50 Posts From “The Language Nerds”

So what is the place of the Language Nerds? Created in August 2017, it attracted 3.1 million Facebook users by sharing stimulating language and learning content. Its mission is to keep language enthusiasts entertained and informed. The creator of this page even gathered a community that is not only polyglottic but also witty. 

Their daily posts include language learning tips, humorous mistakes, unusual language constructions, interesting facts, and creative ideas from fellow language enthusiasts. Whether you’re an expert in languages or just starting, The Language Nerds has something for everyone.

Bored Panda reached out to Yaccine, the creator of The Language Nerds, to ask some questions about his page. First, we wanted to know what was the inspiration behind the creation of this linguistic Facebook page.

Yaccine shared with us: “I created The Language Nerds to tell people what they didn't know about language. The fact that we use language so much disguises a lot about its intricate workings and what a marvel it is.

The Language Nerds is there to tell people why they shouldn't take the puffs of air that come from their mouth when they try to comminute, i.e. language, for granted because that might be key to understanding who we are as a species.

Language might be the window to the human mind and that was the inspiration that fueled my interest to pursue a degree in Linguistics, and hence The Language Nerds.”

Asked to describe his background and experience in linguistics, the creator answered: “I am a doctorate student in linguistics. I speak English, Arabic, and French. I've taught English to non-english speakers and taught Arabic to American university students. I've tutored University students in Linguistics subjects such as syntax, phonology, sociolinguistics, etc. I've been a proud recipient of the Fulbright scholarship which significantly broadened my cultural awareness and perspective. I also took part in the Erasmus+ project in Europe.”

We were curious to know how the creator of this page stays on top of language trends and how they are incorporated into his content strategy. Yaccine told us that “Finding content for The Language Nerds is no easy task and I guess that's the case for all creators. I managed to make our content broad and to touch every language aspect, such as humor, facts, research, and general know-how. This way we should have plenty of room to find the right content that our audience will engage and relate with. We can basically write about anything language-related.   And since I'm a language researcher and my entire career revolves around language, staying up to date with language trends comes naturally to me.”

Talking about the biggest challenges Yaccine has faced in managing his Facebook page, he mentioned that keeping such a big community engaged is not an easy task. “Also, The Language Nerds is not just a Facebook page, It's also an Instagram account that amounts to 2.2M followers, and a website. Keeping this varied presence running is very challenging. I also have challenges monetizing the content. But in the absence of challenges, I don't think The Language Nerds would have grown this big. Because with every challenge that we overcome, we set a milestone for our online presence.”

The future for “The Language Nerds” looks very bright as Yaccine shares with us that he sees this page growing and becoming more diverse. “We have a very creative audience that is hungry for new content and we expect to reach a lot more people in the future given our current trends. We are thinking of starting a TikTok account and a YouTube channel. We have great video ideas and I think they will complement what we already do.”

Indeed, language is rich with opportunities for humor; quirky rhymes, puns, and multiple-meaning words provide plenty of witty material.

Puns as a humor-creating tool have been around for ages. You can even find them hiding in the pages of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. They’re practically everywhere, from posts on Facebook to business campaigns. The enjoyment of puns is built upon ambiguity (in sound or word form) and the combination of two things that should not exist in the same place. Apparently, not everything needs to be necessarily true or straightforward, and that’s the beauty of it.

Interestingly, children start learning such language incongruities at an early age. They become aware of homonyms around ages three to four, and once they are able to create stories they can use it for humor i.e., creating puns that manage to amuse and confuse at the same time.

Learning through exciting methods always brings better results, and social media is one of them. Language-related content on social networks helps language learners to quicken their learning by being current and self-controlled. Even on those days when you're not in the mood for learning, social media unnoticeably supplies you with educational content. Most likely, you learned something after stopping scrolling to see a meme in your foreign language.

Having the ability to speak more than one language comes with its own challenges. Bilingual individuals often make amusing and sometimes endearing mistakes when switching between their two languages. They may accidentally mix the two, which results in sentences like “Vamos to have lunch” (blending English and Spanish) or “Je suis Camille and you?” (blending English and French).

Sometimes, two words can look or sound similar but have completely different meanings. The sneaky-looking “préservatif“ in French means “condom,” and in Spanish “embarazada” sounds too much like “embarrassed” but actually means “pregnant”. If you use one of these incorrectly, you’ll find yourself in an uncomfortable situation.

Memes are becoming part of everyday speech. They are a language in themselves, and meme makers and sharers participate in it to bond through humor and wordplay. They’re actively shared because people want to engage in the creative, nonliteral, playful language of everyday conversation. For instance, take the linguistic meme “cries in American'' or “laughs in Italian” which evolved into a reaction to certain situations and conveys far more complex information than its form might suggest