Interests

Linguistic Interests

Language variation

Within a language realm there are of course many variations in usage, particularly in the realisation of words, but also variations in grammar and register. At school, we are taught what is considered as the "standard" form of a language, but isn't this merely a dialect that has taken precedence over others? It is interesting to look at where the standard form has developed.

Maybe it is purely a coincidence that what can arguably be considered as the standard form of British English is spoken in and around London (Received Pronunciation, Queen's English, BBC English - call it what you will), and Standard French is based on the Parisian dialect. Certainly in the latter case there has been a Parisian-based governmental influence on the language in France given its history to standardise the language with the establishment of the Académie Française who tell us what is and isn't French, and given the country's tradition of suppressing any minority languages such as Breton. This dates back centuries and is the result of an attempt to unify the whole country. It particularly intensified following the French Revolution whose motto of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité meant equality in terms of language, i.e. everyone shall speak the same language. 

Regional languages

Nowadays in Western Europe, we live in relative linguistic freedom and countries, including France, have started to embrace and encourage their linguistic diversity. There is still a feeling of resentment towards minority languages even in the historical hearts of where they are spoken; such is the case in Toulouse, as my project on Occitan revealed. This is because that there still remain generations of people brought up in France who were taught that such minority languages are a threat to the country's values, but only time will tell if a relaxation in attitudes will have a positive effect on the younger generations. It certainly seems that way.

In the UK, we were fortunate not to experience such extremity at that level, although Welsh had been oppressed since to the annexation of Wales by England in the 16th century following the conquest in the 13th century, again in the name of national unity. The rationalisation arising from the Age of Enlightenment eventually broke into this area and the Welsh language board was set up in 1993 as well as the first television channel, S4C, even earlier in 1982. To make up for the oppression of the Welsh language, its study is now compulsory to GCSE. The renaissance of Scots Gaelic has also had a boost following the launch of the television channel BBC Alba in 2008. But are such linguistic liberties a demonstration of yet further cultural differences to England and therefore awarding more confidence to the push for independence by the SNP and Plaid Cymru?

Related languages

One language key opens the door to several more, possibly except in the case of Basque - the only language in the world yet to be related to any other. Having studied German for some time, this paved the way to learning Dutch. It is very beneficial to look at grammatical and vocabulary similarities, which facilitates learning. It was a similar case Spanish, having taken up Catalan after just two years of studying Spanish. With such vast families of languages, it can really be a case of "buy one, get several more free."

Regional accents

For such a comparatively small country, the UK has vast differences in accents, each with unique traits from different influencing factors. UK accents can differ greatly within such a short distance - look at Manchester/Liverpool (35 miles), Cardiff/Bristol (44 miles) and Edinburgh/Glasgow (51 miles). Even within city regions, accent variation can be observed within mere miles. What's interesting is that most urban accents that we know today have developed due to the influx of migrant workers during the Industrial Revolution, particularly from Ireland, in cities such as Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff and Manchester.

Other Interests

Cycling

At University, I underwent a revival of interest in cycling combining motivations to keep fit and tour the local environment. Taking advantage of the fairly developed urban cycle paths along the River Tyne in Newcastle and the rural routes through beautiful Northumberland, I have since completed journeys from Newcastle to North Shields, Sunderland and Hexham. The ultimate ambition however is London-Paris for charity.

I try to involve cycling wherever I am, such as using the fantastic cycle hire systems in Toulouse and Paris, whereby dozens of cycle stations are dotted around city centres (if not a wider area), and people can pick up and drop of a bike wherever and whenever they please. There is an annual registration fee (€25 for example) as well as an hourly rate, although the first half-an-hour is often free. This model is quickly catching on all over Europe, including London and Cardiff.