LingComm is a project devoted to encouraging and enabling high-quality, engaging linguistics communication efforts with broader audiences, inspired by the term “scicomm” for science communication. Like scicomm, we are multidisciplinary, welcoming linguists, journalists, artists, internet creators, and others passionate about making linguistics fun, engaging, and beautiful to everyone who uses language. We aim to foster connections, mentorship, and support between current and future lingcommers through a range of activities:
The LingComm mailing list is a space to share information about lingcomm practice. This includes, but is not limited to, conferences, events, journal special issues and other information of interest to lingcomm practitioners. Please feel free to join, especially if you’re interested in finding out about future LingComm grant and conference cycles!
LingComm conference
The LingComm conference is organized in odd-numbered years since 2021 by a rotating committee.
Plans for the LingComm27 conference are currently underway!
The LingComm25 conference was organised by Charlotte Vaughn, Sharon Unsworth, Pietra Rigatti, Marten van der Muelen, Daniel Midgley, and Mikī Gulēna-Taube. More about the LingComm25 organising committee on this page.
The LingComm23 conference, organized by Laura Wagner, Keeta Jones, Raquel Meister Ko. Freitag, Daniel Midgley, Sadie Ryan, Lauren Gawne, and Martha Johnson built on the success of LingComm21.
The LingComm21 conference was organized by co-chairs Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne, organizing committee members Jessi Grieser and Laura Bailey, and conference manager Liz McCullough. It was made possible with the support of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB), Wordnik, and Lingthusiasm patrons, as well as personal contributions from Andrea West, Casper Grathwohl, Catherine Anderson, Cecile McKee, Daniel Midgley, Grant Barrett, Melissa Baese-Berk, Saunatina Sanchez, Sylvia Sierra, and three anonymous personal sponsors.
LingFest 2021 was organized by Lauren Gawne, Gretchen McCulloch, and Liz McCullough with the participation of 12 lingcommers.
LingComm Grants
The LingComm Grants are organized in even-numbered years since 2020 by Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch with the support of Lingthusiasm patrons and several other donors and mentors; full list of supporters and grantees here.
LingComm training
LingComm talks:
- Linguistics communication through zines: A hands-on workshop
- 101 ways to communicate linguistics to broader audiences
LingComm was a course taught by Gretchen McCulloch at the Centre of Excellence for Linguistic Diversity Summer School at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia in 2018 and at the Linguistics Summer Institute in Lexington, Kentucky, USA in 2017.
For more ideas on how to do LingComm, see the Resources page.
LingComm Admin
LingComm is overseen by the LingComm Advisory Board, consisting of former LingComm Conference chairs: Sharon Unsworth, Charlotte Vaughn, Laura Wagner, Lauren Gawne, and Gretchen McCulloch.
The LingComm website is currently maintained and updated by Daniel Midgley of the Because Language podcast.
The website was started by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne, and was made possible by the support of Lingthusiasm patrons, especially Laura Wagner, Robert Stevens, Taart, Taurapa, and 2 anonymous patrons.
For more lingcomm updates, subscribe to the LingComm mailing list or follow @lingcomm.org on bluesky or @ling.com on instagram.
