P.S.: Post Script

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Arts, Blog, Blogger, Blogging, English Language, ESL, last post, Linguistics, Reasons to blog, TEFL, Uni, University, Wordpress, Writing

It was pointed out to me today that it has been a long long long long long long time since I posted here.

Apologies, readers. My sincerest apologies.

Having gone through my comments and replied to them (sorry about the wait!), I’m leaving a post script, before – unfortunately – signing off.

I have loved this blog. I have loved reading up on topics, writing posts, getting involved in others’ blogs, reading the comments people wrote and replying to them.

However, I’m a geek with many a geeky project, and other things were a priority.

Since my last post – nearly 14 months ago – I have:

• Written a dissertation in courtroom discourse in the Leveson Inquiry. This was mostly about how the language used in the hearings of the Leveson Inquiry changed according to the witness. It’s ridiculously long, and meant I essentially lived in the library, but it was interesting to write. I emailed a copy to Alistair Campbell (because you might as well go full geek) – if you want a read too, drop me a line and I’ll send you a copy!
• Graduated! I got a first class degree in English Literature and Language, and I’m chuffed to bits about it.
• Been travelling. I went to Berlin, New York, Chicago and San Francisco before heading back to Scotland, very jetlagged. It was wonderful fun, and just what I needed after so many hours in the library.
• Presented at a conference and written a paper. I went to GayCon 2014 in Edinburgh, where I presented on the linguistics of sexual health. I looked at how the language used in sexual health publications changes according to the intended audience demographic. I got some really interesting results! It went down well, and I made a number of contacts at the conference. I also turned the presentation into a paper, so if you fancy a titillating read, just ask!
• Completed a TEFL course. I love language. I love inspiring other people to love language. I love working with young people. I love travelling. TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) seemed perfect for me!
• Got a job teaching English in Taiwan – I leave in ten days to work in Taiwan for a year. Looking forward to it, and there’s a chance I’ll start a new blog when I get over there, to share my experiences and pictures on

So, all in all, it’s been a good year! Busy, but fun.

I’m sad to officially say ‘goodbye’ to this blog, but I think it has to be done. Thank you to everyone who read, commented, shared and argued with my posts – it wouldn’t have been the same without you.

Over and out.

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Anglophonism’s First Blogiversary: A Full Circle

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Blog, Blogging, Blogiversary, Reading, Wordpress, Writing

Not only have I returned to the same job, in the same area in which I started blogging; but I’m sitting in the exact seat that I wrote my first ever post in.

(This, incidentally, is also the cause of my recent silence. As I was travelling and setting in for the last week, I have had no internet – but I’ve still been writing!)

And now, here I am. It’s one year later, I’ve done a full circle, and I’m writing my 99th blog post.

One year older, 15,000 views later, and with a year of experience under my belt and no less passionate about English than I was 365 days ago. 

When I sat down to write that first post, it could have gone either way. Keeping blog is a commitment, but it could have easily fizzled out in a few months. I’m glad I managed to stick at it, because I learned a lot from it.

As well as taking notes in lectures, I actively engaged with my studies. I learned how to explain things so they’re easily understood and (hopefully) interesting.

As well as learning about the English language and passing on tidbits of this knowledge, I learnt about committing to a blog; but also about putting it to one side when more important things (like life-changing exams) come along.

Oops – now I’ve made myself hungry!

I was right in that first post, when I said that blogging is egotistical. It revolves around wish for others to read what you have to say; to like and to comment. Anything that’s egotistical, however, comes with a large slice of humble pie. Whether it’s a misplaced apostrophe in a post published without a proof-read, or a rant published too hastily, the egotistical side of the blogging coin has another side.

Keeping a blog has been incredibly beneficial to me, I’ve gained a lot from it, and I hope you have enjoyed it too – and will continue to do so!

Guess Who’s Back?

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Don DeLillo, Edward Albee, James Dickey, September, Sorry, United States, White Noise, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

I think a small part of me died in the run up to exams.

I haven’t been here to write because I haven’t had time to care to things like my social life, sanity, or blog.

I had planned to write a post on each topic as I revised it, but I quickly found out that not only did I not have the time to do that, but that if I went on a computer I would be lost down a hole of procrastination within minutes.

So, I have been avoiding computers and thus my blog for some time. Well, quite a long time. However, I’m back now, and off uni until September, so I intend to provide a lot of reading material, including those posts on topics studied I had intended earlier:

• Chaucer
• Piers Plowman
• Pearl
• Speech Act Theory
• Discourse disorders; specifically schizophrenic discourse
• Classroom discourse
• Discourse markers
• Pidgins and creoles
• Ain’t contraction
• Allan Ginsberg: ‘Howl’
• James Dickey: ‘Falling’
• Edward Albee: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Don DeLillo: White Noise

I’m looking forward to writing these posts without any pressure, and to think about the topics in a context away from exams.

