Department of Languages Literatures & Linguistics Archives | Research & Innovation

Professor Sheila Embleton receives 91��ɫ International Faculty Award

fmaquito — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sheila Embleton, Distinguished Research Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, is this year's recipient of the 2010-11 91��ɫ International Award.

Embleton was nominated by 91��ɫ Vice-President Academic & Provost Patrick Monahan for her leadership in being “a strong proponent for internationalization” and for providing a “broad and deep foundation on which we can build.”

Right: Sheila Embleton

“I'm thrilled at the award, and thrilled to be part of the team that has really moved 91��ɫ, in the last decade, from being ‘in the pack’ as far as international is concerned, to being an undoubted leader in Canada,” said a delighted Embleton.

“It was during her term [as vice-president academic from 2000 to 2009] that her greatest impact was felt,” Monahan noted in his nomination document. “She created the position of associate vice-president international and appointed its first incumbent [Adrian Shubert]. She also created an annual competition for funds, in order to stimulate and promote innovative international projects in support of research, teaching and the student experience. Under [her] leadership in partnership with the AVPI, 91��ɫ’s position as a leader in Canada in internationalization was enhanced and solidified.”

Some of Embleton’s accomplishments in this area include: expansion of 91��ɫ’s language curriculum, supporting the establishment of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) award-winning 91��ɫ International Internship Program (YIIP); establishment of the 91��ɫ International Mobility Award to help support students with exchange and study abroad expenses; establishment of numerous exchange agreements with universities abroad; helping to introduce the Letter of Recognition program as a complement to a student’s academic record; helping expand the CBIE award-winning Emerging Global Leadership Program into the Caribbean; and contributing to the development of a number of programs incorporating international dimensions and opportunities including the international bachelor of science and bachelor of arts programs.

She has also played an important role as an adviser to numerous government agencies and has helped develop and strengthen 91��ɫ's global academic ties, in India in particular. She spent a year as president of the and is now president of the . She had a long and distinguished international career before she became the vice-president academic. In 1999 she was named a Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose by the government of Finland for contributions to Canadian-Finnish relations; and in 2005 received the CBIE International Leadership Award.

“I truly believe internationalization enhances the University’s reputation. 91��ɫ is actually quite well known and well respected in Germany and in India, for example,” said Embleton. “But the real reason is for our students – all that is said about needing to educate students to be the global citizens of tomorrow – I think it's absolutely true, and absolutely essential to our students' futures, to get some solid exposure to things international now and to develop those competencies – wherever they will end up working.”

Award Ceremony to be held March 25

Embleton will receive her award at 91��ɫ International’s annual Cultural Gala on March 25, along other members of the 91��ɫ community recognized by 91��ɫ International. Tickets are still available at their office at 200 91��ɫ Lanes. Cost for each ticket is $5 and a donation of three non-perishable canned food items, or $10 without a donation. All canned food collected will be donated to the 91��ɫ food bank.

"We are very pleased to present these awards to outstanding members from our University’s community,” said , 91��ɫ’s associate vice-president international. “Once again we have outstanding faculty, staff and students doing fabulous work to promote internationalization at 91��ɫ and beyond our borders, too.

"Internationalization is pervasive and integral to all teaching and learning at 91��ɫ. These awards recognized people and groups that continue to raise the international profile of 91��ɫ,” said Wright, who was a 91��ɫ International faculty recipient in 2006-2007 when she was a professor at Schulich School of Business.

More information is available on the website.

Submitted by Edward Fenner, 91��ɫ International

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91��ɫ in the World: Researchers begin nine-day mission to India

fmaquito — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:00:00 +0000

A delegation of researchers from 91��ɫ's will begin a nine-day mission to India today to establish partnerships and collaborations with the country's researchers.

