American Dialect Society

Linguists help us understand that many of our pet peeves are actually language change in progress and the linguistic diversity found in and across all communities of speakers. With this understanding, we can approach each other's language with more curiosity and less judgment. #TalkAboutHumanities

Submit your nominations for 2026 word-of-the-year: bit.ly/WOTYNOMS2026 You can make as many nominations as you want between now and New Year’s Eve. Winners will be picked live at our annual meeting in January. Will your pick be the next slop, rawdog, or enshittification? Only time will tell!

Abstracts for the first American Dialect Society Research Incubator (ADSRI1) are now available on our website (americandialect.org/first-americ...)! The incubator is THIS Friday and Saturday (9/18-9/19) on Zoom. Attendance is free and open to all. Register at the link above. Hope to see you there!

The schedule for the first American Dialect Society Research Incubator (ADSRI1) is now live on our website (americandialect.org/first-americ...). The incubator is next Friday and Saturday (9/18-9/19) online on Zoom. Attendance is free and open to all. Find the registration link at the link above.

Reminder: The deadline for the 2027 American Dialect Society conference is July 31, 2026. That's just two weeks away! Details here: americandialect.org/2027-cfp/

We are excited about our research incubator, an online opportunity to present work in progress for discussion. Our aim is to encourage feedback on work that can later be presented at the American Dialect Society annual meeting. Find out more: americandialect.org/research-inc...

Working on a research project that would benefit from feedback before you present it at a conference? Looking for a collaborative, low-stakes venue to talk about your and others’ research? Check out the new American Dialect Society Research Incubator! americandialect.org/research-inc...

American Dialect Society 2027 annual meeting call for papers and posters announced! Deadline: July 31, 2026. Learn more: americandialect.org/2027-cfp/

New officers and annual award recipients announced: americandialect.org/new-officers...

Full press release: americandialect.org/wp-content/u...

Other @americandialect.org Word of the Year winners: INFORMAL WORD OF THE YEAR: 6-7: interjection containing little semantic content, originating from "Doot Doot (6 7)" by Skrilla MOST CREATIVE WORD OF THE YEAR: reheat nachos, v: redo something (as music), often in an inferior fashion

Other @americandialect.org Word of the Year winners: MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: chopped, adj: ugly, undesirable POLITICAL WORD OF THE YEAR: icy conditions, n: coded phrase alerting that ICE has been spotted in a neighborhood

Other @americandialect.org Word of the Year winners: MOST USEFUL: "that's AI": statement of distrust when determining that something presented as real (as an image) is in fact Al-generated (104)

The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year is SLOP! “Slop isn’t a new word. It has moved from the pig sty, to the algorithm, and now forms newcompounds such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop,” Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright said. “This productivity has no end in sight.” 🧵

The original word of the year (WOTY) from @americandialect.org is always chaos and always fun. This year's winner: slop americandialect.org/2025-word-of...

Yesterday was jam-packed with exciting moments! From -slop being named the ADS Word of the Year, to the insightful Five-Minute Linguist session, to vibrant networking in the poster session & exhibit hall—there truly was something for everyone. We can’t wait to see what today has in store! #LSA2026

The 2025 Word of the Year is "slop," both as a noun for low-quality AI-generated content and as a combining form for anything of little value. Read the full press release. #WOTY2025 #ADS2026 #LSA2026 americandialect.org/2025-word-of...

The American Dialect Society (@americandialect.org) has announced the nominations for its Word of the Year—this is the one that matters, people! Vote will be tonight. americandialect.org/nominations-...

Now posted: The full list of nominees for ADS Word of the Year 2025. The final vote will be held this evening at 6:45 pm CST at the New Orleans Marriott. #WOTY2025 #ADS2026 #LSA2026 americandialect.org/nominations-...

I was on @fox5ny.bsky.social this evening talking about Word of the Year choices for 2025. www.fox5ny.com/video/1752579 Make sure to submit your own nominations for the @americandialect.org Word of the Year! americandialect.org/submit-2025-...

Over the years I have built a little collection of academic research/admin tools and resources. I realised I hadn't put them all in one spot before, so here they are: www.superlinguo.com/post/7997721...

Make your 2025 words-of-the-year nominations for the only vote that matters! bit.ly/2025WOTYNOMS

The 2026 annual meeting conference schedule for New Orleans is announced: americandialect.org/2026-sked/ Also includes words-of-the-year information!

There was an interesting talk at the last @americandialect.org meeting in Philadelphia presenting some research about just where the freeway arthrousness isogloss in California lies. IIRC it's south of Fresno.