Watch this space!

 

 

Feminism is a Loaded Word…

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English, English Language, Feminism, Gender equality, Middle Ages, Patriarchy, People, Political movement, Sexism, Women, Women's rights, Word

At university or college, we live in an ivory tower.

Alongside others who are, on the whole, educated, we live in a community in which people are called out for things they say and do; in which ideas and opinions are questioned and debated.

This is healthy. It’s a privilege not enjoyed in a lot of lifestyles, and should never be taken for granted. I didn’t come to university straight out of school, so I’m aware of the ivory tower I’m in. I will never take it for granted.

Which is why I was ashamed to be a member of a class of twenty-one in which I was the only person to openly identify as a feminist. Eighteen girls, three boys, and only one feminist.

‘Reclaiming’ Words

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Gay community, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, Gender identity, LGBT, Low German, Mental health, Queer, Tumblr, Wordpress

Luckily, this isn’t Tumblr.

I say that, not because of its disgustingly ‘trendy’ name which looks ridiculous, but because of what I call The Tumblr Bubble. They would probably prefer bubbl or something.

The Tumblr Bubble is for people who live on the Tumblr Blog platform, and base their opinions on their experiences in the Bubble.

A Good Turn a Day

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Easter, Good deed, Lent, Mental health

Sundays are a Day of Rest – by which I mean a Day of talking about the Rest of my life; that is, outside linguistics.

Ladies and gentlemen, bloggers, readers, that day of stuffing our faces with pancakes is over. Lent is upon us.

As an atheist, I don’t generally do anything for Lent.

In the past, I’ve endeavoured to give up meat or chocolate, and quickly failed (usually because I’ve forgotten and eaten a sausage roll before remembering).

This year, however, I’ve decided to try something different. Rather than challenging myself in a way which punishes me (I do love chocolate), I’ve decided to do something which makes the world a better place, making me a happier person in the process.

Hey, Guys! I got an A!

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Blog, Blog award, Blogger, Goldfrapp, Wordpress

Sundays are a Day of Rest – by which I mean a Day of talking about the Rest of my life; that is, outside linguistics.

Ya huh. An A for my American Lit. essay. Boom.

So I thought I would celebrate by accepting an award I was nominated for several months ago… By a wonderful young blogger from a flock of crows.

Here goes.

This blog is now, officially, an addictive one.

All I have to do is write a post about why I blog.

Freedom of Press or Responsibility of Press?

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Burchill, Freedom of speech, Glasgow, Hate speech, Julie Burchill, Observer, Press, Responsibility of Press, Text, Toby Young, Transphobia

This is a Texty Tuesdays post, looking at different types of text from the printed word to blogs to things you scribble when you’re bored.

Freedom of speech is something that we, in a developed, civilised society, have every right to. This is a wonderful thing that we should never take for granted or abuse.

We have the right to say what we think, to tell people our opinions, to protest when we don’t agree with something.

Rights and responsibilities come hand-in-hand.

Often, freedom of speech works two-fold. While it gives people the right to say what they want, it also destroys the credibility of those who do so without due consideration.

Homosexual Catholic Linguistics

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Blog, Blogging, Humour, Search Terms, Tag, Tags

Sundays are a Day of Rest – by which I mean a Day of talking about the Rest of my life; that is, outside linguistics.

This post is, in fact, an apology.

Readers, if you were one of the poor souls who searched for “homosexual catholic linguistics” and found my blog, I am truly sorry. If there is such a thing as the linguistics of homosexual Catholics, I’m unaware of it, and certainly not qualified to write a blog post about it. Also, the fact that when I searched for it and my blog wasn’t on the first few pages suggests you were rather desperate to learn about this obscure area of religion/sexuality/language (delete as appropriate), so apologies for not providing the information you were searching for.

The Power of Sequels

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Book, Books, Death, Grief, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, JK Rowling, Lord of the Rings, Mourning, Redwall, Sequels, Series

Sundays are a Day of Rest – by which I mean a Day of talking about the Rest of my life; that is, outside linguistics.

I like to see books as not simply books, but as a way of looking at life.

Nearly four years ago, my best friend came around to my house. It was snowing outside: the first snow of the winter. We watched Wimbledon and then went outside to have a snow flight, make snow angels and some little snow men.

Little did I know that this was – metaphorically speaking – the end of a novel. He went away to see the next day, for his first trip in the Merchant Navy, and, unfortunately, never made it home.

Of course, initially, a day never passed when he didn’t cross my mind. When I managed to get through a day without thinking of him, I felt so guilty.