The group will visit seven top-tier universities and research institutes during their trip. Along the way they will stop at the India Institute of Technology's facilities in Mumbai (Bombay) and Madras, the University of Calcutta, the Indian Space Research Organization, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research together with visits to other institutes and universities during the nation-wide trip

“Our faculty considers international partnerships as the key cornerstone supporting our strategic priorities. Partnerships like those with India stimulate the spirit of innovation with clear focus on research outcomes that have an international impact,” says Janusz Kozinski (right), dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering at 91��ɫ and a member of the delegation to India.

The key mandate for the trip is to enable researchers from 91��ɫ and across India to establish joint bilateral research and development projects. Halfway through their trip, the 91��ɫ delegation will pause to participate in a two-day workshop co-sponsored by the International Science & Technology Partnerships Canada, Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research and India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

The workshop will bring together more than 100 participants from research institutes and universities from Canada and England, and will include researchers and university vice-chancellors from across India. Rajagopala Chidambaram, the principal scientific adviser to the government of India, and Vijay Kumar Saraswat, director-general of DRDO, the secretary of defence research and development and scientific adviser to Indian Defence Minister Raksha Mantri, are among the diginitaries participating in the workshop.

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to discuss advances and innovations in their respective areas of research, exchange information and ideas and create further opportunities to establish research collaborations. The gathering will be held at the DRDO building in New Dehli.

Travelling in the 91��ɫ Science & Engineering delegation are:

, professor, Department of Chemistry;
, professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy and associate dean of academic affairs in the Faculty of Graduate Studies;
, professor, Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering;
, professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering
, professor, Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
, professor, Department of Chemistry;
, professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics;
Paulina Karwowska-Desaulniers, research officer, Faculty of Science & Engineering;
, dean, Faculty of Science & Engineering and professor, Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering;
, professor, Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering;
Brian Solheim, adjunct professor, Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering;
, professor, Department of Biology.

For more information about the trip and the 91��ɫ Science & Engineering delegation, visit the website.

91��ɫ computer science Professor Andrew Eckford is also .

Republished courtesy of YFile – 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Philipp Angermeyer: Kids + txting rn’t killing the language

fmaquito — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0000

The idea that our dependence on technology is ruining the English language is not a new one, :

Members of the media, linguists and grammar gurus are on both sides, pushing and pulling over the implications associated with texting, blogging and e-mailing. Many who think language is being flushed down the toilet put the blame squarely on younger generations. Is this criticism accurate or even relevant?

“In some ways, it’s a reaction to change and a reluctance to accept change, but to some extent it’s also a fictitious topic that doesn’t have any merit,” says Philipp Angermeyer, a linguistics professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Many experts feel the same way.

. . .

So, considering how little research there is to back up the claim that technology is destroying language, why does this hell-in-a-handbasket opinion persist? Prof. Zwicky talks about the “adolescent illusion,” where adults pay selective attention to the language and writing of adolescents, and see the mistakes they make as the source of this “trend.” In fact, adults are responsible for as much as 80 to 90 per cent of text messaging, so if it’s hurting the language, why should young people be held responsible?

“To some extent, it has to do with attitudes toward people,” says Prof. Angermeyer. “The columnist wouldn’t write this if they didn’t also think there was something else wrong with the people they speak about.” These types of criticisms, he explains, are considered politically acceptable complaints meant to be aimed at certain groups of people, motivated by some other dislike.

This intergenerational tension goes both ways. A 2009 Conference Board of Canada survey of more than 900 Gen X, Gen Y and baby boomer respondents revealed that each generation marked the other two with unfair stereotypes. Boomers were considered less accepting of diversity and change and uncomfortable with technology. Gen Xers were cynical and independent. Gen Yers were lazy and difficult to manage. While each generation viewed the other two negatively, most participants were alike in many ways, with similar personality types, workplace motivations and social behaviours. While we all may come from different social groups, our language dialects and writing styles are very similar, and are not about to change any time soon.

It all boils down to what is appropriate in what context. “If I write a text message, my text might be inappropriately long and full of punctuation,” says Prof. Angermeyer.

