hello.

I'm Adam Aleksic, a linguist and influencer currently living in Manhattan. You probably know me for creating educational videos as the "Etymology Nerd" to a following of over three million across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Or you know me from my book Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language. Or you don't know me.

I have a linguistics degree from Harvard College, where I served as president of the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society. I've lectured on language and social media at over a dozen colleges, and I am a frequent guest on NBC and NPR. I am currently studying how technology affects vibes—our emotional, aesthetic appraisals of reality.

published writings
From Skibidi to Rizz, Why the Internet Loves Slang. Financial Times. September 2025.
People Are Starting to Talk Like ChatGPT. The Washington Post. August 2025. 
The Insidious Creep of Trump's Speaking Style. The New York Times. August 2025.
How Incel Language Infected the Mainstream Internet. The Verge. July 2025.
These Video Game Terms Are Transforming Slang. The Washington Post. June 2024.
​Gen Z's New Punctuation. The Washington Post. May 2024.
How Gen Z Took Over Incel Slang. The Washington Post. April 2024.
The Effects of Language Policy on Language Identity in Serbia and Croatia. Harvard College Thesis. March 2023.

You can also follow me on substack here

contact
for book publicity or events: [email protected]
for other book business: [email protected]
general inquiries​: [email protected]