Spanish & Portuguese

How did she do it? Three questions with U of T grad who speaks 11 languages

mattimar — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:31:59 +0000

How did she do it? Three questions with U of T grad who speaks 11 languages

mattimar Wed, 10/30/2024 - 16:31

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Originally from Malaysia, Xin Yi Lim is graduating from U of T with a master’s in Hispanic linguistics with a collaborative specialization in diaspora and transnational studies from the department of Spanish and Portuguese (photo by Nicole In)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Global Lens

Convocation 2024

Spanish & Portuguese

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Graduate Students

Subheadline

“My brain works in different channels … I’ve developed resources, tools and mechanism to prevent cross-linguistic contamination”

Xin Yi Lim arrived at the University of Toronto in 2019 with plans to become a cardiac surgeon, but she has since achieved a feat many would consider equally daunting: learning to speak 11 languages.

After shifting her focus during her undergrad, Lim is set to graduate from U of T this week with a master’s in Hispanic linguistics with a collaborative specialization in diaspora and transnational studies from the department of Spanish and Portuguese in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Originally from Malaysia, Lim says she fell in love with Toronto’s diverse community and hopes to continue living in the city. Following fall convocation, she hopes to pursue a career that combines her passions for graphic design and languages.

“I wish to work in a capacity where I can converse and capitalize on all these skills I have amassed over the years,” says Lim, who also earned her bachelor’s degree from U of T and is considered a hyperpolyglot – the term generally used to describe someone who can speak more than five languages.

“I’d love to continue making meaningful connections with people and touching the hearts of others by learning their culture and language.”

In the near term, Lim is eager to find opportunities in entertainment – perhaps with Disney on Ice or Royal Caribbean Cruises – to showcase her figure skating skills. She competed with the Malaysian junior national figure skating team and was a member of U of T’s Varsity training squad.

As she prepares to embark on a new chapter, Lim spoke with U of T News about how she learned so many languages, her university experience and, of course, what language she plans to tackle next.

How did you learn all these languages?

I will give a lot of credit to my home country of Malaysia. Growing up with five languages in my household built my brain to absorb different languages.

My brain works in different channels and compartments. With a photographic memory, learning languages is like translating these photographs in my head into these mental compartments.

Due to my perfectionism in linguistics and eagerness to not make mistakes, I’ve developed resources, tools and mechanism to prevent cross-linguistic contamination. For languages that are in similar linguistic families – like Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish – I created mechanisms for active recall to help me avoid mixing them up while speaking.

How has studying at U of T shaped your path?

I came to U of T wanting to become a cardiac surgeon and now I have 11 languages under my belt. After my third semester of doing life sciences, I quickly found my love for linguistics and political activism.

I had to take political science and social science – and if I had never taken these courses, I wouldn’t have known I was so passionate about diaspora studies, transnational studies, anthropology or sociology.

That’s one thing about U of T that I really appreciate. Some may complain about its academic rigour, but I think it worked out in my favour. The well-rounded education I received here is hard to find in other institutions in Canada.

Being at U of T has enriched and amplified my experience in language and my love for different cultures. I took Italian in my second year and Turkish in my third year. In my final year, I had some wiggle room for more electives. So, I decided to take Portuguese for Spanish speakers, which was so super, super helpful. Then I took French and Swahili.

I believe the selection of different languages at U of T offers a great plethora of knowledge and I want to keep that going.

If you could instantly become fluent in one language, which one would it be?

Arabic is incredibly difficult to learn. I would really like to master this language – hopefully soon.

I also want to learn Greek, Albanian and Armenian, seeing as there is a huge population of these three ethnic groups in Toronto and I want to be able to connect with those cultures.

'Hyperpolyglot' U of T grad speaks 11 languages… and counting

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:26:26 +0000

'Hyperpolyglot' U of T grad speaks 11 languages… and counting

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 07/30/2024 - 09:26

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Xin Yi Lim discovered her passion for Hispanic linguistics while completing her bachelor's degree at U of T (all photos supplied)

Cynthia Macdonald

Topic

Our Community

Spanish & Portuguese

Faculty of Arts & Science

International Students

Linguistics

Varsity Blues

Subheadline

Xin Yi Lim, who will receive her master’s degree in Hispanic linguistics this fall, says “it’s like I have 11 channels in my brain.”

