Laura Spinney

@lfspinney

Novelist, science journalist and author of PROTO: HOW ONE ANCIENT LANGUAGE WENT GLOBAL - out now!

Ile-de-France, France

Joined July 2012

239Following

4KFollowers

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 22

Where does language come from? think.kera.org/2025/07/22/whe…

lfspinney's tweet card. Science writer Laura Spinney joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the proto-Indo-European language, how it connects languages as varied as English and Russia.

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 17

With the suave John Maytham in Cape Town m.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJA2_…

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 17

Uralic languages illuminated #ancientdna shorturl.at/JCw4g

lfspinney's tweet card. Parent emerged over 4,000 years ago in Siberia, farther east than many thought, then rapidly spread west, study finds.

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Laura Spinney Retweeted

Laura Meyer@LauraNMeyer · Jul 15

Delighted to see PROTO by @lfspinney and SHATTERED LANDS by @SamDalrymple123 included here! Prospect critics recommend books for the beach: 2025 prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/70487/…

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Riccardo Ginevra@riccginevra · Jul 14

Thanks @lfspinney! Interesting experiment – maybe @iosif_lazaridis is interested in our comparative reconstruction of how a speaker of PIE may have actually pronunced the Dragon Slaying Myth: youtube.com/watch?v=J1SXeS…

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 13

Can I just say, that @DannyBate4 knows his stuff

DDr Danny Bate@DannyBate4 · Jul 8

New ALILI alert! 🚨 Episode 37 is a trip into prehistory, as @lfspinney, author of the super new book Proto, joins me to share her expertise and enthusiasm for the 'lost' language of Proto-Indo-European! Listen here: Acast:shows.acast.com/a-language-i-l… Spotify:open.spotify.com/episode/0xbQPe…

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 13

Go to the museum at Çorum - more than 180 kinds of bread or bakery product!

PProto-Indo-European Lexicon@PIELexicon · Jul 13

Some texts mention breads made with hazelnuts, fruits, or fine white flour,” she explains. “We’ve been able to recreate similar flavors today, bringing the ancient Hittite kitchen back to life. - Dr. Valentina Orsi from Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 13

.@riccginevra ?

IIosif Lazaridis@iosif_lazaridis · Jul 12

Yamnaya man, 3200BC speaking Proto-Indo-European. Do any linguists make sense of what he is supposed to be saying? Created with a mix of Indic and Lithuanian text to approximate PIE phonology.

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 13

.@riccginevra @andrewmbyrd ??

IIosif Lazaridis@iosif_lazaridis · Jul 12

Yamnaya man, 3200BC speaking Proto-Indo-European. Do any linguists make sense of what he is supposed to be saying? Created with a mix of Indic and Lithuanian text to approximate PIE phonology.

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John McWhorter@JohnHMcWhorter · May 2

Last night on Colbert. All about PRONOUN TROUBLE (or mostly). youtu.be/eClNdXq3NWw?si… via @YouTube

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 10

Coppola tried this to unearth new script-writing talent - see Zoetrope - all he got was regression to the mean. Should grant applicants judge competitors’ proposals? Unorthodox approach gets two real-world tests | Science | AAAS science.org/content/articl…

lfspinney's tweet card. Distributed peer review enlists more researchers in the process, but some may lack expertise

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 10

Great conversation yesterday with the very well-read @MitchJeserich of @kpfaradio and California for his show Letters & Politics kpfa.org/episode/letter…

lfspinney's tweet card. Guest: Laura Spinney is a science journalist and the author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World and most recently, Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global.

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 8

The team, led by Professor Rüstem Aslan of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, has resumed full-scale excavations (...). Their focus this year is razor-sharp: the so-called “destruction layer” dating back to the Late Bronze Age – roughly 1200 BCE (...).

AAnatolian Archaeology@Anatolian2023 · Jul 8

Troy’s Hidden Battlefield: Could the Fabled War Be More Than Just Myth? anatolianarchaeology.net/troys-hidden-b…

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Laura Meyer@LauraNMeyer · Jul 7

Proto; The Indo-Europeans Rediscovered | Book review | The TLS the-tls.com/languages-llng…

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Dr Danny Bate@DannyBate4 · Jul 8

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Governance Now@governancenow · Jul 7

The saga of a #LANGUAGE family that has shaped the world @lfspinney's ‘Proto’ is an exciting, accessible story of the birth and spread of Indo-European languages #Linguistics #History #Science #Culture #Sanskrit @HarperCollinsIN governancenow.com/news/regular-s…

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jul 8

Microorganisms, materials and movement inspire high-fashion dress designs. nature.com/immersive/d415…

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jun 29

Should babies vote? theguardian.com/books/2025/jun…

lfspinney's tweet card. Strange as it may seem, it’s hard to refute the arguments for truly universal suffrage

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Laura Spinney@lfspinney · Jun 23

Sleepless on (nearly) the shortest night, thinking about the Amesbury Archer who could also have worshipped the sun at Stonehenge - built by others before him - around 2,300BCE. His people may have brought the first #indoeuropean language to Britain.

BBBC Wiltshire@BBCWiltshire · Jun 21

The sun rising at Stonehenge this morning ☀️ Thousands of people are there right now to celebrate the #summersolstice ☀️ See the sun rise across the UK on our live page ➡️ bbc.in/3SZqsuL

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Feargal Sharkey@Feargal_Sharkey · Jun 21

So I went to see Spike Milligan's gravestone recently, to see for myself the "I told you I was ill" epitaph. Bright sunny day, slightly faded inscription, couldn't see it. Walked away somewhat disgruntled, another bloody urban myth I thought. 5 minutes later had a thought, had…

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