Cynthia Lukyanenko
@clukyanenko.bsky.social
asst prof of linguistics: acquisition, morphosyntax, variation. also featured: my cats, garden, crafts, new baby and whatever else I feel like posting. she/her
Pondering which native shrub (one of the viburnums?) will be the best replacement for the stupidly unruly invasive bush honeysuckle we have. Tall, good screen, flowers...
April 19, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Pondering which native shrub (one of the viburnums?) will be the best replacement for the stupidly unruly invasive bush honeysuckle we have. Tall, good screen, flowers...
The 2.75-year-old, singing loudly to himself at bedtime: Rock-a-bye baby, don't you sleep! Rock-a-bye baby! Don't! You! Sleep!
March 23, 2026 at 12:54 AM
The 2.75-year-old, singing loudly to himself at bedtime: Rock-a-bye baby, don't you sleep! Rock-a-bye baby! Don't! You! Sleep!
Ah, the sounds of spring: birds singing, mason bees thwacking into inanimate objects...
March 22, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Ah, the sounds of spring: birds singing, mason bees thwacking into inanimate objects...
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
haven't been asked to review a paper in a while so if you're an editor looking for a psycholinguist who works on discourse...👀
September 16, 2025 at 3:51 AM
haven't been asked to review a paper in a while so if you're an editor looking for a psycholinguist who works on discourse...👀
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
I'm just a PI, standing in front of his lab, asking them once again to please label things more specifically than "Abstract.docx" or "Grant.docx"
March 5, 2026 at 7:42 PM
I'm just a PI, standing in front of his lab, asking them once again to please label things more specifically than "Abstract.docx" or "Grant.docx"
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
Today is the first day of Ramadan, the first day of Adar, Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras.
This means that for one reason or another, the majority of humans on the planet have a reason to eat fried food, and that is beautiful.
This means that for one reason or another, the majority of humans on the planet have a reason to eat fried food, and that is beautiful.
Ramadan Mubarak!
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Laissez bon temps rouler!
Hodesh Adar tov!
Y'ALL
⭐
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Laissez bon temps rouler!
Hodesh Adar tov!
Y'ALL
⭐
February 17, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Today is the first day of Ramadan, the first day of Adar, Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras.
This means that for one reason or another, the majority of humans on the planet have a reason to eat fried food, and that is beautiful.
This means that for one reason or another, the majority of humans on the planet have a reason to eat fried food, and that is beautiful.
this is my exact age:
but i am le tired
February 10, 2026 at 7:25 PM
this is my exact age:
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
This is important and I’ll add that in academia, most of us reach this position over the course of decades, which makes it hard to realize it’s happening. Professors are so so bad at seeing the power dynamics they’re in the middle of
1. What I'm about to post is going to sound egotistical - because it is - but it has a point, so please go with it for moment:
I've learned over time that, at least in my own communities, I can no longer rely on how people approach and treat me as an indicator of their own personality.
I've learned over time that, at least in my own communities, I can no longer rely on how people approach and treat me as an indicator of their own personality.
February 5, 2026 at 11:22 PM
This is important and I’ll add that in academia, most of us reach this position over the course of decades, which makes it hard to realize it’s happening. Professors are so so bad at seeing the power dynamics they’re in the middle of
Those bones!
Ok y'all. Whats going on is making me cry on the regular. It feels weird to be here at the GRAMMYs - but I want to honor the music of my ancestors by playing it- we gonna do some busking tomorrow, come say hello if you’re in town for the shindig.
February 1, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Those bones!
5 classes I took in college:
Language & Mind
History of Islamic Civilization
Old Church Slavonic
Astronomy
Novels! Modern Fiction
Language & Mind
History of Islamic Civilization
Old Church Slavonic
Astronomy
Novels! Modern Fiction
Food and drink in medieval literature
Signals and systems
Russian film theory
Intro to painting
Travel literature
Some of those classes!!! So good.
Signals and systems
Russian film theory
Intro to painting
Travel literature
Some of those classes!!! So good.