Born in Malaysia, Xin Yi Lim was raised in a family where English, Malay, Mandarin and Cantonese were all spoken regularly – but that was merely a jumping off point for her multilingual talents.

The University of Toronto student, who will officially graduate this fall, is conversationally proficient in 11 languages – five more than are required for a person to be described as a hyperpolyglot.

In addition to the five languages spoken by her family, Lim now also speaks Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Turkish and Swahili.

@uoft Meet #UofTGrad24 Xin Yi Lim, who speaks 11 languages 🗣️ Lim is set to graduate this week with a master’s in Hispanic linguistics with a collaborative specialization in diaspora and transnational studies from the department of Spanish and Portuguese in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Originally from Malaysia, Lim says she fell in love with Toronto’s diverse community and hopes to continue living in the city. Following fall convocation, she hopes to pursue a career that combines her passions for graphic design and languages. Discover the full story via our link in bio or at uoft.me/b1j. #UofT #convocation #polyglot #hyperpolyglot ♬ original sound - University of Toronto

And the list continues to grow.

“Languages have opened doors to so many friendships and work opportunities for me,” Lim says. “Learning them is a genuine way of creating connection.”

As part of her master's degree in Hispanic linguistics with a collaborative specialization in diaspora and transnational studies from the department of Spanish and Portuguese in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Lim examined how Spanish evolves and changes for bilingual Colombians in Toronto.

Her linguistic journey began at the age of 12, when she began studying Spanish and joined a team that competed in language competitions.

In addition to language, Lim also competed in figure skating as a member of the Malaysian junior national team. In fact, it was her skating career that inspired her to learn Turkish – after encountering the Turkish national team, and their language, at a training camp in Switzerland.

Lim didn’t intend to focus on languages and linguistics when she arrived at U of T. She initially enrolled in life sciences with the intention of becoming a cardiac surgeon. But it wasn't long before she switched to a specialist program in Spanish.

A key turning point came when she took a course on linguistic varieties of Spanish taught by Professor Laura Colantoni. “She’s an amazing professor and her course was so intriguing, so I decided to pursue linguistics and took more courses with her,” says Lim, who earned an honours bachelor of arts in Spanish with a specialist in Hispanic linguistics and a minor in Latin American studies in 2023.

Along the way, she challenged herself by taking a new language course every year: French, Turkish, Portuguese, Italian and Swahili.

She didn’t need to take a course for Indonesian, though. “Because my dad worked in Indonesia for about 15 years, we picked that up too,” she says.

Lim has competed in and taught figure skating in both Malaysia and Canada

While she added to her list of languages, Lim also advanced her prowess in skating as a member of the Varsity Blues figure skating team in 2020 and 2021. She also holds a 1st Kyu in Kyokushin karate and is a bartender, mixologist and graphic designer.

Going forward, Lim hopes to continue skating professionally, including by performing internationally as a skater with Disney on Ice.

And, no surprise, she also plans to continue expanding her range of languages.

“When you learn another language, you’re really expanding your cognitive load — and that in turn helps you learn your next language,” says Lim, who describes being able to converse in 11 languages as feeling “like I have 11 channels in my brain.”

She adds that the biggest benefit has been her ability to connect with more people and cultures. “Nelson Mandela said, ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart,’” she says.

“After I learned that saying, I never saw languages in the same light. I realized that even if I could only say a couple of words in somebody else’s language, it would let them know how much time, compassion and effort I have for understanding other cultures.”

Next on her list? Arabic. “I’m so interested to learn it. It’s one of the most diverse and popular languages in Toronto, but the script is really challenging,” Lim says.

“That one requires time.”