“Ultimately, from a theoretical perspective, the only distinction you can really make is between native speakers [of a dialect] and non-native speakers. Every native speaker is a competent language speaker, and depending on what you are exposed to and what environments you use the language in, you acquire different skills.”

The complete article is available on .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Peter McIsaac appointed director of Centre for German & European Studies

fmaquito — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Peter McIsaac, a professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies’ Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, has been appointed director of the Canadian Centre for German & European Studies (CCGES) at 91��ɫ. The appointment became effective July 1.

"I am truly excited to be taking on the directorship of CCGES, which is both a privilege and a challenge,” says McIsaac. “My sense is that CCGES has begun to establish itself as a nexus of crucial research into a variety of important questions, but we have not begun to exhaust the possibilities of the 91��ɫ community. While Germany retains a central place in the centre's research agenda, we need to welcome the intellectual curiosity of colleagues working on other European questions under the CCGES umbrella. The European Union Centre of Excellence project, housed at CCGES, provides a perfect example of what is possible.”

Right: Peter McIsaac

McIsaac holds a PhD in Germanic languages and literatures from Harvard University and a bachelor of science in physics and German from the University of Michigan. In addition to numerous articles, book chapters and book reviews, McIsaac is the author of and has served as guest editor for the journals , and . He came to 91��ɫ in 2007 from Duke University, where he was an assistant professor. During the past year, McIsaac was a visiting associate professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

fosters and disseminates critical knowledge about Germany in its European context while examining Europe as a geographical, political, social, cultural and economic entity. Promoting new research into these core lines of inquiry is at the heart of McIsaac’s plans for the centre.

McIsaac succeeds Professor Roger Keil, director of the City Institute at 91��ɫ and professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, who has served as interim director for the past year.

"CCGES’ focus on European Union studies and affairs reflects the complexity and diversity of meanings attached to Europe in the modern world,” says David Dewitt, associate vice-president research (social sciences & humanities). “Its research supports 91��ɫ’s international focus while its student exchanges provide valuable opportunities for students from 91��ɫ and European countries to enhance their student and research experience through travel.

“I commend Professor Keil for his great service over the past year and am pleased to welcome Professor McIsaac into this new role.”

Submitted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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Professors examining differences in how immigrant Torontonians speak English based on ethnicity

fmaquito — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Differences in the way Torontonians speak English may have more to do with how people express their ethnic identity than with any problems they are having learning to speak Canadian English perfectly, a study from 91��ɫ suggests.

Michol Hoffman and James Walker, professors of sociolinguistics in the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), studied individuals in Toronto's Chinese and Italian communities. They compared them with people of British and Irish descent to learn whether ethnic identification affects how they speak Canadian English and adopt ongoing changes to the language.

Shopping on Toronto's Spadina Avenue. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Rather than study the effects of ethnicity per se on language, they looked at the effects of ethnic orientation in the study, “Ethnolects and the City: Ethnic Orientation and Linguistic Variation in Toronto English”, which appears in the journal .

“We recognized that individuals may have different attitudes and orientation toward the values and characteristics that are associated with their ethnic group,” said Hoffman. “So we asked them a number of questions to measure how much they identify themselves as belonging to a certain group. For example: Do you watch TV in Italian or English? Did you grow up in a neighbourhood that was predominantly that ethnicity? Are most of your friends of that group?”

In addition to rating the survey participants’ ethnic orientation, the researchers took note of their ethnicity, generation and sex. First-generation Italian- and Chinese-Canadians, whose first language is Italian and Cantonese, respectively, scored highly on ethnic orientation, expressing stronger affiliation to their ethnic group. There was some transfer from the first languages in the first generation, but it does not appear to persist in the second and third generations: linguistically, younger Italian- and Chinese-Canadians who are native speakers of English appear to pattern after their British/Irish-Canadian cohorts.

