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TALG's lectures are held at Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Avenue in Guelph, and simultaneously streamed online. You may choose how you wish to attend - i.e. in person, or watching from home.

Registration for the Winter 2024 session is now open, and will close Wed., January 3rd at midnight.  We encourage you to register early; please proceed to our REGISTRATION page. 

Late registrations (after January 3rd) cannot be accepted.  Thank you.    

AM Series: Wednesdays, January 10 to February 28, 2024, 10:00am – noon

Communication: Unravelling the Secrets of Language

Communication is the vessel by which we navigate the world. We broker deals, express love, hope, explain, control or sometimes have a friendly chat. The main tool by which we express ourselves is language.  In this series we will explore language in its varied facets.

The series begins with an explanation of linguistics. It then flows into a presentation of dialects in Ontario followed by an exploration of the preservation and revitalization of languages. Then comes the word chocolate! Fun! After which a Stratford vocal coach divulges speech training techniques. We move onto language and power, technology and its role in language and finish with bilingualism and the aging brain.

All lectures will be held in person with one exception; this speaker will be online from Chile.

Unraveling the Secrets of Language
January 10, 2024
In the beginning was the word: a brief introduction to the science of language

Dr. Joyce Bruhn de Garavito

I will touch on the importance of language in our understanding of what it is to be human, although we know very little about how language evolved. Then I will address what for me seems so amazing, the acquisition of language by infants and children, in comparison with second language learners. We will examine how linguists divide the study of language, including the basics such as phonology, syntax and semantics, and growing areas of interest such as what happens when languages are in contact with one another. I will end with some of the approaches to the study of language and the debates that are still ongoing. I will use examples from real life as much as possible.

Presenter

Dr. Joyce Bruhn de Garavito 

I was born in Colombia, South America. I am bilingual in Spanish and English because my parents were English speaking. I came to Canada in 1969.

I obtained my BA in philosophy at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia; I then completed an MA at Concordia University (Montreal), and my PhD in Linguistics at McGill University. I was a part time instructor at Concordia for many years, and an instructor and language program coordinator at McGill. I came to the University of Western Ontario in 1999 where I became full professor and chair of the department until I retired in 2020.

I have published mainly in the areas of bilingualism, second language acquisition, syntax and language contact. My work has covered languages such as Nahuatl (Mexico), German, Spanish, English, and French. With John Schwieter (Laurier) I have recently published a textbook titled Introducing Linguistics, Cambridge University Press.

Follow-up information:  Pinker, S. (1994). The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. New York: Morrow.  This is a fun book full of examples, while at the same time deep in ideas, by a very well-known linguist.

After the lecture you may contact Dr. Garavito for follow-up questions at: joycebg@uwo.ca

 

January 17, 2024
G’day to hey! Catching language change across the dialects of Ontario

Professor Sali A. Tagliamonte

Did you know Ontario has many dialects? The Ontario Dialects Project is an ongoing research program documenting the unique language features of Ontario as well as studying how and why language changes. By studying the differences in words, expressions and sayings across the province, we can track the history and culture of communities, document local language features that are fading away. By studying systems of grammar, the project also aims to provide important evidence for the study of human populations through the lens of language change.

Presenter

Professor Sali A. Tagliamonte

Sali A. Tagliamonte is Canada Research Chair in Language Variation and Change and a Full Professor in the Linguistics Department at the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. Her research focuses on morph-syntactic and discourse-pragmatic features using cross-community comparisons and apparent time to explore linguistic variation change with attention to linguistic theory and language typology. She has authored six books and is the editor of the research monograph series, Studies in Language Variation and Change, published by Cambridge University Press.

After the lecture you may contact Professor Tagliamonte at: Sali.tagliamonte@utoronto.ca

 

January 24, 2024
Language Preservation and Revitalization: Where we are and where we go from here.

Dr. Ivona Kučerová

Most Indigenous languages in Canada have become endangered as a result of violent colonial practices. Yet, recent years have seen a rise in the creation of new speakers, closely tied to resurgence efforts of their communities. A recent article in the New York Times featured Brian Owennatekha Maracle, a co-founder of a community-based language learning program in the Six Nations of the Grand River: a powerful example of these reclamation efforts. In this presentation, I will build on my experience working with Indigenous language programs and discuss the context of language preservation and reclamation and its inherent value. I will highlight the linguistics challenges they face, and showcase some successful solutions, unique in the global context.