Intro to folk music
Anthropology of gender
Lighting design
History and rhetoric
And you know … intro to medieval history changed my life
Anthropology of gender
Lighting design
History and rhetoric
And you know … intro to medieval history changed my life
January 31, 2026 at 1:04 AM
5 classes I took in college:
Language & Mind
History of Islamic Civilization
Old Church Slavonic
Astronomy
Novels! Modern Fiction
Language & Mind
History of Islamic Civilization
Old Church Slavonic
Astronomy
Novels! Modern Fiction
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
I've been a faculty member in #Linguistics at a high-profile US university for for over a decade now. Most years I've been involved in graduate admissions. As of this year I'm the Graduate Chair for my department. I thought it might be helpful to share some advice for grad applicants...
January 28, 2026 at 9:06 PM
I've been a faculty member in #Linguistics at a high-profile US university for for over a decade now. Most years I've been involved in graduate admissions. As of this year I'm the Graduate Chair for my department. I thought it might be helpful to share some advice for grad applicants...
Mandarin Wok in Champaign, IL, a grad school staple. So sad when I heard they closed!
Spicy fish 350, dry spicy green beans, and that delicious eggplant dish whose name I can't remember. With tea on tap: your choice of green or sweetened chrysanthemum.
Spicy fish 350, dry spicy green beans, and that delicious eggplant dish whose name I can't remember. With tea on tap: your choice of green or sweetened chrysanthemum.
Sunday night timeline cleanse
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
please tell me about your favorite lost restaurant (closed for at least 5 years, like I really want you to go back into the vault), why you loved it and what you ate there
January 19, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Mandarin Wok in Champaign, IL, a grad school staple. So sad when I heard they closed!
Spicy fish 350, dry spicy green beans, and that delicious eggplant dish whose name I can't remember. With tea on tap: your choice of green or sweetened chrysanthemum.
Spicy fish 350, dry spicy green beans, and that delicious eggplant dish whose name I can't remember. With tea on tap: your choice of green or sweetened chrysanthemum.
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
the hardest part about studying how kids learn language is that they know but won’t tell us
January 4, 2026 at 12:25 AM
the hardest part about studying how kids learn language is that they know but won’t tell us
Happy New Year!
First bird of 2026 is a Mourning Dove all puffed up on a snow-dusted branch outside my in-laws house 🩶
First bird of 2026 is a Mourning Dove all puffed up on a snow-dusted branch outside my in-laws house 🩶
January 1, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Happy New Year!
First bird of 2026 is a Mourning Dove all puffed up on a snow-dusted branch outside my in-laws house 🩶
First bird of 2026 is a Mourning Dove all puffed up on a snow-dusted branch outside my in-laws house 🩶
Disappointed but unsurprised to see both @kaine.senate.gov and @markwarner.bsky.social on this list.
I have yet to sit a vote out because I don't like the Dem candidate, but I this is the issue that will do it. I won't vote for someone who is willing to throw trans people under the bus.
I have yet to sit a vote out because I don't like the Dem candidate, but I this is the issue that will do it. I won't vote for someone who is willing to throw trans people under the bus.
Here are the 28 Dem Senators who voted to advance the first federal ban on trans athletes & a federal definition of sex that would make trans & intersex people non-existent: Angela Alsobrooks (MD), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Chris Coons (DE), ->
By a vote of 76-23, S 1071 passes the motion to proceed to the motion to concur. Won't know who voted for this until the roll call is uploaded, but safe to say it passed with the support of at least 24 members of the Democratic caucus. (Rand Paul probably voted nay and Steve Daines has been absent).
December 16, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Disappointed but unsurprised to see both @kaine.senate.gov and @markwarner.bsky.social on this list.
I have yet to sit a vote out because I don't like the Dem candidate, but I this is the issue that will do it. I won't vote for someone who is willing to throw trans people under the bus.
I have yet to sit a vote out because I don't like the Dem candidate, but I this is the issue that will do it. I won't vote for someone who is willing to throw trans people under the bus.
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
did you know: the American Dialect Society is the oldest "word of the year" event in the States, and the words are chosen by several hundred linguists who get raucous in a big meeting room in January. you can submit nominations for us to consider!
great activity for classrooms!
great activity for classrooms!
Submit 2025 Words-of-the-Year Nominations
The American Dialect Society’s popular 2025 words-of-the-year vote will be held during the society’s 2026 annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Nominations will be taken Thursday, January 8, 2026…
americandialect.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:46 PM
did you know: the American Dialect Society is the oldest "word of the year" event in the States, and the words are chosen by several hundred linguists who get raucous in a big meeting room in January. you can submit nominations for us to consider!
great activity for classrooms!
great activity for classrooms!
