Do you tweet? The best thing about Twitter is how easy it is to keep track of your interests. At the same time, there’s so much going on that it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which accounts to follow.
So, let us help you out. Here are 23 Twitter accounts for people who love learning about languages or who want to keep up with what’s going on in the language services industry.
Language Facts and Fun
This section is for accounts that focus on languages and language trivia. So, follow them all, make your Twitter feed less boring, and learn some cool facts in the process.
Dictionary.com
Username: @Dictionarycom
Why follow? The popular online dictionary has an equally popular Twitter account. Follow them for obscure word definitions, words in current events and cheeky word-related humor. They are staunch defenders of the idea that words mean things, even when they’re coming from the mouths of politicians.
Sample Tweet
Refugee: a person who flees for safety, especially to a foreign country, in a time of political upheaval or war.https://t.co/aaGLUCHnCU https://t.co/1NwFJRqM1V
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) April 12, 2017
The Oxford English Dictionary
Username: @OED
Why follow? To improve your vocabulary, of course. Every day, the OED tweets a “Word of the Day,” and they’re almost always worth at least $5.00.
Sample Tweet
procacious, adj. – OED Word of the Day: procacious, adj. Insolent or arrogant in attitude or tone; forward, che… https://t.co/VfQQ0H9KVL
— The OED (@OED) April 8, 2017
Indigenous Tweets
Username: @IndigenousTweet
Why follow? To keep up with the latest news on indigenous and minority languages.
Sample Tweet
Alaska becomes the second state to officially recognize indigenous languages http://t.co/fejsV5nUHO via @weyiiletpu
— Indigenous Tweets (@IndigenousTweet) April 21, 2014
Rosetta Stone
Username: @rosettastone
Follow them for: Fun facts about language and language learning
Sample Tweet
Attention gelato lovers! If you’re in #Italy and want some local #gelato, you’ll need to start by asking for a ‘coppa’ or ‘cono’. pic.twitter.com/jjrsBxnCvk
— Rosetta Stone (@rosettastone) April 12, 2017
About World Languages
Username: @aboutworldlangs
Why follow? This is the Twitter account for About World Languages, a website promoting language learning and cultural awareness and maintained by The Technology Development Group. Follow for interesting facts about languages from around the world.
Sample Tweet
#Danish nouns have two grammatical genders: common and neuter. #language https://t.co/LPzpsE1nIg
— About World Language (@aboutworldlangs) April 13, 2017
LanguageLog
Username: @LanguageLog
Why Follow? To keep with the latest from the Language Log blog, of course!
Sample Tweet
Mongolian transliterations of Donald Trump’s name: We’ve looked fairly intensively at transcriptions of our new… https://t.co/5M4nkNrN6d
— Language Log (@LanguageLog) April 13, 2017
Language Bandit
Username: @Languagebandit
Why follow? Just the language facts, ma’am. Language facts and more language facts.
Sample Tweet
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia. It is called Lubiana in Italian, Liubliana in Spanish, and Laibach in German.
— Language Bandit (@Languagebandit) April 6, 2017
Benny Lewis
Username: @irishpolyglot
Why follow? Keep up with the adventures of Fluent in 3 Month’s Benny Lewis (see our interview with him here), plus information about languages and how to learn them.
Sample Tweet
A shout-out to linguists… while also making it explicitly clear that I’m not one. Let’s not steal titles away from accomplished academics! https://t.co/UA0P7bBS7r
— Benny Lewis|VidconEU (@irishpolyglot) April 11, 2017
Dictionary of American Regional English
Username: @darewords
Why follow? Because you’ve always wanted to know the meaning of words like “foop” and “drizzle-drazzle,” haven’t you?
Sample Tweet
Happy Friday! To FOOP is to dance uninhibitedly. #fooplikenooneswatching
— DARE (@darewords) April 7, 2017
HaggardHawks
Username: @HaggardHawks
Why follow? Obscure words and cool facts about them.
Sample Tweet
A WATER-DOG is a small, grey, low-level cloud supposed to forecast rain.
— Haggard Hawks (@HaggardHawks) April 13, 2017
Ben Zimmer
Username: @bgzimmer
Why follow? Ben Zimmer is a linguist who writes a column for the Wall Street Journal. Follow him for insights on how English is evolving, word histories and more.
Sample Tweet
Is “reaccommodate” the Euphemism of the Year? This @TIME piece quotes @wordlust and me on euphemistic language. https://t.co/zSaPR46hAF
— Ben Zimmer (@bgzimmer) April 12, 2017
Merriam-Webster
Username: @MerriamWebster
Why Follow: Learn new words and new facts about them, plus see what other people are looking up.