Presenter

Dr. Ivona Kučerová

Dr. Ivona Kučerová (PhD MIT, 2007) is Professor of Linguistics at McMaster University and Director of McMaster’s Centre for Advance Research in Experimental and Applied Linguistics. Her research bridges theoretical linguistics questions and experimental and applied linguistics research. Her lab, the Syntax Lab, is currently funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Tri-Council’s New Frontiers in Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

After the lecture, you may contact Dr. Kucerova with any follow-up questions at: kucerov@mcmaster.ca

Follow-up information:

New York Times Article: (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/world/canada/indigenous-languages-mohawk-canada.html)

 

January 31, 2024
Language Variation and Change: From Cacao to Chocolate

Dr. Naomi Nagy

This talk will introduce methods that linguists use to discover the paths of innovation in language by examining variation within and across languages. We will consider examples from the history of chocolate-related words, looking at transfer from the “new world” to the “old world,” rather than the other, more common direction. Relationships between migration, colonization and language shift will be discussed in this context. We’ll apply the method of comparative reconstructive or comparing words across languages and look at sociolinguistic methods of language variation and change to understand these patterns.

Presenter

Dr. Naomi Nagy

Naomi Nagy is a sociolinguistics professor and chair of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Toronto. Her current research examines how heritage languages in Toronto change, generation by generation. She was the first sociolinguist to examine Faetar, an under-documented language variety spoken in a mountaintop village in Italy (and a handful of people in the GTA). She has also studied how Montreal Anglophones use French.

She presents internationally and publishes regularly – see http://individual.utoronto.ca/ngn.

After the lecture you may contact Dr. Nagy for follow up questions at: Naomi.Nagy@UToronto.ca

February 7, 2024
Lecture Title TBA

Lecture Content TBA

February 14, 2024
My Life in Propaganda: Language and Totalitarian Regimes

Dr. Magda Stroinska

Language is a tool of communication, something we take for granted and rarely reflect on unless some external (being in a foreign country) or internal (stroke) factors force us to focus on its role in our life. In totalitarian regimes, language became the most important instrument of propaganda and thought manipulation. This talk covers the speaker’s personal experience of living in a communist country and academic interests in Nazi German propaganda. Topics discussed include creation of social reality through language and the arts, Orwellian doublethink and Newspeak, defense mechanisms against thought manipulation and the current rise of populist rhetoric and the role of social media in the distortion of reality.

Presenter

Dr. Magda Stroinska

Magda Stroińska (MA, PhD) is a Professor Emerita of Linguistics and German at McMaster University. Her major areas of research and publication include sociolinguistics, analysis of discourse, and cross-cultural issues in pragmatics and cognition, in particular linguistic representations of culture and social relationships, cultural stereotyping, language and politics, propaganda and language manipulation in hate speech, the issues of identity in exile, aging, disability and bilingualism, as well as language and psychological trauma.

After the lecture, you may contact Dr. Stroinska for follow-up questions at: stroinsk@mcmaster.ca

Follow-up Material: Magda Stroinska, 2023, My Life in Propaganda, Durvile and UpRoute Books.

February 21, 2024
The role of Language and Linguistics in Technology

Dr. Rosario Gomez

Please note: This lecture will be delivered ONLINE ONLY. Coincidentally, Dr. Gomez will be attending a conference on Language and Technology in Chile at the time of this lecture. You may view the lecture online at home or at Harcourt Church on a screen.

This lecture will provide a quick introduction to the application of human language and linguistics in the fields of technology and computers. We will look at real-world tasks and applications where computers deal with language. We will touch upon how key elements of linguistics such as:

  • Writing systems and keyboards, fonts, emojis
  • Sounds systems and speech recognition, text to speech
  • Syntax and grammar checkers
  • Word structure and spell checkers
  • Meaning and data mining and sentiment analysis
  • Language learning and duolingo etc.
  • Big data and machine translation, chatgpt

Presenter

Dr. Rosario Gomez

Rosario Gomez received her PhD from the University of Toronto in Spanish and English Sociolinguistics. She teaches Intro to Linguistics, Phonetics, and Language and Technology at the University of Guelph as well as Spanish language courses including translation to and from English. She is originally from Ecuador.

