Posts tagged meta

Over the years I’ve build myself a little collection of tools and resources to manage the weird and messy work of being an academic. I thought I’d compile them all here in case any of them are useful to you.

Academic Log

This Google Sheet template from Dr Bronwyn Eager lets you keep track of all the things you’ve done as an academic. I set it up after a very tedious promotion application and have found it invaluable. There’s a blog post about it as well.

Academic Time Tracker

This spreadsheet was developed by Brendan Keogh as a way to track where you spend your hours across the days/weeks/year as a teaching and research academic. I was already doing some gentle time tracking, this sheet has been very useful to help me reflect and think about where I’m spending my energy (and to try and rein in the overwork).

Zotero

Zotero is a great reference manager, and with the browser plug in that I’ve installed, I’ve never been more on top of keeping my references up to date. It’s also really great for collaborative projects, I have a whole stack of shared collections.

Trello

I have tried using Trello for general task management, but to be honest I’m usually happy with a spreadsheet, keep note or even a physical post it note. I’ve set up a trello board to keep track of where different articles are for publication, here’s a template of it.

Paper diary

I keep a digital calendar, but I just like writing my week out and planning tasks on paper, and it’s nice to have it all in one place. There are so many different diaries, I like one that’s very minimal so I can use it as I see fit. It’s not pretty, but it’s useful. I use an emma kate co. because it has very minimalist pages, but that’s just me.

Links to other resources I’ve found helpful:

Pomodoro method (Wikipedia): A good framework for approaching writing and other tasks in short focused sessions.

Seasonal organisation (Kirby Conrod): This article is framed around adhd, but I think it’s good for everyone to know that you should always be revisiting how you work.

Cornell method (Katherine Firth): get the most out of your note taking.

Over the years I’ve been keeping an eye on the much-neglected genre of linguistics books for young people. This post is an aggregate of links to all of those reviews.

I’ll update this post whenever I have a new book to review. If you know of any books about language for kids and teens that aren’t on this list, let me know!

Where available, I’ve added affiliate links to Bookshop.org and Amazon. Buying through these links provides financial support to Superlinguo.

A Little Book of Language, David Crystal

From one of the most prolific authors on the topic of the English language and linguistics. Incredibly sensible and also charming and engaging. This book has 40 short chapters of 3-4 pages, with many featuring a separate breakout with a related story or example. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Highly Irregular, Arika Okrent & Sean O'Neill

The book takes a tone of playful exasperation that never gets too heavy-handed. There are 40 chapters of around 5 pages each, with or or two of O'Neill’s illustrative examples in each chapter. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Language Books for Kids: Words in My World, Nandi Sims (series of 4)

Introduce elementary/primary school aged children to fundamental concepts of how language works in the world.Each of the books shares an introduction from the author, Dr Nandi Sims, introducing readers to linguistics and language variation. 

The Word Spy, Ursula Dubosarsky

We get brief dalliances into hieroglyphs and cuneiform as well as morse code and printing presses. There are half a dozen chapters on ways you can  play with English, and each is broken down into mini-sections that are  rarely more than a page or two long. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

The Return of the Word Spy, Ursula Dubosarsky

The Word Spy loads her books full of fascinating facts about language and how it works. They’re my default recommendation for budding linguists.

Frindle, Andrew Clements

If your language loving kid isn’t into factoid-based books then this is not only a lovely little tale but it manages to slip in some basic ideas about how words work. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Wicked Words, Terry Deary

It’s silly, rude and occasionally has a few too many exclamation marks, if I had a time machine I would send it back in time to myself when I was in late primary school. (Amazon affiliate link)

Grammar: Write Here, Write Now (Basher Basics)

The overall effect is somewhat like hallucinating while reading a reference grammar. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn

Don’t even get this one for your kids, get it for yourself - and if you do just have a word-ish teenager around to pass it on to they’ll love it too. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

How You Talk, Paul Showers & Robert Galster/Megal Lloyd

How You Talk provides a brief introduction to the development of speech in children, the use of breath in producing speech and the basic articulators that are used to make different sounds. The 1992 version is re-illustrated and slightly edited.

The Dictionary of Difficult Words, Jane Solomon & Louise Lockhart

The definitions of even the most fiendish words are given in language accessible to a child and rarely longer than twenty words. Although I’m not normally one for wanton book destruction, I will say that my overwhelming compulsion to turn the letter pages into a giant wall alphabet speaks to how adorable the illustrations are. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Linguistics books for kids: Once Upon a Word - a Word-origin Dictionary, Jess Zafarris

Once Upon a Word is, as it says, a word-origin dictionary. If you were the kind of child who enjoyed reading through the dictionary, or you know such a kid, Jess Zafarris has created a resource that is both educational and a pleasure to browse. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

This post is a collection of all the reviews and write ups of linguistics fiction and non-fiction that has appeared on Superlinguo over the years. I’ll add to this post whenever I write a new review.

