this also posed a problem: where can you find other people to chat with who are just as enthusiastic about linguistics as you are?

You could, of course, follow some linguists on twitter or find a linguistics facebook group to join. But if you’d like something a little more cozy, you can come join us in an experiment!

We’ve made a Lingthusiasm Discord server – a private chatroom for Lingthusiasm patrons at the Ling-thusiast level and above! We’ve heard good things about Discord and it integrates easily with your Patreon account.

Come chat about the latest Lingthusiasm episode or bonus episode, share other interesting linguistics links that you come across, and make some lingthusiastic pocket friends! (We even made a channel where you can practice typing in the International Phonetic Alphabet, if that appeals to you!)

Since we started it up two weeks ago, the Lingthusiasm Discord server now has over a hundred members! Here are some things that have happened there since we started it, to give you an idea of what to expect: 

• By popular request, we made a linguistics basics book club channel, where people who wish they had a more systematic knowledge of basic linguistics are currently starting to read through a free open access online intro linguistics textbook together. Plus, people with more linguistics background have volunteered to answer questions as they come up! 
• Also by request, we now have channels about conlanging, academia, language learning, and language puzzles, for people whose interest in linguistics intersects with one or more of these areas (if there’s another interest channel you’d like to propose, feel free!) 
• We keep adding custom lingthusiastic emoji as people think of more ideas, so far including several IPA characters, the space pigeon art, and a series of awesome wugmoji in various positions made by member @pratzelwurm! 

Join the Lingthusiasm Discord by becoming a member of the Lingthusiasm Patreon at the Ling-thusiast level or above, which also gets you access to all our bonus episodes!