You may contact Dr. Gomez after the lecture for follow-up questions at: rogomez@uoguelph.ca

 

February 28, 2024
Bilingualism and the Aging Brain

Professor Ellen Bialystok

All our experiences contribute to the way our minds and brains develop, but intense experiences have a special role in shaping our cognitive systems. No experience is more intense than our use of language, so a lifetime of learning and using two languages has the potential to leave a profound mark on human cognition. This talk will review evidence from across the lifespan showing how bilingualism leads to modifications in brain structure and cognitive processes. The talk will focus on evidence for the impact of bilingualism on cognitive and brain structures in older age, including the mitigating effect of bilingual experience on cognitive decline due to dementia.

Presenter

Professor Ellen Bialystok

Ellen Bialystok is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University and Associate Scientist at The Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Oslo. Her research uses behavioral and neuroimaging methods to examine the effect of bilingualism on cognitive processes across the lifespan. Among her many awards are the Killam Prize for the Social Sciences, York University President’s Research Award, and the Donald T. Stuss Award for Research Excellence at the Baycrest Geriatric Centre.

You may contact Professor Bialystok after the lecture for follow-up questions at: ellenb@yorku.ca

Registration >

PM Series:  Wednesdays, January 10 to February 28, 2024, 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Addicted to Print: Reflections on the Joys of Reading

Back by popular demand with one of our favorite speakers, this course will look at some of the many rewards and pleasures of reading. It will focus primarily on fiction and poetry, but is applicable to all kinds of texts. While it is, in some respects, a personal memoir of reading, it will also encourage participants to trace their own reading journeys: what are your first experiences of reading, and how have they shaped you? What do you love to read and why? Where do you find comfort, and where do you turn when you want to challenge yourself? If you love reading, don't miss this series!

During each lecture, a variety of works (novels, non-fiction, short stories, and poems) will be referenced. There are many books that address the joys of reading generally. Here are three good places to start:

Daniel Pennac. Better Than Life. Toronto 1994

Lynn Sharon Schwartz. Ruined by Reading. Boston 1996

Heather Cass White, Books Promiscuously Read: Reading as a Way of Life. New York 2021

All lectures will be given by Dr. Gary Draper. Dr. Draper's biography can be found after each lecture description

Reflections on the Joys of Reading

 

 

January 10, 2024
Beginning

Dr. Gary Draper

Every reader has a starting point, or a constellation of them.  It can be illuminating to look at our earliest texts: where we found them and what they gave us.

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

 

January 17, 2024
Escaping

Dr. Gary Draper

Sometimes we need to step out of our lives and into a book.  Mystery, adventure, and imaginary worlds can be just a bookshelf away.  

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

January 24, 2024
Engaging

Dr. Gary Draper

All books change us in some way.  But some more than others.  We can learn more about ourselves and about our place in the world through reading. 

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

January 31, 2024
Going Beyond

Dr. Gary Draper

Leaving our comfort zone can be challenging or energizing or enlightening.  Sometimes it’s all three at once.

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

Fabruary 7, 2024
Paying Attention to Form (1): The Novel

Dr. Gary Draper

The novel has a long history and enduring appeal.  What are some of the reasons for its continuing popularity?

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

February 14, 2024
Paying Attention to Form (2): Short Stories

Dr. Gary Draper

Especially in this Age of Distraction, shorter forms of fiction can offer outsize rewards, while also being perfect for filling an hour or two.

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

February 21, 2024
Paying Attention to Form (3): Poetry

Dr. Gary Draper

Does anybody read poetry anymore?  If not, why not?  More importantly, if so, why?

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

February 28, 2024
Getting on

Dr. Gary Draper

It can be interesting to read about old age.  And then this question arises:  what do we read when we’re old?

Presenter

Dr. Gary Draper

Gary Draper is a retired English Professor (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo) with a doctorate in 19th-century Canadian Literature (Western University, London).  He has taught a wide variety of third age learning courses.  Gary has been an editor, a book reviewer, and a collector of Canadian cookbooks, and he continues to be an avid reader, a keen cyclist, an occasional gardener, a tentative choral singer, and a passable solver of crossword puzzles.

You may contact Dr. Draper after his lectures for follow-up questions at: dgdraper@uwaterloo.ca

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