Portugal’s president commemorates 75 years of Portuguese language program at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 13:13:31 +0000

Portugal’s president commemorates 75 years of Portuguese language program at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 09/21/2023 - 09:13

Cutline

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa signs the University of Toronto Distinguished Visitors Book at Simcoe Hall (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Topic

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

The University of Toronto welcomed Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to the St. George campus last week to commemorate 75 years of the Spanish and Portuguese language program in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Rebelo de Sousa’s visit was part of a five-day trip to Canada that coincided with the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the first significant wave of Portuguese immigrants to the country.

Addressing U of T students and professors, as well as high school students and teachers, Rebelo de Sousa said “it’s an honour to me, my country and my people” to visit the university and acknowledged U of T’s early commitment to Portuguese language scholarship.

“That’s something I would call perspective,” he said. “We are very grateful for it.”

U of T President Meric Gertler welcomed the president, his delegation and attendees and said that U of T is honoured to play a part in expanding the ties between Canada and Portugal.

“The Portuguese community has deep roots here with business, cultural and community organizations contributing to Toronto’s rich cultural landscape,” he said, noting that Portuguese is fifth-most prevalent language spoken in Toronto, excluding English and French.

Rebelo de Sousa, for his part, highlighted the significance of Portuguese as a language of business, science, culture, and education.

“For all those who don’t speak Portuguese, learning the Portuguese language is now more than an exercise in intellectual curiosity,” he said. “It’s a safe investment in personal and professional development.”

The Portuguese delegation – which included senior government leaders and António Leão Rocha, Ambassador of Portugal to Canada – were welcomed by President Gertler, Anna Kennedy, chair of Governing Council, Professor Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, Professor Ana T. Pérez-Leroux, chair of the department of Spanish and Portuguese, and other U of T senior leaders.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa views items from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library ’s Portuguese collection as U of T President Meric Gertler looks on (photo by Johnny Guatto)

During the event, two students from the Faculty of Music performed Portuguese folk songs and Pérez-Leroux moderated a question-and-answer session with students in the audience. There was a signing of memoranda supporting a continued agreement between the Camões Institute and the department of Spanish and Portuguese at U of T.

“U of T is fortunate to play a vital role in promoting and preserving the Portuguese language,” Woodin said.

“The Faculty of Arts and Science is proud to be home to the department of Spanish and Portuguese – a place where students can explore these major languages and literatures and appreciate the influential societal, artistic and intellectual history of Ibero-America.”

Toward the end of the event, President Gertler accompanied Rebelo de Sousa to the boardroom to view artifacts from the Portuguese collection at U of T’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. They included: a first edition of a selection of shipwreck narratives called Historia tragico-maritima that was originally published as news flyers and sold in the streets of Lisbon; a collection of poems or romances by Bernarda Ferreira de Lacerda, one of the earliest women writers in Portuguese; and two works of poetry by António Botto and Judith Teixeira that are now considered key publications in Portugal’s LGBTQ history.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa shakes hands with a student (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Luis Antunes, a computer engineering student in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and president of the University of Toronto Portuguese Student Association (UTPA), said that as a recent immigrant to Canada, he noticed that not many young Portuguese people speak Portuguese.

“I moved here two years ago, and I think it’s very important for us to maintain our cultural heritage and for future generations to still speak Portuguese,” said Antunes, adding that he admires the president’s professional career as a former law professor, journalist and political commentator.

“I’ve had family members who were his students when he was a professor. It was an honour to be able to meet him and share this moment with the rest of the UTPA members.”

Building bridges: Global Language Initiative prepares U of T students for a 'pluricultural' world

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 15:11:36 +0000

Building bridges: Global Language Initiative prepares U of T students for a 'pluricultural' world

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 03/21/2022 - 11:11

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A collaborative effort between 15 departments in U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science aims to boost language instruction and promote intercultural competence and global fluency (photo by SDI Productions/Getty Images)

Cynthia Macdonald

Topic

Global Lens

Germanic Languages & Literatures

Italian Studies

Spanish & Portuguese

Academics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Indigenous

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Canada, like many other countries, is increasingly becoming a “pluricultural” society, where citizens regularly engage not only within their own cultures and languages, but with those of their friends, neighbours and colleagues – and the University of Toronto is preparing students to succeed in this new reality.

