C/O Robin Kamanarski

The Silhouette: Please introduce yourself.

Robin Komarniski: My name is Robin Komarniski. I am in my second year of cognitive science of language. I'm an Academic Committee Member of the McMaster Linguistics Society. We focus on the idea of promoting linguistics as a whole and linguistic diversity. Not only that, we just want to help people if they're struggling with any linguistics classes and for other people to meet other people in linguistics and make some friends.

What languages are you currently learning?

So I speak English natively and I try to speak German with my mom. German and French are definitely my best languages; I could probably study them at an academic level . . . I'm also learning Spanish and Portuguese, which I haven't given too much attention to recently, but I am learning them.

How do you feel about lessons or books that advertise quick language learning tools, for example within a month?

I think it is a very strong and attention-grabbing selling point. I think that it also informs us about our society right now, how we're always expecting convenience . . . We're so used to quick service and now it's the same with languages. We've tried to condense it and commodify it when really, I just think it's not one size fits all. It's really dependent on the person because everyone learns at their own pace. Sometimes language just clicks for you but sometimes it takes longer and that's completely fine. There's no rush. If you're promising someone it'll take a month and it doesn't end up clicking in a month, that person might feel pressured. But it's okay if you feel like you're not making progress, because you probably are making progress, just at your own pace. It's like a product but language is not a product — it's its own entity.

Do you have any advice for learning languages? 

If anyone is going to learn a language, definitely, if you can, try and focus on one language at a time. I think what a lot of people get wrong is the view that languages are a kind of collectible. It's like: "Oh, how many can you speak?" and people will say they speak five or six and then they get very concentrated on the number when they fail to realize that languages have so much. Each language is so beautiful in the way that it offers its own specific experience. Germany has its own culture and food and history and community. So does [France] and [Spain] and every one of them. You could just get lost in that for hours. I feel like a lot of people rush the process when it's actually a process to be enjoyed.

When did you become interested in linguistics?

When you learn a language you learn more about how people perceive the world. For example, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis suggests that some languages just might not have a word to describe a specific concept or maybe not all the degrees of that concept. Colour is one of those things. It's that idea of do they even see that colour, can they even perceive it or is it limited? That's exactly what I mean — for European languages, it might not be to the same degree but they have their own grammatical structures that influence the way that they think. Even in German, because 'bridge' is a feminine noun, when Germans are describing a bridge they will describe it using more feminine adjectives. They'll be like, “It's beautiful, it's elegant,” but they'll do that subconsciously. If you were to ask them if being female influences their perception, they'll say no. In reality, it does because there are so many ways language influences us subconsciously.

What area of language or linguistics are you most interested in? 

I really do have a place in my heart for every field of linguistics because it all can have its moment to shine. It's so nice to actually connect to another human being and language is exactly how you do that. There's that expression: if you talk to a man in his second language, you're talking to his head. If you talk to a man in his first language, you're talking to his heart. It means so much more. The connection just is unmatchable. I do also value individual characteristics and that's why I want to go into speech-language pathology. When I was younger, I also saw a speech-language pathologist and it helped me a lot because I couldn't pronounce certain letters, like, for example, the ‘th’ phoneme . . . Hopefully, I can do that for other people. But that's what I love the most; you can connect with people and help them, but you can also learn more about these more refined things about language.

Could you elaborate on what the term linguistic diversity means?There are so many subfields of linguistics like syntax, phonology, phonetics and morphology. Linguistic diversity is just acknowledging that there are many different backgrounds from which people originate and how that influences speech, how that influences vocabulary and how people have their own specific ways of talking…Another thing in linguistics is there's this very clear separation between prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. For example, if you say “You is stupid,” some people would say that's ungrammatical. But if it makes sense to you, if that makes sense in your brain, then it is technically grammatical from a descriptive point of view. So there is no right and wrong way of speaking. At the end of the day, we are the ones who decide language, because language is a community-focused idea. Language is just sharing ideas from one person to another, so there is no wrong way of speaking. That's what linguistic diversity is about — it's deconstructing this idea that there is some kind of hierarchy to the right or wrong way of speaking.

