Learning languages excited me more than most things. I jump right in but then give up just as quickly when I try to say a sentence in that new language and suddenly forget everything I learned. I come from a…
Indigenous Education Week: Reigniting Language
Aaniin! Can you believe that it’s already the end of October? As the week draws to an end, so does First Nation House’s annual Indigenous Education Week. I look forward to it each year because there are always so many…
I Speak Spanish?
I speak Spanish. With two Chilean parents and a grandmother who knows virtually nothing of English or French despite living in Montreal for 40 years, not learning Spanish was not an option. So, my sister and I spoke Spanish in…
Indigenous Language Revitalization
One of the things that brought me to Toronto was to attend George Brown College for their American Sign Language and Deaf Studies program back in 2011. Many people—myself included, prior to taking that program—assume that there is a universal…
Language Learning Hacks: Becoming a Babel Fish
Imagine being able to communicate with anyone, regardless of tongue, or anything, regardless of species. In Douglas Adam’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a small creature called the Babel fish performs instant translations, eliminating language barriers. Despite technology’s rapid…
Nuggets from the 2017 Hancock Lecture
Language. Language is a river that flows and is ever present in all aspects of my life. As a blogger, it allows me to express my experiences and world views with those who read my posts. As a student, it…
Tips for Learning a Language
Learning another language is an important part of many exchange students' time abroad. In my case, part of the reason why I'm here is to improve my ability to read and write academic papers in Japanese. I have a history with the Japanese…
My name is Erin?
The time has come for me to take the Aboriginal Studies language requirement and when I stepped into the classroom for my first Inuktitut lesson, I immediately stepped back out of it. Why? After stepping into the class and scanning…
You say tomayto, I say tomahto…
Yesterday, on my way to class, I overheard a really interesting conversation. This conversation, between three students, was quite heated, and was attempting to define the ideal firmness that a tomato should possess if one were to eat a tomato…