“The biggest difference between ethnic groups is the rate at which they use linguistic features, such as dropping the 't' or 'd' from certain words, for example pronouncing 'told him' as 'tol’ him', and the degree to which they participate in an ongoing change in vowel pronunciation by Canadians, so 'bit' sounds more like 'bet', 'bet' sounds more like 'bat', and 'bat' sounds more like 'bot',” said Walker. “However, when we look beyond rates of use to the linguistic structure, we find more similarities than differences. Given that the differences we see among ethnic groups are more a question of degree than of kind, we think they may be strategically adopting them − or not adopting them − to express their values and identity.”

Whether these particular linguistic differences are introduced through transfer from other languages in the first generation or already exist in Canada when they arrive, there is evidence that second- and third-generation speakers adopt them and use them intentionally, Hoffman and Walker said. They are further testing this idea by examining other phonetic and grammatical features, as well as collecting further data from the Greek, Portuguese and Punjabi communities. The results of their research should inform public debate about the impact of ethnolinguistic diversity on Canadian English.

The study was covered in the; James Walker also spoke about the study on CBC Radio’s “Here & Now” program June 8.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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91��ɫ awarded a European Union Centre of Excellence

fmaquito — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ has been awarded a grant to establish a European Union Centre of Excellence(EUCE). Recognized for the excellence, breadth and depth of its European Union (EU) studies and scholarly activities, 91��ɫ will receive funding of $480,000 over three years to integrate the University’s existing research, teaching, outreach and networking activities on Europe and the European Union (EU), and introduce and facilitate new activities on the EU and EU-Canada relations.

91��ɫ is recognized as a leader in European studies and has been actively building its concentration in EU studies. Over the past few years, 91��ɫ has attracted numerous new European-focused faculty appointments across a variety of disciplines, including law, political science, business, public administration and humanities. The hub of this activity has been the Canadian Centre for German & European Studies (CCGES), whose affiliated faculty and staff form a natural constituency and administrative backbone for the activities planned by the new EUCE.

“We are tremendously proud of 91��ɫ’s leadership and research excellence in European studies,” said Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. “The activities of the EUCE will promote understanding and knowledge of the European Union as a major player in the global political and economic system, and will be key in promoting the importance of the EU-Canada relationship, its political, economic, security and cultural dimensions, and the widening range of global and regional issues jointly addressed by the EU and Canada.”

With this award, 91��ɫ joins a network of two dozen EUCEs worldwide. 91��ɫ’s EUCE will be hosted by CCGES and directed by Willem Maas (right), Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration and professor of political science and public & international affairs at Glendon College.

The EUCE’s multidisciplinary team also includes:

Burkard Eberlein, policy professor in the Schulich School of Business;
Roger Keil, director of the CITY Institute and CCGES, and a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies;
Heather MacRae, professor in the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS);
Peter McIsaac, professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, (LA&PS);
Ian Roberge, professor of political science and public & international affairs at Glendon College;
Karen Robson, sociology professor in the Department of Sociology, (LA&PS);
Craig Scott, director of the , and professor in Osgoode Hall Law School;
Dagmar Soennecken, professor in the School of Public Policy & Administration, (LA&PS);
Leah Vosko, Canada Research Chair in Feminist Political Economy and professor in the Department of Political Science, (LA&PS);
Robert Wai, professor in Osgoode Hall Law School;
Peer Zumbansen, Canada Research Chair in the Transnational & Comparative Law of Corporate Governance and professor in Osgoode Hall Law School.

About the European Union Centres of Excellence

Established in 1998 by the European Union, the network of European Union Centres of Excellence in universities provides information and education about the European Union. In Canada, the objectives of the EU Centres are to increase awareness about the political, economic and cultural importance of the EU-Canada relationship, to promote greater understanding in Canada of the European Union and its policies, and to disseminate information and publicize EU views on issues of interest within regional communities.

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