Sample Tweet
????Lookups for ‘armada’ are spiking after Trump used the word to describe a U.S. Navy strike group. https://t.co/AzjBvwLGWX
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) April 12, 2017
Top Language Services/Translation Industry Twitter Accounts
Want to keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of translation, interpretation, and localization?
Follow these accounts!
Nova Languages
Username: @novalanguages
Why follow? A really interesting, well-curated feed on languages and translation from Nova Languages, a New York language agency.
Sample Tweet
The origins of an ancient fairy tale — from proto-languages to all of the modern languages https://t.co/CZS9pqgrPl via @DiscoverMag pic.twitter.com/pqKcfbEkoq
— Nova Languages (@novalanguages) April 12, 2017
MultiLingual Magazine
Username: @multilingualmag
Why follow? The latest industry-related news and updates from MultiLingual Magazine, a language industry staple for the past 30 years.
Sample Tweet
Are earbuds powered with machine interpreting an industry threat? https://t.co/B7vU4GP85w @CSA_Research @ArleLommel #1nt #xl8
— MultiLingual Mag (@multilingualmag) April 13, 2017
Marjolein Groot Nibbelink (aka Multilingual Marla)
Username: @MLConnect
Why follow? The Twitter feed for MultiLingual Magazine’s marketing director is filled with interesting and helpful information for translators and the businesses who use their services.
Sample Tweet
More Than Words: Getting To The Heart Of Global Content Strategy – https://t.co/rzFnujeLEJ RT @BrandQuarterly #G11n https://t.co/Qg97fMLC4G
— MultiLingualMarla (@MLConnect) April 11, 2017
Localization News
Username: @L10Ntweets
Why follow? An excellent source of interesting stories about languages and translation.
Sample Tweet
Translation blog: TGIF: Juliette Binoche and Ricky Gervais translate jokes into English https://t.co/NweBGs6ZU9
— Localization News (@L10Ntweets) April 14, 2017
Common Sense Advisory
Username: @CSA_Research
Why follow? The latest independent market research on translation, localization and global businesses.
Sample Tweet
We talked to 3 companies in the budding market for “hearables.” Read about it here: https://t.co/GN1prLTB0S
— CommonSenseAdvisory (@CSA_Research) April 13, 2017
Slator
Username: @slatornews
Why follow? An excellent stream of industry-related news from both the Slator website and around the Internet.
Sample Tweet
22 languages, 720 dialects: and huge opportunities if you know how to reach India’s next gen of mobile consumers https://t.co/4nnJxsCGZc
— Slator (@slatornews) April 13, 2017
TAUS
Username: @T21Century
Why follow? Observe the evolution of our new robot overlords! This account features translation industry news and analysis, with a special focus on machine translation.
Sample Tweet
Translating with Cerebral Machines: Where Can It Take Us? https://t.co/gg3cgJfkFM
— TAUS (@T21Century) April 13, 2017
Elia
Username: @EliaOrg
Why follow? Information on industry news and events from the European Language Industry Association.
Sample Tweet:
The next Elia Exchange Forum takes place in Maribor, Slovenia on 21/04 and is all about quality. If you’re an Elia Member, DM to join us pic.twitter.com/07iU6DkoPN
— Elia (@EliaOrg) April 12, 2017
American Translators Association
Why follow? Another great feed full of information on world languages and the translation industry.
Sample Tweet
Learning Arabic from Egypt’s Revolution https://t.co/jOOXCVvDEn via @newyorker @peterhessler #xl8 #1nt
— Am Translators Assn (@atanet) April 12, 2017
Nataly Kelly
Username: @natalykelly
Why follow? HubSpot’s VP of International Operations and Strategy is an excellent source for information on global marketing and international business expansion.
Sample Tweet
Exporters see huge potential for international to fuel overall growth #AmexGrowGlobal pic.twitter.com/wNDZOIDJrh
— Nataly Kelly (@natalykelly) March 29, 2017
SmartCAT
Username: @smartCATai
Why follow? Fun articles about languages and helpful information for translators.
Sample Tweet
“A serious agency will act as a buffer or filter between you and the end client.” Via @ITTranslator https://t.co/dK9rA3XqZg
— smartCAT (@smartCATai) March 25, 2017
Of course, we’d love it if you gave us a follow, too: @K_International
Want to follow everyone all at once? This list makes it easy!
And I’m sure I missed some great accounts, so feel free to recommend them in the comments.
Great list. Don’t forget Language Crawler at https://twitter.com/LanguageCrawler and Language Focus at https://twitter.com/langfocus
Also this company produces an annual list of the top 25 twitter accounts.
Here are the winners for 2016:
http://en.bab.la/news/top-25-language-twitterers-2016
Language crawler is number 23
Thanks for the additions Jeremy