Quotes—Page 8: More of What People are Saying

Here are a few more of our favorite things people have said about Speculative Grammarian over the years, collected wild on the internet, or domesticated in email.

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Q800. I always wait for the new issues of SpecGram to be announced on LINGUIST.

Mr. Verb


Q799. As a syntax enthusiast, I am a fan of that last verse.

merlin_von_chomsky


Q798. Someone please make a syntax tree of the Chomsky verse.

pibot


Q797. Well worth the attention of anybody with a linguistics background.

Velar Trill


Q796. Speculative Grammarian, a webzine of linguistic satire, for when you become a hardcore language nerd.

E. M. Epps


Q795. Here is satirical account of the history of ideas in linguistics as merely social, rather than socio-semiotic.

Dr CLÉiRIGh


Q794. A love story.

The Spine and Its Tingle


Q793. Owtch. Buuurn.

qalejaw


Q792. THIS IS GORGEOUS

Kitty Levin


Q791. What the. omg.

Torn-bread


Q790. Might just be the way the language works or we might have a badass over here

Sage


Q789. This is so beautiful I love it.

—Ollie


Q788. Linguistic-y goodness.

—Jenna


Q787. This is probably the prettiest way I’ve seen these described.

—A Beautiful (In)sanity


Q786. THIS IS A REALLY COOL WAY TO LOOK AT LANGUAGES

evergreen12


Q785. Serious linguistics boner!

riker-wears-a-skant


Q784. Oh my gosh, the Turkish makes so much more sense now!

The Bard of Romulus


Q783. Oh hey I’ve done stuff like this in linguistics. It’s supposed to be fun and it is but it also makes my head hurt sometimes.

—walking on a high wire


Q782. What I want for Xmas.

—Chiefest Calamity


Q781. All the answers have at last been found & collected into one magnificent dirt-cheap volume!! Eternal enlightenment is ours! ... The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics! I bought it! I treasure it! I sit rapt at its sagely feet!

—J Paul S


Q780. Finally, serious research in the oft neglected field of satirical linguistics. I thought this would never be covered.

Englishpro & Co.


Q779. The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics という本が発売されています。 言語学者によって書かれた言語学者向けのジョーク本です。

—Fumiaki Nishihara


Q778. Go ahead and buy your own copy. It is even cheaper than a full unhealthy meal at a fancy “fast-food” restaurant. It is worth it.

—Sarah Almotairi


Q777. My SpecGram book is finally with me! I hope it won’t ruin my working day :)

—Tatyana Ignatova


Q776. The SpecGram Essential Guide to Linguistics really is a hoot! Highly recommended for linguaphiles & conlangers alike.

—LCS


Q775. Die-hard linguists will go crazy for [The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics]. ... A definite must read for Linguists or those who just like language and have some time on their hands. It made me have some fond memories of tape recorders and the numerous ways people can pronounce a vowel. ... PS: I want to be a vowelkyrie.

Melissa Reynard


Q774. Just wanted you to know that I adore your Podcast and I just ordered your book! Thanks being super cool and for fanning the flames of my passionate love of linguistics.

alacris-ashley


Q773. Shout it from the rooftops. Or just do like me and go stand on a street corner waving a Bible and scream it: “The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics is out!”

Mr. Verb


Q772. A word of warning: much of [The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics] is very technical, with articles and references that few but a trained linguist will twig. A lot of it went over my head, and if you’re not into linguistics your mileage will vary. But some sections are generally accessible, and the motley mischief is unified by the trademark SpecGram voice–if such a thing can be said to exist–which combines condescension with flattery and arch irony with sincere delight.

Stan Carey


Q771. SpecGram has now condensed centuries of satirical linguistic articles, comics and pearls of wisdom into a single book. ... [T]his compilation makes a tidy package, a pleasant bit of browsing, and a convenient gift for the book-loving linguist. ... There is also some additional material in this book—it’s worth it for the self-defining glossary of linguistic terms alone.

Lauren Gawne


Q770. [The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics] will be a symbolic expression of your inner linguistic nerd.

—Phaedra Royle


Q769. Looks too Craaazaayyy for me..

Claire Stokes


Q768. This sounds delightful.

Christine Quinones


Q767. Moram s vama da podelim jedan burleskan, duhoviti, ali u suštini kritički, kao bajagi sociolingvistički tekstić, iz jednog satiričnog lingvističkog časopisa, koji je povezan s ovom temom: „O uljudnosti prema ženama u slovenskim jezicima“, Émil Schouwiniste-Pigge.

Ђорђе Божовић


Q766. Nothing could better explain what I love about non-viral social media than this list of Proofs, taken from the SpecGram newsletter.

cakabala


Q765. Meet Dr. Knauv Shauling, Assistant Chief Hibernolinguistic Paleocurmudgeon.

—Mededitor


Q764. Can’t believe I’ve been on Twitter for eight months and have only now discovered SpecGram! #satire #linguistics

—Florentina Taylor


Q763. WHO THE HECK NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT SPECGRAM ???

—Hannah Decker


Q762. It is a magisterial opus. Everyone on the planet needs at least one copy.

Freya Shipley


Q761. Got a copy of the new Speculative Grammarian compendium! My pleasure reading for grad school is now set.

Kenny Baclawski


Q760. This is a book I can buy.

Amy Zekas Reynaldo


Q759. I want one! (Please don’t flog me for lack of plural construction ... !!!)

Richard Curtis


Q758. “Heavy enough to kill most insects.” Again with the ambiguity!

Bill Rowe


Q757. I’m so excited.

—Jillian Tetirick


Q756. SpecGram keeps me sane.

—Belinda Downes


Q755. I don’t know if anyone reads Speculative Grammarian, but I just saw this today: OdCom. It made me laugh, at least.

Nick


Q754. RE: Landläufige Vorurteile über Linguisten: Endlich hat sich der Speculative Grammarian dieser Thematik einmal empirisch angenommen.

janwo


Q753. SpecGram has a store. If you buy from there you’ll also be supporting a hilarious magazine.

l33t_sas


Q752. The following is a very good spelling reform proposal. I doubt that you will not agree with it.

—Antonielly Garcia Rodrigues


Q751. WOOOOO! AGGLUTINATING LANGUAGES! WOOOO!

—Fractal Logic


More ...


Last updated Jan. 22, 2025.