The Global Languages Initiative (GLI) is a collaborative effort uniting 15 departments in the Faculty of Arts & Science to increase access to language instruction across disciplines, with the aim of promoting intercultural competence and global fluency.

“What brings our language departments together is the philosophy that in order to become universal citizens, students should have access to another culture and another language,” says Paolo Frascà, assistant professor, teaching stream, and co-ordinator of language courses in the department of Italian studies.

The GLI was instigated two years ago by Stefan Soldovieri, chair of the department of Germanic languages and literatures.

“We were interested in connecting language departments – and not just traditional language departments, since religion, for example, also offers language courses. We wanted to get everyone together in a way that really hadn’t happened before,” he says.

The group also sees itself as an ally for the revitalization of Indigenous and endangered languages, and encourages community-based learning. Since its inception, the GLI has held several events, including a panel discussion on the benefits of being able to use multiple languages in the job market.

“That was wonderful,” says Frascà. “We invited several students to speak about how studying languages had really made a difference for them in the world at large, and in their professional development.”

In October, the group also hosted a talk on plurilingualism by Enrica Piccardo, a professor in the department of curriculum, teaching and learning in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

At the end of January, the group held its first major event. Titled “Languages Toward a Planetary Education,” the symposium featured a number of invited speakers and various other activities, including an “Artistic Intervention” where students read poetry in translation and played music. They were also offered a forum to discuss the challenges and rewards of learning second and third languages.

The symposium also included a roundtable where department chairs and professors shared ideas designed to improve best practices in language instruction.

“We talked about some of the challenges we face in organizing our departments, including the importance of providing excellent training for our teaching assistants,” says GLI member Juan Carlos Rocha Osornio, assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Other topics included the optimal management of classes containing students with different heritage languages and fluency levels, as well as ideas for building community when classes are larger or held online.

Rocha Osornio says other events will held during 2022 and the symposium will return next year. He adds that the notion of bravery in language learning – a concept articulated by keynote speaker Lindsay Morcom, associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University – was one of the event’s highlights.

“She was able to connect that idea to all languages,” he says. “That’s what stood out for me the most, since students can often be hesitant and nervous when they try to learn a new language. They really need to stand outside of their comfort zone.”

If they do, he adds, they stand to make valuable connections with brand new communities.

Frascà echoes the thought, emphasizing that language instruction is essential to build bridges between all groups in our society, and to fostering tolerance and understanding.

“Learning and interacting in different languages – even different ones at the same time – really is part of human nature and history,” he says. “It brings us back to a truth about what it means to be human.”

U of T researcher explores perceptions of disability in post-revolutionary Mexico

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 20:42:56 +0000

U of T researcher explores perceptions of disability in post-revolutionary Mexico

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 01/21/2022 - 15:42

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Susan Antebi's work focuses on departures of notions of normalcy and the injustices that people living with disabilities have been subjected to historically and in the present day (photo by Ximena Berecochea)

Sean McNeely

Topic

Our Community

Spanish & Portuguese

Faculty of Arts & Science

History

Humanities

Research & Innovation

Shortly after the Mexican Revolution, the country’s leaders believed the best way to create a healthy young generation was through campaigns and efforts to minimize disability. In their eyes, disability – both physical and intellectual – was the effect of unhygienic living conditions or poor parenting. Minimize the cause, they figured, and the effect is ultimately reduced.

Susan Antebi, an associate professor in the department of Spanish & Portuguese in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts & Science, says she wanted to dive into this period of history and study the perceptions and attitudes toward human differences – elements of which are still perpetuated today.

“One of the unique aspects of my work is disability studies,” says Antebi. “I focus on departures from notions of normalcy, and on the ways such differences reshape our perceptions of history, as well as the injustices disabled people are often subjected to, historically and in the present day.”

