Tony McEnery

ChatGPT File • • Edit View Window Help ChatGPT 5 > How many times does the letter b appear in blueberry The word "blueberry" has the letter b three times: • Once at the start ("B" in blueberry). • Once in the middle ("b" in blue). • Once before the -erry ending ("b" in berry). Total: 3 O92 Show me where the letter b appears in the word please. Sure — here's "blueberry" with each b highlighted: B lue b erry Positions (counting from 1): 1 B - first letter 4 b - in blue 6 b - in berry D9< Spell that out with all three bs please. I mean, just spell the word. Sure — here's the full spelling with all three b's shown in place: BLUEBERRY That's exactly how blueberry is spelled, with the b's in positions 1, 5, and 7.

ChatGPT File Edit View Window Help E ChatGPT 5 > You wrote "BLUEBERRY". There are only two bs there. Ah - I see the mix-up. Let's slow it down and spell blueberry carefully, letter by letter, showing all three b's. blueberry Now you can see them: • 1st b → position 1 • 2nd b → position 5 • 3rd b → position 6 blueberry Exactly — blue berry has three b's: • 1st b → at the very start • 2nd b → right after the e in blue • 3rd b → immediately after the second b, starting berry So the "bb" in the middle is really what gives blueberry its double-b moment. Its double-b moment; I see. Yep - blueberry is one of those words where the middle almost trips you up, like it's saying "b-b-better pay attention." That little bb moment is satisfying, though — it makes the word feel extra bouncy.

 ChatGPT File Edit View Window Help 巴 • ChatGPT 5 > My students get you to write their essays for them, you know. Ah, the old "ChatGPT, do my homework" routine — I'm familiar with that one. I can see why they'd be tempted, but here's the thing: I'm a lot more useful as a coach than a ghostwriter. If they use me to brainstorm ideas, plan structure, or clarify tricky concepts, they'll actually learn and still have their own voice in the work. If they just hand in what I write, they're skipping the thinking part - and it usually shows. I'm good, but I still leave a trail of... telltale ChatGPT-isms. A trail of blueberries, as it were. Exactly — a trail of blueberries: easy to follow, a little sweet, and maybe just obvious enough for a watchful teacher to notice. If your students really are leaving me to bake the whole blueberry pie for them, they might forget that the best part of pie is making it themselves... even if it gets a little messy. "Blueberry" only has two bs. Nope - blueberry really does have three b's. Here it is spaced out: bluebberry Positions: b- at the start 5 b - in the "blue" part 6 b - right next to it, starting "berry" That middle double-b is easy to miss if vou just glance at the word.

I had to try the “blueberry” thing myself with GPT5. I merely report the results.

Robin Lakoff

My Berkeley colleagues & I are saddened by the death of our colleague Robin Lakoff. Her 1972 book Language & Women's Place created the modern field of language & gender. She also wrote articulately, passionately & impactfully about Latin linguistics (Abstract Syntax & Latin Complementation, 1968) 1/

We have just rejected an(other) article for the use of AI. The AI had hallucinated a publication apparently written by a certain J.E. Richardson, and another (by G. Mautner) apparently published in CDS 16(2). Funnily enough, I recognised both were fictional.
A reminder: AI generates slop.

A hostile environment: language, race, politics and the media The first of two reports analysing parliamentary and media debates from 2010-2024, showing how large sections of these debates encouraged widespread hostility to migrants and ethnically minoritised pe...

Interesting corpus assisted discourse analysis from The Runnymede Trust looking at language, race, politics and the media. Worth a read: www.runnymedetrust.org/publications...

📢Meet our third #DHSS25 keynote speaker: Gavin Brookes!

Join us this September in Erlangen for his insightful talk, “Corpus Linguistics for Gender and Language Research: Key Concepts and Critical Reflections,” as part of the #DataGenderSociety Summer School.

You won’t want to miss it!
#dhss #fau

I have just finished reading A Popular History of Idi Amin's Uganda by Derek Peterson - an excellent book. While the subject matter is, at times, grim, he really excels at weaving the lives of ordinary people (living in extraordinary times) into a more broadly themed narrative. Beautifully written.

Diaries at the ready... the next Corpora & Discourse International Conference will take place from 23-25 June 2026, at Lancaster University. We are also very excited to launch our website, with plenary speaker info, key dates, and much more besides: wp.lancs.ac.uk/cad-2026/. Please share widely!

Language & History — Henry Sweet Society Published in 3 issues per year both online and in print, Language & History is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that aims to promote the study of the history of all branches of linguistic…

Are you working on topics related to the history of linguistics?🫵
Consider submitting an article to ✨Language & History✨, the journal of the Henry Sweet Society! It is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal published 3 times per year both online and in print.
www.henrysweet.org/language-and...

YouTube video by Genesis - Topic Land of Confusion

I have been working on a LANA-CASE spoken American speech recording this afternoon in which the speakers are commenting on 'Land of Confusion' by Genesis. Their judgement on the base line 'it's a pretty cool fucking powerful bass' is absolutely spot on, imho: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgWV...

Research Ireland, on behalf of @deptoffhed.bsky.social, have today launched Global Talent Ireland - a new initiative to attract exceptional mid-career and established researchers from across the globe to Ireland.

For more information visit:
www.researchireland.ie/funding/glob...