Reminder: Friday, August 1, 2025, is the deadline for poster and 20-minute paper proposals for the American Dialects Society 2026 annual conference. Learn more: americandialect.org/2026-cfp/

The call for papers for the 2026 American Dialect Society conference in New Orleans has been posted! americandialect.org/2026-cfp/

My latest @slate.bsky.social crossword includes a couple of nominees for @americandialect.org's Word of the Year (and other entries that fit our current political vibe). slate.com/life/2025/01...

The producer of the ICYMI podcast is a linguist who attended the @americandialect.org WOTY vote. Every time I hear WOTY described for the public, I have to laugh--if only they could be a fly on the wall for the earnest jockeying between grad students and elder linguists slate.com/podcasts/icy...

On the latest episode of the crossword podcast @fillmeinpodcast.bsky.social, @cimmet.bsky.social and I talk about @americandialect.org's Word of the Year shenanigans and other silly stuff. bemoresmarter.libsyn.com/fill-me-in-4...

Tomorrow is #ThatWordChat’s Words of the Year 2024 show! We're thrilled to host an international panel of experts to discuss the language that defined 2024. Register here: bit.ly/ThatWordChat #WOTY #ANDC #OED #UniversityOfSussex #CambridgeDictionary #MerriamWebster #AmericanDialectSociety

Univ. of Michigan professor Anne Curzan has her roundup of the 2024 Word of the Year action on @michiganpublic.bsky.social. www.michiganpublic.org/podcast/that...

“Rawdog,” @americandialect.org's word of the year, has undergone at least two semantic shifts, from nonsexual to sexual and back to nonsexual. | Ht @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social @misterslang.bsky.social @wordorigins.bsky.social @lingsocam.bsky.social fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th... #woty2024

It’s us, hi, we’re the problem, it’s we! And yes, we do know the meaning and etymology, and yes, people are really using it in a G-rated way across the internet. Press release here: americandialect.org/2024-word-of...

The linguistic chaos gremlins have chosen to rawdog the English language itself with their choice of 2024 Word Of The Year www.avclub.com/american-dia...

Straight Arrow News: American Dialect Society reveals 2024 words of the year san.com/cc/american-...

Rawdog: ADS 2024 Word of the Year (WOTY) #language #linguistics #wordorigins

The American Dialect Society Word of the Year: RAWDOG To rawdog: taking on life without the usual protection, preparation, or comfort. Whether it’s diving into a challenge unprepared or skipping the safety net, rawdogging is about embracing risk, stone-cold sobriety, and rolling with it. #LSA2025

"Rawdog" is the 2024 American Dialect Society word of the year. Read the full press release. #WOTY2024 #ADS2025 #LSA2025 americandialect.org/2024-word-of...

The ad hoc "Most Fun While It Lasted" category in the @americandialect.org's #WOTY2024 nominations really captures the spirit of the whole exercise—not to mention the reality of language trends— and is what sets its vote apart. americandialect.org/nominations-...

#WOTY2024 nominations from @americandialect.org (thanks, @benzimmer.bsky.social!). Final vote today at 6:45 p.m. EST. americandialect.org/nominations-...

For those of you following along at home (including, um, me), the @americandialect.org has posted its nominations for Word of the Year 2024 in various categories: americandialect.org/nominations-... #woty2024 #woty2025 <-- not accurate but some people are using it

Now posted: The full list of nominees for ADS Word of the Year 2024. The final vote will be held this evening at 6:45 pm in Salons E-F at Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. #WOTY2024 #ADS2025 #LSA2025 americandialect.org/nominations-...

We've posted the abstracts and schedule for the poster session for the 2025 conference. Cool stuff — and you can participate online Jan. 11. americandialect.org/2025-program...

Here's something you can do instead of obsessing over early election results: Submit a nomination for @americandialect.bsky.social word of the year! #WOTY2024 americandialect.org/2024-woty-no...

The American Dialect Society is once again soliciting nominations for the Words of the Year! Please submit your 2024 WOTY nominations using this Google Form: bit.ly/WOTY2024noms More details here: americandialect.org/2024-woty-no...

The 2025 conference program for Philadelphia is live! americandialect.org/2025-program/

"Stochastic parrot," coined by @emilymbender.bsky.social for "large language models that...do not truly understand the meaning of the language they are processing," was recognized as AI-Related Word of the Year by @americandialect.bsky.social. My latest for WSJ. 🦜 #woty2023 on.wsj.com/47DKfVf