In Mexico’s case, the approach to people living with disabilities in the early part of the 20th century aligned with the country’s overarching goal of eugenics – the promotion of desired characteristics in order to improve future generations. While Antebi says Mexico’s version of eugenics wasn’t as harsh as those adopted by other countries – for example, there were no sterilization programs for people with disabilities such as those conducted in Nazi Germany or the United States in the 1930s and 1940s – she notes Mexico’s government leaders still believed disability could be minimized.

Antebi says the topic has received relatively little attention.

“It's a time period of very rich cultural production,” says Antebi. “People have worked a lot on the Mexican Revolution because it's such a tumultuous cultural period. But disability has not really been emphasized, and I thought that was something important to bring to the forefront.”

That led Antebi to bring together Mexican literature, history, disability studies and personal reflections in her book, Embodied Archive: Disability in Post-Revolutionary Mexican Cultural Production, which was awarded the Tobin Siebers Prize for Disability Studies in the Humanities late last year.

“The title of the book refers to the experience of witnessing written documents, ‘embodying’ them, or making them new through our experience,” says Antebi. “This witnessing as reactivation of the past also allows for a space through which to denounce historical and ongoing injustices.”

Conducting archival research for the book, Antebi spent five months in Mexico City in 2014. She divided her time between the Archivo General de la Nación (National Archive) and the Archivo Histórico de la Secretaría de Salud Pública (Public Health Archive).

“There were many things that struck me – certainly it's very disturbing,” says Antebi. “But my interest in the book was not just to study the contents of these documents, but also to write about the experience of encountering them in our contemporary world – to think about what they mean, and what they come to mean in the present day.”

In the archives, Antebi discovered a great deal of scrutiny paid to children, including anthropometric measurements of their bodies – lung capacity, height and weight – as well as their IQs.

“It’s very closely tied to notions of race and racialization,” says Antebi. “There's a sense in which the ideal Mexican population is Mestizo – a mix of Indigenous and European ancestry coming together to forge a new and powerful race. And so, part of those measurements and interest in gradually purging the nation of unwanted differences coincide with that racial imperative.”

Rigorous measuring and monitoring extended to the state of school buildings, with an emphasis on air quality, more hygienic spaces, lighting and even school desk and textbook placement.

“There’s this biological metaphor that goes between the children who occupy the school and the health of the building,” says Antebi. “There were physicians who went into schools to monitor both the children and the buildings to make sure things were working properly.”

In addition to frequent measurements and testing, there were also anti-alcohol campaigns, programs to eradicate syphilis, as well as efforts to enhance prenatal and postnatal care.

“There were all kinds of social activities and programs to improve the health and robustness of the population, and ultimately create a positive impact and improve reproductive outcomes,” says Antebi.

The efforts created a history of injustices for children with disabilities and their families.

“The use of IQ tests, along with anthropometric testing, meant that schoolchildren were labeled as ‘retrasados’ or delayed, and placed in different groups or sent to special schools,” says Antebi.

“Terminology such as ‘idiots’,’ imbeciles’ and ‘feebleminded’ was used. Large sectors of the population were classified as ‘abnormal’ because of their socioeconomic status, disability or appearance.”

In some cases, the families of children with disabilities received public welfare. But many of them were kept in institutions against their will. Some children, either because of disabilities, behaviour or socioeconomic status, were sent to farm schools where they were expected to work to partially subsidize their cost of living.

“One of the conclusions from my research is that eugenics, as a way of thinking, doesn't really end in the 1940s,” says Antebi. “Many of these ways of thinking about what constitutes a healthy child or a normal person continue and are perpetuated in different ways today.”

That’s why she believes studying this history is so important.

“The archive is not just a fixed repository in the past, it’s part of a disability genealogy through which we can go back and understand the connections and have a better understanding of how we conceive of differences today.”

