The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/288462
www.iol.org.uk Obviously, this isn't the fare of 'regular' journals; what they have in common is that they illustrate that linguistics and linguists can be hilarious. Of course, humour can be dangerous. It can arise from cynicism and become a breeding ground for negativity. Political satire, for instance, is usually a means of criticising politicians. No one wants or needs another avenue for people to have a pop at language professionals. The biggest surprise about SpecGram, then, is that it is not the work of a group of students with a grudge. In fact, its entire editorial team consists of people who make their livelihoods from working with language and linguistics: from Trey Jones (computational linguist by day, SpecGram Managing Editor by night) to Mikael Thompson (a historical linguist and SpecGram Associate Editor). SpecGram is written from the inside by those who see the humorous side of the field they love. As Consulting Editor Bill Spruiell points out, SpecGram is not the first publication to find its own field funny. The Journal of Irreproducible Results and Science Made Stupid have shown that it is respectable to use a bit of self- deprecating humour. The Annals of Improbable Research even seeks to use funny experiments to make serious points about science. The success of such publications suggests that laughing about your work might actually be good both for those doing the writing and for the field itself. Madalena Cruz-Ferreira's regular column in SpecGram, 'Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know', is an interesting case. Charting students' answers to linguistics questions, it might seem nothing more than an attempt to ridicule students. Response to it, however, has been mostly positive, with students writing to SpecGram Jonathan Downie is a translator, interpreter, writer and member of the SpecGram editorial team. TL JONATHAN DOWNIE Working with language is a serious business. Language professionals change lives, affect businesses and shape students' minds. At a time when some areas of the language industry are under attack, most linguists do not see the need to laugh as a priority. On the contrary, surely that is the last thing we need? The field of linguistics offers us a surprising answer. Speculative Grammarian (or SpecGram to its fans) is the world's first – and probably only – journal dedicated to 'satirical linguistics' (see http://specgram.com). This means that every month, the SpecGram team produces material on such untapped topics as 'Hippie Linguist Naming Practices', whether linguists should have spaghetti or lasagne for dinner, and why all children should be taught linguistic theory as they are learning language. promising to make sure their answers are good enough to avoid a mention. With SpecGram recently celebrating 10 years of online publication, it seems to have gathered an air of grudging respectability. Its acceptance by the Linguist List, a serious forum for book reviews, journal tables of contents and conference notices, and the recent release of the Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics, shows that there is an appetite for seeing the funny side of language. And with cartoons and websites now taking a humorous approach to translation, it seems that linguists are not the only language professionals discovering the benefits of field-specific humour. While laughter will not solve any of the big problems in our industries, it might just make them easier to face. In 2004, a team led by psychologist Michelle Tugade found that positive emotions and experiences allowed people to cope better with difficult situations; while psychologist Karen Zweyer showed that watching humorous material increased our tolerance of pain. The effects were even stronger when already cheerful people were asked to produce a funny commentary on what they were watching. Faced with threats to our professions on many sides, it might seem easier to become negative than to laugh. Yet the success of SpecGram, coupled with the growing literature investigating the benefits of humour, suggests that a laugh might do us some good. If nothing else, it makes life a whole lot more fun. Can you take a joke? OPINION & COMMENT © THINKSTOCK Why we should laugh at ourselves