Gretchen McCulloch () is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. On her blog, as well as her podcast Lingthusiasm (which she cohosts with Lauren Gawne) she offers linguistic analysis of online communication such as internet memes, emoji and

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

. She writes regularly for ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' and previously did so for ''

The Toast ''The Toast'' was an American anthology, humor and feminist writing website, founded by editors Nicole Cliffe and Daniel M. Lavery (né Ortberg) and publisher Nicholas Pavich. It was active from January 2013 through July 2016. Content and tar ...

''. In 2019, she published a book on internet linguistics, ''Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language''.

Education

McCulloch obtained a master's degree in linguistics at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Work

McCulloch's writing online focuses on internet linguistics, a field first advocated by

David Crystal David Crystal, (born 6 July 1941) is a British linguist, academic, and prolific author best known for his works on linguistics and the English language. Family Crystal was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, on 6 July 1941 after his mother had ...

. Her blog, which is titled "All Things Linguistic," posts or reposts content most weekdays. In it, she regularly discusses trends in use of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

words, phrases and emoji in online communications as well as offering analysis of language form used in internet communications. She was a resident writer on linguistics at feminist website ''

'', where in 2014 she wrote an article analyzing the grammar of the

doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

meme. This article received coverage on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, where McCulloch was interviewed on the subject by

Evan Davis Evan Harold Davis (born 8 April 1962) is an English economist, journalist, and presenter for the BBC. He has presented ''Dragons' Den'' since 2005. In October 2001, Davis took over from Peter Jay as the BBC's economics editor. He left this ...

. In 2019, McCulloch's first book, ''Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language'', was published by Riverhead Books. The book explores the history of online communication in English and the linguistic trends that have emerged within it over the years, as well as the effect such communication might have on the English language as a whole. The book received critical acclaim from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and soon after publication appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. It also received positive reviews on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

''. She has worked with

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

presenters: she collaborated with Tom Scott on the "Language Files" videos on his channel, and was one of the producers on the linguistics series for Crash Course. In 2021, McCulloch received the Linguistics, Language and the Public Award from the

Linguistics Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...

In popular culture

McCulloch was featured in the ''

xkcd ''xkcd'', sometimes styled ''XKCD'', is a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe. The comic's tagline describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Munroe states on the comic's website that the name ...

'' webcomic on 4 November 2020, commenting on the etymology, going back to Indo-European roots, for words meaning "bear". A linguist character with an identical appearance, presumed to be McCulloch, was also shown in ''xkcds 5 February 2021 comic. On November 16, 2020, McCulloch wrote out the lyrics on Twitter to a parody of the song Jolene called "Vaccine", in response to news that

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

had contributed 1 million dollars toward the development of one of the most promising COVID-19 vaccines. The song was recorded by Ryan Cordell, an English professor at Northeastern University.

References

External links

*
All Things Linguistic

Gretchen McCulloch on Wiredlingthusiasm
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCulloch, Gretchen Linguists from Canada Internet culture Women linguists 21st-century linguists Year of birth missing (living people) McGill University alumni Canadian women non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Living people