Photos by Kyle West

With tuition and living costs on the rise, obtaining a post-secondary education can be extremely costly. One of the higher costs of education are textbook fees; a first year life sciences student can expect to pay $825.15 in new textbooks.

To reduce the overall cost and increase the accessibility of post-secondary education, open educational resources were created.

OERs are any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license. They can be freely used, shared or adapted by anyone.

There are many benefits of open education. For students, the use of OERs can alleviate the stresses associated with exorbitant textbook costs.

In addition to cost-saving benefits, there are correlations between the use of OERs and higher grades, and the use of OERS and lower course withdrawal rates. Even more, accessible OERs can remove barriers for students with print disabilities.

The use of OERs also avoids the problems characteristic of traditional textbooks. Problems such as bundled content, use of access codes that control and limit access to material and the assignment of “updated” textbook editions made for the sole purpose of profit generation are resolved by the use of OERs.

With all the benefits, it begs the question why hasn’t McMaster University done more to push for OERs?

Recently, McMaster professor Catherine Anderson created the first open-access linguistics textbook with support from the university and a $15,000 grant from eCampusOntario’s open textbook initiative. While this is a great accomplishment, Anderson’s textbook is not enough to create open education on campus.

The McMaster Students Union has advocated for OERs in the past. Last year, they ran the #TextbookBroke campaign with the support of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. This campaign aimed to encourage instructors to adopt OERs in efforts to address textbook affordability.

The 2018 McMaster University budget submission form also recommends that the university invest $50,000 to support professors in adopting or creating OERs that are specific to McMaster courses.

The document contains many suggestions for the university, moved forward by the MSU. However, in light of the recent changes to post-secondary education funding made by the Ford government, it is unclear if any of the MSU’s recommendations, let alone a $50,000 fund for OERs, will materialize.

But beyond advocacy efforts by the MSU, the university has yet to provide legitimate support for open education. According to Olga Perkovic, co-chair of the McMaster OER committee, the committee’s workings are not supported financially or with policy.

This is in contrast with Queen’s University, who are at the forefront of open education in Ontario. The OER committee at Queen’s is a top-down movement, that is, their provost specifically made open education a priority, which involved providing financial and infrastructural support.

According to the MSU budget submission, other Canadian universities including the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University and the University of Calgary have thousands of dollars in funding allocated for OERs.  

McMaster ought to follow suit and prioritize open education for its students. To do so would mean to commit dedicated funds alongside time and efforts to ensure faculty members have the capacity to implement OERs in the classroom.

In the meantime, instructors can help support the open movement by using open materials in their courses whenever it is possible. There are many available collections of OERs for instructors to use. For example, the non-profit organization eCampusOntario hosts a provincially-funded open textbook library that carries hundreds of textbooks and other educational resources from a variety of disciplines.

Students can also support the open movement through discussing implementation of OERs with their instructors, uploading and encouraging their peers to upload their research onto McMaster’s institutional repository MacSphere and contacting the committee to recommend a president to ensure open education is a priority of the incoming president.

To stay up to date on the happenings of McMaster’s OER committee, the group’s meeting minutes are publicly available through McMaster LibGuides.   

 

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By: Yara Farran 

I’m currently sitting in a near-empty classroom. Some students are participating in an impromptu calculus study session. I can hear the anxiety in their voices as they discuss inverse functions. But I can tell that they’re curious, too — maybe even a little excited.

Calculus is a world of its own. Learning about functions and derivatives unlocks some of life’s mysteries. Calculus is a special language, and these students are speaking their truths through numbers and algebraic formulas. But, this is not a piece about calculus. Not really, anyway.