We love this book! We read it aloud together, pre-kid, and now quote it regularly
Pineapple, rum, and vanilla gives me old and golden vibes that I'm pairing with Bea Wolf: @zachweinersmith.bsky.social retelling Beowulf as a kids fable in full Anglo Saxon meter. It's glorious
Day 11 of #ThisIsMyJam: books from my shelves paired with jams from the Bonne Maman #jamvent calendar
Day 11 of #ThisIsMyJam: books from my shelves paired with jams from the Bonne Maman #jamvent calendar
December 12, 2025 at 3:36 AM
We love this book! We read it aloud together, pre-kid, and now quote it regularly
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
A few weeks ago, I went to the Psychonomics conference in Denver. During the conference, I heard a researcher saying "bilinguals have a creativity disadvantage." I raised my questions after their talk, but I also wrote a letter to talk about my emotions.
open.substack.com/pub/letterst...
open.substack.com/pub/letterst...
Ambiguous for whom?
The Cranberries - Empty
open.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A few weeks ago, I went to the Psychonomics conference in Denver. During the conference, I heard a researcher saying "bilinguals have a creativity disadvantage." I raised my questions after their talk, but I also wrote a letter to talk about my emotions.
open.substack.com/pub/letterst...
open.substack.com/pub/letterst...
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
Hey linguists, check it out! @lingsocam.bsky.social has virtual registration options for the #LSA2026 meeting:
web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
🐦🐦
web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
🐦🐦
Registration Info - LSA 2026 Annual Meeting
web.cvent.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Hey linguists, check it out! @lingsocam.bsky.social has virtual registration options for the #LSA2026 meeting:
web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
🐦🐦
web.cvent.com/event/d45318...
🐦🐦
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
sad to see this resource will disappear-- what other arabic corpora are out there? this was one of the only ones I knew of for Egyptian
November 14, 2025 at 4:28 AM
sad to see this resource will disappear-- what other arabic corpora are out there? this was one of the only ones I knew of for Egyptian
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
I find academics particularly awkward about telling audiences something some people might already know, even though I've found that when someone repeats some things I already know as background it enhances my perception of their credibility
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
November 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I find academics particularly awkward about telling audiences something some people might already know, even though I've found that when someone repeats some things I already know as background it enhances my perception of their credibility
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
#BUCLD50 Countdown — 3 weeks to go!
Join us and celebrate the 50th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) from November 6th to 9th, 2025!
Location: 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA
Learn more and register at:
www.bu.edu/bucld/
#BUCLD #LanguageDevelopment
Join us and celebrate the 50th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) from November 6th to 9th, 2025!
Location: 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA
Learn more and register at:
www.bu.edu/bucld/
#BUCLD #LanguageDevelopment
October 16, 2025 at 1:21 PM
#BUCLD50 Countdown — 3 weeks to go!
Join us and celebrate the 50th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) from November 6th to 9th, 2025!
Location: 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA
Learn more and register at:
www.bu.edu/bucld/
#BUCLD #LanguageDevelopment
Join us and celebrate the 50th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD) from November 6th to 9th, 2025!
Location: 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA
Learn more and register at:
www.bu.edu/bucld/
#BUCLD #LanguageDevelopment
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...
October 10, 2025 at 9:45 PM
The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
neat
Revealing new insights into how the mind represents and processes language, this book gives a full overview of linguistic illusions.
Linguistic Illusions by Dan Parker, Coming Soon
#LangSky #Linguistics 🐦🐦
https://cup.org/4mwHEnC
Linguistic Illusions by Dan Parker, Coming Soon
#LangSky #Linguistics 🐦🐦
https://cup.org/4mwHEnC
September 29, 2025 at 10:34 PM
neat
Reposted by Cynthia Lukyanenko
We are also thrilled to share the complete schedule for BUCLD50, which is available here! www.bu.edu/bucld/attend...
Schedule for BUCLD50 | Conference on Language Development
Boston University is a leading private research institution with two primary campuses in the heart of Boston and programs around the world.
www.bu.edu
September 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
We are also thrilled to share the complete schedule for BUCLD50, which is available here! www.bu.edu/bucld/attend...