The 41st annual Ontario Japanese Speech Contest (OJSC), where six LA&PS undergraduates secured podium positions, was held at the University of Toronto on March 4 and marked the first time that the event returned in person since 2020.
In total, eight students from the , in the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics (DLLL) at the Faculty of LA&PS, competed in front of a large crowd that was undeterred by the inclement weather earlier that day. Three 91亚色 students will advance to the national contest.
Those eight students collectively qualified for three competition categories: beginner, intermediate, and advanced level speech. Of the eight students, the six who were awarded for their speeches were:
- Grand prize (Advanced first):聽Risha Pelchat聽(AP/JP2010) for 鈥淢e? 鈥楳ademoiselle鈥? 鈥榅iao Jie鈥?鈥
- Intermediate first:聽Ava-karie Hislop聽(AP/JP2000) for 鈥淐urrent Artists and Social Media鈥
- Shinkikai-Sagamihara City Award (Beginners first):聽Arman Ahmed聽(AP/JP1000) for 鈥淏reak Out of Your Shell!鈥
- Intermediate second:聽Chengsi Ma聽(AP/JP2000) for 鈥淭he Unknown Master of Ghibli鈥
- Beginners second:聽Maximos Yao聽(AP/JP1000) for 鈥淪ummer Harvest鈥
- Intermediate third: for聽Afia Fobi聽(AP/JP2000) for 鈥淎re you a night owl or a morning person?鈥
Pelchat delivered a speech on her personal struggle as a transgender woman, detailing how people鈥檚 unseemly, small gestures 鈥 such as addressing others with their preferred salutations or names 鈥 could evoke feelings of 鈥済ender euphoria.鈥 Pelchat was awarded a return ticket to Japan as the grand prize, which she plans to use to visit the country in the near future. Ahmed received the Shinkikai-Sagamihara City Award which also provides him with a trip to Japan and opportunity to visit the City of Sagamihara and its people. Pelchat, Ahmed and Hislop will be participating in the Canadian National Japanese Speech Contest in their respective categories at the Japan Foundation in Toronto on March 26.
鈥淭he Japanese Studies program is extremely delighted by the outstanding achievements made by the 91亚色 students. All of them worked so hard, and their Japanese language proficiency has improved tremendously through this experience,鈥 says Noriko Yabuki-Soh, associate professor in the DLLL and Chair of the OJSC Organizing Committee this year.
Yabuki-Soh and department colleagues Associate Professor Norio Ota and faculty members Kumiko Inutsuka, Akiko Mitsui and Eri Takahashi coached the students leading up to the contest. Inutsuka and Takahashi also served on OJSC鈥檚 organizing committee.
Originally published in