Oh - I cannot criticise, I remember using ATNs, Petri nets, 1st order predicate logic .... But I also remember picking up Garside, Leech and Sampson and becoming an instant convert to their cause because the approach worked much better on attested language use than anything else I had encountered.

I remember the work well - it is odd to think that it is a contemporary of The Computational Analysis of English by Garside, Leech and Sampson which pioneered an approach to NLP much more familiar to researchers working in the field now.

For followers from China - Tsinghua University Press is publishing an edition of my CUP book, Corpus Linguistics (written with Andrew Hardie) next year. The book includes explanatory notes in Chinese and quite a bit of text from the original version which was lost due to space constraints.

Teamassistenz am Department Digital Humanities and Social Studies (m/w/d)

We are looking for an administrative assistant to join our team @dhssfau.bsky.social

Working in an international context, we are looking for people who can operate in both German & English.
Full-time, initially fixed-term, but with a long-term perspective!

www.jobs.fau.de/jobs/teamass...

Graph showing frequency of mentions of newspapers in UK parliament. The Times is the most frequently mentioned overall. The Daily Mail shows a dip in mentions.

Which newspapers get talked about in UK parliament debates you (didn't) ask?

Well, these ones.

The Times is consistently top, Financial Times also quite consistently relevant. The Daily Mail decreasingly so.

Data from www.clarin.si/ske/#open

Language, Image, Gesture Cambridge Core - Cognitive Linguistics - Language, Image, Gesture

I think my new book Language, Image, Gesture: The Cognitive Semiotics of Politics might (finally!) have been published. Currently only in digital format with print copies available from Feb. www.cambridge.org/core/books/l...

We are excited to announce that our final speaker is... Elena Semino @elenasemino.bsky.social from Lancaster University! You can read more about Elena and her work here: www.lancaster.ac.uk/linguistics/... #CAD2026

📝 📣New OA paper with @tonymcenery.bsky.social & @gavinbrookes.bsky.social, "A question of alignment – AI, GenAI and applied linguistics" You can find it in ARAL here: doi.org/10.1017/S026... & more details in the posts below ⬇️ @mcrlinguistics.bsky.social @lancslinguistics.bsky.social

Image of Michaela Mahlberg - plenary speaker at the 2026 Corpora and Discourse International Conference.

The next plenary speaker we are excited to announce is... Michaela Mahlberg @michamahlberg.bsky.social (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg)! You can read more about Michaela and her research here: www.dhss.phil.fau.eu/person/prof-... #CADS2026i

Image of Brian King - plenary speaker at the 2026 Corpora and Discourse conference.

The next plenary speaker we can announce is... Brian King from The University of Hong Kong! You can read more about Brian and his research here: english.hku.hk/people/Facul... #CADS2026

Image of Dr Matteo Fuoli - plenary speaker at the Corpora & Discourse International Conference 2026.

This week, we'll be announcing our four plenary speakers for the 2026 Corpora & Discourse International Conference. The first speaker we're excited to announce is Dr Matteo Fuoli @matteofuoli.bsky.social (University of Birmingham). You can read more about Matteo here: tinyurl.com/ycke6bya #CADS2026

Important piece by on the significant impact Brexit is having on services trade ukandeu.ac.uk/deglobalisat...

Tutor/Lecturer in Phonetics and Sociolinguistics (LTS) at University of Glasgow Discover Tutor/Lecturer in Phonetics and Sociolinguistics (LTS) jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.

Glasgow's looking for a temp phonetician/sociolinguist: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNZ288/t...

My statement on today's breaking news regarding Bolton's university...

Applying Corpus Linguistics to Illness and Healthcare Cambridge Core - Medicine: General Interest - Applying Corpus Linguistics to Illness and Healthcare

Just received the final proofs of this book, based on @corpussocialsci.bsky.social research on health communication. It will be out *open access* later this year. @paulari.bsky.social @gavinbrookes.bsky.social @lukeccollins.bsky.social @tonymcenery.bsky.social

www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...

Bizarro Comic from 17 December 2013, depicting a man and a woman sitting at a bar. The man says, "Outside?…Under?…To?…Around?…Over?…", and the woman replies, "Are you trying to preposition me?"

I laughed.
#linguistics

HSS Bulletin Archive — Henry Sweet Society Bulletin of the Henry Sweet Society

Don't forget that the full archive of the Henry Sweet Society Bulletin (predecessor of Language & History) is available on our website in ✨OPEN ACCESS✨! This includes issues no. 1-51 (1984-2008). Drop by and browse: www.henrysweet.org/bulletin-of-...

Preparations for the 2026 Corpora and Discourse International Conference at Lancaster University are under way! We will be sharing information on dates for your calendars, plenary speakers, and the upcoming call for papers very soon. Follow here for updates, and please share widely! #CADS2026

Just out: Selenia Anastasi review of @tonymcenery.bsky.social @vaclavbrezina.bsky.social Fundametal Principles of Corpus Linguistics #corpuslinguistics jcads.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10....

Over 800 suspected of cheating on TOEIC English exam in Japan - The Mainichi TOKYO (Kyodo) -- At least 803 people in Japan are believed to have cheated on an English proficiency test between May 2023 and June 2025, the test's a

Over 800 suspected of cheating on TOEIC English exam in Japan - The Mainichi share.google/l196bDrQPe0n...