This is a piece about poetry. Slam poetry, more specifically. And in this moment — me in this near-empty classroom with a group of first-year students fumbling their way through unfamiliar math — I am reminded of the sheer strength and beauty of slam.

I now want to write a poem about my broken ties with calculus, and tell an audience just how good it feels to be understood amongst the clutter of numbers, letters and decimals. Slam is a language too.

If you have yet to be introduced to slam poetry, let me be the first to introduce you. I used to be in your position, but then I was warmly welcomed by Hamilton Youth Poets (HYP). HYP is a community-focused organization that supports emerging young writers, poets and emcees by providing them with leadership opportunities to develop their literary and public speaking skills.

andy_hamilton2

Like calculus, slam poetry makes magic from moments; it’s a delicate balance between literary and performance art. Slam is rhythmic, having an intimate relationship with hip-hop and rap. It’s narrative-based, using the art of storytelling to intervene in the world. Most importantly, it gives a voice to its speaker and creates a space in which the poet and their audience can contribute to critical conversations that lead to tangible change in their communities. In short, slam poetry is a tool — it’s a methodology.

There’s also a competitive undertone to slam poetry. A poetry slam gathers performers under one roof where they present their best pieces of work during multiple rounds. Judges will typically give each performance a score from one to ten, and the audience will make it known whether or not they agree with the scores dished out.  They’ll protest to give the poet the love they deserve with extra snaps, claps or comments. Slams are fully immersive and communal experiences. Everyone gets a say.

Ultimately, though, the competition is a means and not an end. We applaud the poet, not the points. We use this forum to celebrate and debate one another, in a respectful and safe environment.

Anyone and everyone can slam. Poetry is a universal language through which people can speak about their unique experiences and contexts. There’s no right way to write, and every poet has their own performance style. Find your voice. Hell, develop your voice and then own your voice. It’s okay if you don’t know where to start. There’s a community of people excited to support you in HYP. If you’re not from Hamilton or the surrounding area, be sure to research local groups dedicated to the literary and performance arts. Slam culture is thriving, so there’s likely a group near you. If not, who’s to say you can’t be the person to start one?

Now, as I finish writing this, the calculus study session is wrapping up. While scribbling on the chalk board, the instructor looks at his students and makes an unexpected comment: “Always allow for serendipity in your life.”

I heard about HYP for the first time during a chance encounter. Four years later I took the plunge and got involved. But, this is not a piece about serendipity. Not really anyway.

HYP is active all-year round. Every third week of the month, we host a poetry slam at the Spice Factory — and the energy is contagious. Around 100 people attend with a mix of familiar and fresh faces. During the upcoming slam, on March 20, HYP will be featuring Winona Linn, a tour-de-force of a spoken word artist that you don’t want to miss. Alongside the competition, there’s also an open mic providing slam-goers with another avenue for poetic expression.

As the spring roars to a start, HYP will host the largest youth poetry festival in Canada, the annual Louder Than A Bomb Canada Poetry Festival (LTABC) from May 5-14.  During the 10-day festival, LTABC offers different workshops and competitive events with the goal of fostering creativity and community, by bringing young people together across racial and socio-economic lines. The festival promises to be a massive occasion for all parties involved.

Two special events that take place during LTABC are the University Slam, which is specifically geared towards engaging post-secondary-aged artists, and the Emcee Olympics, where 16 rappers battle in four rounds of competition.

With both events, there are great prizes to be won (like money and an opportunity to record on HYP’s mixtape) and great friends to be made.

Cover Photo Credit: Yara Farran

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By: Rachel and Megan Goodland/ WGEN

We often hear that our society is becoming too “politically correct”, or “PC.” It is true, that it is not uncommon to see trigger warnings on potentially upsetting content, and in many communities we see the elimination of oppressive language from everyday conversation. This has inspired a confusing amount of rage from people that feel that we are becoming too “sensitive” or “weak” as a culture — especially us young folk. As two people who are trying to uphold this “PC-ness,” we would like to apologize to all of those reading who feel bothered by this new social standard of caring.