U of T course explores urban youth languages – in Toronto and around the world

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 15:43:12 +0000

U of T course explores urban youth languages – in Toronto and around the world

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 11/25/2020 - 10:43

Cutline

Adeiza Isiaka, a post-doctoral researcher in the Faculty of Arts & Science, is teaching a new U of T course on urban youth languages of the world (photo courtesy of Adieza Isiaka)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

St. Michael's College

Woodsworth College

If you overheard someone saying they’ve been friends “for a minute,” would you assume they just met? If so, you may need to brush up on your urban slang.

“A minute” is a phrase that actually means for a very long time, and it’s just one the many words and expressions students are learning about in the new University of Toronto course: Urban Youth Languages of the World.

Youth across the globe are continually creating new terms and expressions – and their impact and influence can be substantial, says Adeiza Isiaka, a post-doctoral researcher in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of French and department of Spanish and Portuguese who is teaching the course.

The creation of urban youth languages involves “youth populations using the grammar of existing languages and inserting novel words and slang,” Isiaka says. “There’s a lot of linguistic innovation going on.”

Isiaka’s course examines urban youth languages that have emerged in Africa, North America and Europe, with a focus on the sociolinguistic concepts of language, multilingualism, lexical innovation and renovation, and language-mixing in relation to youth language practices.

Urban youth language comes in many forms. Isiaka says it could mean new words, words pronounced in a different way, a word with multiple meanings or words taken and adopted from different languages.

What purpose do urban youth languages serve?

“It depends on the context and where this language is used,” Isiaka says, noting youth languages are developing across the world, with Africa being a particularly fertile region.

“It could be used to protest the establishment or to demean colonial legacies of linguistic normativity. In Cameroon, for instance, youth languages are used to protest the dominance of Francophone and Anglophone language norms.

“In South Africa, some youth languages developed as prison languages, particularly during apartheid. They were a way of communicating so youth could have conversations without jailers knowing what they were talking about.”

In Nigeria, youth language is primarily intended to set the younger generation apart from the general population, according to Isiaka.

“It’s a way to show that you're smart, or that you belong to the youth population, and that you're aware of the street.”

Similarly, in North America, youth language development is often driven by current culture trends, including hip hop or rap cultures. At times, it’s been connected to urban gangs or anti-establishment movements, but not always.

“In Toronto, it’s not anti-establishment – it's just something to show that you belong to the city,” says Isiaka. “If you can speak Toronto slang you are indeed a Torontonian.”

Youth languages can be very powerful and often become part of mainstream language, which Isiaka says is ironic considering they were originally intended to create exclusivity.

In Kenya and South Africa, for example, schools are beginning to adopt youth language expressions in their lessons to better interact with students. Media outlets such as television stations and radio stations across Africa are also adopting youth language terms.

“If you have a continent where over 60 per cent of the entire population are youth, it's important to be able to communicate with them,” says Isiaka.

Even U.S. President-elect Joe Biden appears to see the value of youth language. He shocked viewers during a televised debate when he dropped the Arabic word “Inshallah,” responding to when President Donald Trump might share his controversial tax returns.

The term literally means “God willing” in Arabic and Farsi, but among younger populations, it’s a sarcastic term suggesting something that will never happen. The word set Twitter on fire.

Joshua Daley, a first-year student in the linguistics program and a member of Woodsworth College, took the course initially because of his interest in Canadian slang.

“Coming from Nova Scotia to Toronto, I was very interested in the difference in culture and slangs in the two cities,” he says. “This course gives greater insight into the linguistic culture of Toronto but also other parts of the world like Kenya and Cambodia.

“I enjoy the course material, especially how youth languages develop and have bridged the gap into contemporary language. The combinations of different languages to create a dialect is fascinating. I’m currently working on a research project dealing with how youth languages have been affected by the invention of the internet.”

Sara Zawahid, a second-year student in the physical and mathematical sciences program and a member of St. Michael’s College, was intrigued the moment she saw the course title.

“I felt that I could relate to this course since urban youth languages are heavily rooted in my everyday life,” she says. “Also, I saw the potential behind this course as slang has enhanced many pre-existing things, including music, which is a big part of why I enjoy this course so much. We get to look into slang in terms of many different contexts and how they’re used around the world.”