See also, the separate post of links to linguistics books for young people. 

Where available, I’ve added affiliate links to Bookshop.org and Amazon. Buying through these links provides financial support to Superlinguo.

Non-fiction

Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch

I didn’t write a review of this because it’s weird to review a book where you pop up as a minor character in a chapter. I can promise the rest of the book is also excellent. Gretchen is one of the most compelling pop linguistics writers out there. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Language Unlimited: The Science Behind Our Most Creative Power, David Adger

This example-rich ten chapter volume from David Adger focuses on the unique syntactic capacity of human languages. I wish there were more linguistics professors bringing their A-game to a larger audience like this. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

How We Talk, N.J. Enfield

If you did linguistics but never got to study Conversation Analysis, or you want a whistlestop tour of some of the most interesting work to come out of the field in the last couple of decades, this book is certainly worth a visit. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Rooted, An Australian History of Bad Language, Amanda Laugesen

The history of swearing is a history of language and power and identity, a perfect way to unpack the myth of what it means to be Australian. (Booshop.org affiliate link)

Women Talk More than Men… and Other Myths about Language Explained, Abby Kaplan

Each chapter takes a ‘myth’ about language and deconstructs it, with careful and critical attention to research. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

The Art of Language Invention, David J. Peterson

This book is designed as an introduction to conlanging, but can just as easily be read as an introduction to linguistic analysis, or a refresher if you’re heading back to university and want to polish up on your linguistics vocab. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Secret Language, Barry J. Blake

Blake does a good job of wending his way though an impressive array of topics, explaining things clearly and providing often entertaining examples, but never dwelling too long on any one topic. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

You Are What You Speak, Lane Green

Overall this book is a great read, suffused with both enthusiasm for the topic and a desire to not fudge things for the sake of a good anecdote. (Amazon affiliate link)

Bastard Tongues, Derek Bickerton

Bastard Tongues is part memoir, part linguistic adventure. Until as recently as the 1970s Creoles were dismissed as simple languages, arising from simple communicative needs. Bickerton very quickly shows that this is not the case. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

The Information, James Gleick

The first three chapters focus on language and literacy without a bit or a broadband to be seen. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Netymology, Tom Chatfield

Netymology is a romp through the lexicon of the interwebs, with 100 short and snappy entries all focusing on one or two words, their meaning, etymology, origins and changing usage. (Amazon affiliate link)

A Christmas Cornucopia, Mark Forsyth

If yours is the kind of family that gets a kick out of sitting around guessing the punchlines to the jokes in Christmas crackers, then you’ll get a great deal of entertainment in your post lunch stupor reading and sharing informative gems from this volume. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics

SpecGram takes you a giant leap towards absurdity, often masked by seemly earnest academic rigour. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Fiction

Some of this is fiction with clear linguistic themes, other times I’ve made a post about reading something like a linguist.

The Darkest Bloom (Shadowscent book 1), Crown of Smoke (Shadowscent book 2), P.M. Freestone

A Young Adult fantasy adventure, with a cracking pace and memorable characters. The book features the first few snippets of Aramteskan, a language I created to be unlike any existing human language, which places smell at the centre of people’s experience. Check out the Shadowscent hashtag on the blog for more news. (Book 1: Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link, Book 2: Amazon affiliate link)

Native Tongue, Suzette Haden Elgin

There are two separate plots that explore linguistic relativity, the first explores the consequences of humans learning languages of aliens with radically different perceptions of reality. The second, and really the core of the book, is the secret organisation of women who are creating their own language to escape the tyranny of the male dominated world. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Babel-17, Samuel R. Delany

The pace is good, the universe isn’t too badly dated and even though there’s a neat ending with regards to some of the plot, there are enough unanswered questions for the reader to build their own conclusions. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Embassy Town, China Miéville

Even if you’ve not studied language or linguistics Mieville guides you though the narrative turns with consummate skill that rarely feels too heavy handed. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

New Finnish Grammar, Diego Marani 

The tale itself is a compelling one, but for a word nerd it’s got another layer of intrigue as the Finnish language is a central focus of the story. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson

Stephenson goes right to the heart of some of the biggest debates in linguistics in the 20th century, although Hiro doesn’t seem that convinced by Universalism. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut

Woven throughout the story are a small number of examples of this ‘dialect’, and while I tried very hard to behave and just enjoy reading the books, I couldn’t help but note them all down. (Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)

Short Stories

Repairing the World, John Chu

In a reality that is constantly being invaded by portals to other worlds, linguists are called in to deal with whoever and whatever comes through from the other side.

Polyglossia, Tamara Vardomskaya

Although a work of fiction, it touches on many of the social tensions in the context of endangered languages and efforts to document and revive them.

The Story of Your Life, Ted Chiang

It’s one of the best fictional descriptions I’ve come across of the process to document and capture a language you don’t speak. (Short story collection: Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link)