Actually, we’re not sorry at all.

Take a second to bear in mind that changing our language to be inclusive is not, in reality, difficult. Why is it that the second we ask people to check themselves when saying “gay” or  “whore” in a negative context, they look at us as if we have asked them to aspire to sainthood? If we can exchange one degrading word we use to make people around us feel more comfortable, then why wouldn’t we? And to be honest, if you don’t care about making the people around you feel at ease, then may we suggest you consider speaking less in general.

We know what you are thinking: “I have the right to free speech so I can say whatever.” Very good, that is a valid argument, and to that we will respond that free speech does not protect you from facing the consequences of the things you say.

Freedom of speech does not mean you can bypass the critical backlash you may encounter if your words are hateful. So if you say, “I have a right be offensive,” then we could respond in turn, “I have a right to be offended and make it known that I am offended.” You see the interesting cyclical pattern here? We do admit that considering your words more carefully may be slightly inconvenient, it may even involve reflective critical thought (a horrendous task). No one can change their language in a day — it involves making many mistakes along the way. But we promise you that it’s worth it.

We would like to present an example of one phrase in particular that is popular in Western vernacular. Have you ever heard someone refer to a woman as a “crazy bitch”? The answer is almost definitely a resounding yes. There are a few major issues with this phrase. When a woman is called a crazy bitch she is left to question the relevance or importance of her own words and feelings. In many cases, a man will call a woman crazy because he does not want to acknowledge that she is upset for a legitimate reason.

If you don’t care about making the people around you feel at ease, then may we suggest you consider speaking less in general.

Another issue with calling someone crazy? It involves the use of a word that calls into question mental stability, therefore making one feel that their opinions are less important as a result. There are words, such as “mad” or “crazy”, that are problematic. They are open for reclaiming by many communities — as delightfully demonstrated by the Hamilton Mad Students Collective — but using them in an insulting context to bring someone down perpetuates stereotypes about the mentally ill and is not a way to get a point across. We argue that this is nothing more than a thoughtless way to shut someone up and make them question the validity of their feelings, in lieu of taking the time to consider and address their concerns.

So here we are, in this new standard of “checking ourselves” before we speak. Does it involve effort? Just a bit. Are we being sensitive? Sure. But does it make a difference? More than you know. If your right to casually use oppressive words and phrases is something that is very important to you, perhaps the small shift in language is not the real problem here.

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“Like” has become one of the most useful words in our vocabulary. So useful in fact that we only notice how ubiquitous it is in colloquial speech if we’re specifically listening for it or if it’s emphasized for comedic effect. But what’s so funny about ‘like’? Considering that people who use the word do so for a host of linguistically valid reasons — to approximate, exaggerate, and even quote someone — it’s a little strange that overuse of the word is still associated with less-than-intelligent immature women.

It is particularly associated with teenage girls portrayed as uninterested in any sort of intellectual pursuit and are, like, always talking about their hair and make-up! Just listen to Frank Zappa’s “Valley Girl,” a hit from 1982. The first YouTube comment on the video was about how scary it is that some girls still talk like this.

Oops, I just used the L-word “correctly,” but why is it so much more acceptable there than in other contexts? New words fill our dictionaries every year, so why do we grapple with the fact that “like” now has multiple usages? Maybe it has nothing to do with the word itself and everything to do with the stereotypical image attached to its excessive use: the California-loving valley girl Zappa refers to, or maybe the giddy young woman talking to her friends about her crush. Notice anything in particular? For some reason, “like” is often ignored for its merits and shoved aside as a word for the illiterate, and more often than not, the illiterate female.

