Speculative Grammarian

Infobox Journal


discipline = Satirical Linguistics
abbreviation = "SpecGram"
website = http://specgram.com
publisher = Trey Jones [2004-]
country = USA
history = 1988 to present
ISSN = 1938-0720about|the satirical linguistics journal|information about the school of grammarians of the 13th century|Speculative grammarians

"Speculative Grammarian" is the self-described "premier scholarly journal featuring research in the neglected field of satirical linguistics." [http://specgram.com] "SpecGram" is a parody science journal, similar in nature to the "Annals of Improbable Research" or the "Journal of Irreproducible Results," but with content focusing on linguistics and closely-related fields.

Content and style

"SpecGram" includes humorous articles often written in an exaggerated scholarly tone. Also regularly featured are poetry, cartoons, puzzles (including crosswords and SuDoku), and parodies of book reviews, book advertisements, calls for papers, and other scholarly announcements.

Many papers that appear in "SpecGram" properly apply serious linguistic concepts to absurd or inappropriate topics. Others provide linguistic analysis of absurd and fabricated language data, or provide a perverse analysis of real, though often severely and selectively limited, data. Still others directly parody linguistics or linguists themselves.

Publication history

Based on the online "SpecGram" [http://specgram.com/archives.html#SpecGram archives] , the journal has been published sporadically under several names ("Psammeticus Quarterly, Babel," and " The Journal of the Linguistic Society of South-Central New Caledonia") since 1988, with consecutive issues being anywhere from one month to six years apart. From 2004 to 2006, the journal was published more consistently on a quarterly basis, with occasional special issues throughout the year. In 2007, the journal was published bimonthly, and in the summer of 2008 it has been published monthly. The journal was first published by Tim Pulju (now Publisher Emeritus), and is currently managed by Trey Jones.

Fictional history

One of the conceits of "SpecGram" is that the journal has existed in one form or another, and has wielded great influence in world events for hundreds of years (a clear parallel to the Illuminati). This fictional history ("much of this rich and varied history is concocted "ad lib" and "ad hoc" [http://specgram.com/about.html#story] ) is occasionally revealed in pieces in Letters from the Editor. The first installment [http://specgram.com/CXLVII.2/01.editor.letter.html] claims the journal was "founded by Petrus Hispanus, one of the original speculative grammarians, in 1276". Later installments trace the inconsistent and fantastical history through the present day.

The first issue available in the archives bearing the "Speculative Grammarian" name is Vol. CXLVII, No. 1 from January 1993. However, the [http://specgram.com/CXLVII.1/01.editor.letter.html Letter from the Managing Editor] for that issue makes it clear that, despite the assumption of a long previous history, "SpecGram" is a continuation of the previously titled "Journal of the Linguistic Society of South-Central New Caledonia" (the last issue of which was sub-titled "Langue du Monde").

Other satirical linguistics materials

"SpecGram" has republished a number of satirical linguistics works, some of which are available elsewhere on the internet, some previously not, in order to bring them to a wider audience. The more notable collections include the works of Metalleus, which have been incorporated into the regular issues from 2005-2008, and "Lingua Pranca" and "Son of Lingua Pranca," which were originally published separately.

Metalleus

Linguist Ken Miner has written many popular satirical linguistics pieces over the years in the Usenet group sci.lang, under the pen-name Metalleus. "SpecGram" republished these, one per issue, from October 2005 through March 2008. [http://specgram.com/CLIII.4/01.editor.letter.html]

"Lingua Pranca"

Over the course of 2006, the editors and publishers of "SpecGram" converted an older satirical linguistics anthology, "Lingua Pranca" (1978), to an electronic format, [http://specgram.com/LP/00.contents.html] so that it would be available to a wider audience. [http://specgram.com/CLI.1/01.editor.letter.html] Over the course of 2007, they digitized the sequel, "Son of Lingua Pranca" (1979). [http://specgram.com/SoLP/00.contents.html]

"Lingua Pranca" includes humorous pieces by several linguists who, almost 30 years later, have gone on to become well-known in the field, including Bernard Comrie, Elan Dresher, Norbert Hornstein, D. Terence Langendoen, James D. McCawley, Ken Miner, Robert Rankin, and Leonard Talmy.