Not surprisingly, language remains a great tool for misogynists, but here’s the thing: I’ll bet that the people who ridicule those who use “like” have their own crutch. One use of “like” is to fill the silence while one is thinking of how to complete a thought, but other filler words, such as “um”, “uh” and “er” don’t get nearly as much flack.  One could argue that those aren’t actual words to begin with, so in defense of “like’” at least it is considered an actual word and not just a Neanderthal sound. Of course, “like” can be used to express hesitation as well, but it wouldn’t be right to completely discount the thought that follows just because the person was more comfortable using a filler word rather than a pause. It can also be a way of expressing imprecision. Say you are recalling a conversation you had with a friend; rather than say “He said things were good,” you might prefer to approximate his exact words by using “like”: “He was like, things are good.” In a way, you’re conveying to your listener that you are not quoting your subject directly, but are recalling to the best of your ability.

Other filler words, such as “um,” “uh” and “er” don’t get nearly as much flack

I think it’s time we acknowledge that using “like” in everyday conversation is useful, and at this point, ubiquitous. It’s not limited to the negative stereotypes we associate it with. Some people may choose to use different words for a similar effect, but we can’t deny that “like” is a convenient way of enhancing our speech in ways we may not even be aware. It’s time we stop attaching negative and sexist associations with the word and embrace its versatility. For those who are worried that we use “like” way too much for our own good, at least these non-traditional uses are limited to conversation and don’t come up in our written work. Well, with the exception of, like, this article.

Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor

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bae

Bae, originally mistaken to be a lazy form of "babe," stands for "before anything else" and referred to a significant other. Now, bae can be used to describe anything you're even remotely attached to. "No, I don't want Burger King; pizza is bae."

- Tobi Abdul

basic

An adjective used to mock the behaviours of a cliché, unoriginal, or predictable girl, or the place or thing being associated to that girl. Example: "That white girl in line at Starbucks wearing her TNA jacket and Hunter rain boots is so basic." The name-calling of "basic", or "basic bitches" gives the presumptive invitation to assume that all demographics of white Western-European middle-class girls are all stupid, copy cats, and live to Instagram all of the privileges in their lives.

- Carolyn Zeppieri

can't even

The state of mind where you're so dumbfounded and awestruck that your brain cells cannot possibly string together a few words to be able to properly express yourself. Famous for being used in situations when this is not the case but when the user simply has a strong desire to sound like a YouTube comment.

- Mitali Chaudhary

slacktivism

A combination of "slacker" and "activism." Simply put, fighting for a cause with little or no effort put in. Examples include signing an online petition, sharing a picture on your Facebook timeline that supports a charity. It raises awareness of an important issue. However, in this period of high social media usage, it increasingly makes us complacent and feeling like we have solved the problem by giving a like on Facebook.

- Asefeoluwa Abodunrin

swerve

Popularized by Big Sean in one of the puniest verses ever on Kanye West's "Mercy," swerve means to avoid someone like an ex. Swerve also doubles as a way to say "what you just said is so wrong that I want you to leave." For example, "Kristen Stewart is so ugly." "Swerve, peasant." Alternatively, you could just say it as a substitute for "cool" and yell it while swerving your car if you're driving.

- Jason Woo

tbh

Tbh means "to be honest," and is a precursor to some serious truth, all tea, all shade. As a part-time insult comment, full time meanie pants, I am a big fan. "Tbh, you smell like a day old taco." Classic.

- Hayley Regis

throwing shade

To deliberately, yet nonchalantly, direct attitude towards someone either aggressively or passive-aggressively via verbal comments, facial expressions, body language, and/or social media. Perfect for people with attitude problems and a lack of filter, who also desire some sliver of truth in their insult style.

- Daniella Porano

turn up/turnt

Popularized by the one-lined Lil Jon party anthem, to turn up is to get loose, be wild, and have so much fun that you just can't stop. Except for school. Turn down for exams. Also not to be confused with turnips.

- Jason Woo

yaaaaas

An exaggerated way to agree with something. The more a's, the more agreeable and excited you are. If you feel like throwing it back, use the full phrase "Yaaaaaas Gaga yaaaaaa."

- Jason Woo

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