There’s more to the English Department than meets the eye. In an interview with Chairman Robert Campbell, one finds out what occurs be- hind the scenes in the research area.
GEM: I understand a wide variety of research goes on in the English Department.
PROF. CAMPBELL: Yes, tehre is a considerable variety also. We have people edit plays, compile dictionaries, write critical articles and reviews, and publish creative works in areas as diverse as Linguis- tics, Middle English, and com- temporary literature.
GEM: How many full-time teachers do you have in the department?
PROF. CAMPBELL: We have ten full-time teachers, and because one year of English is compulsory at UPEI we have no trouble finding students to teach. Of course, we also offer advanced English courses to English majors and English Honours students.
GEM: Tell me something about specific research and creative projects now going on in your department.
PROF. CAMPBELL: One project that has generated some interest locally is Terry Pratt’s work on PEI English. He has produced a dictionary of Island English which will probably be published in a year orso. *
Research at UPEI
The English Department An Interview with Prof. Robert Campbell
An entirely different kind of research is being conducted by Michael Foley in the field of Middle English. He produces meticulously researched bibli- ographic articles which have reached an internatinal audi- ence, but because they are so specialized would not be of much interest locally.
On the creative writing side, -both Frank Ledwell and John Smith have published books
By Kaberi Dasgupta
“Mom was furious - she really jharooed me.”
“Jharooed me?” What I was witnessing was the rebuilding of the English language.
In India, being “bilingual” is not a state worthy of praise; it is even, perhaps, a fact to be hidden. The most estranged of the sidewalk-dwellers (of which there is an abundance, thanks to the economic situation) knows something of at least three languages. In Calcutta, for instance, he knows Ben- gali, the provincial language; Hindi, the national language; and a smattering of Engish (two hundred years of British occupation has some longterm effects).
While the poor are often illi- terate, the high-rise snob is at ease in all three languages,
The new
and improved Gem
By Sam Okello
Anyone concerned about news around UPE]I and other Canadian colleges should be pleased to read the new and improved Gem.
The Gem serves to inform the reader and find the truth, wherever it may lead, in the quest for a demographic and open society.
Therole of the press at UPEI does not favour any particular ethnic, business, or political party interest and certainly does not serve the state.
The Gem is becoming a pop- ular sensation and is now pio- neering in investigative report-
ing of news on campus. Such should be the role of the press in a free society. Its duty is to inform and help shape public opinion, raise questions and aim at new and better direc- tions.
Controversy challenged this role last semester when the article “why Beer is Better then Some Women,” purported to be sexist, aroused critical but responsible public reaction. Commentaries stormed The Gem —- seen by other people as provocative and sometimes searing indictments of the way things work in a society.
Nevertheless, The Gem staff did not ignore the criticism. The Gem is a free press, indes- pensible in its impact. It aims to develop and maintain demo- cracy. It investigates and exposes news of mutual interest.
For an inquiring mind, join The Gem. We’ve got it all.
Page 8
By Sam Okello within the past year, and both are working actively on new material.
Ican honestly say that these are just examples. Despite the heavy teaching and marking load that members of our de- partment carry because of compulsory English courses, they are all ingaged in research of one kind or another. This doesn’t make us unique within
the university by any means, but I am proud of the work that is going on.
GEM: Will the proposed heavy costs of renovating buildings at UPEI cut into re- search funds?
PROF. CAMPBELL: There is a fund raising campaign currently being conducted to provide money for the renova- tions you are thinking of, so
Bilingual is not always a good thing...
whether speaking, reading, or writing. In addition he may be studying a fourth tongue, such as German or French.
Hence words like “jharooed.” With such repertoire of lan- guages, boundaries between them begin to fade, and a true language laboratory is created. “To jharoo” is “to scold or admonish.” If my deductions are correct, it originates from the Hindi word for broom. A colourful concept, isn’t it?
A feature of Indian English that puzzled my sisters and me was the use of the word “yeah.”
“It’s a lovely day, yeah.”
“He’s nauseating, yeah.”
Our first hypothesis was that
it was analogous to the use of the French “‘non.” (C’est bon, non?”’) However, clauses like
As he unwrapped his new (CHASES --- 6 Noe-1t ® Stck-umm PAds ond 4 4nPLe-baRReued Hi- Liters, Tim felt a surce of feeling thA+ was almos... efor’c Suh
the following did not quite fit the pattern:
“Let’s go to a movie, yeah.” “How are you feeling, yeah?”
The mystery was solved while a friend and I were writ- ing a serial together (so as to add excitement to the summer holidays). She ended one of the character’s questions with the word “yaar.” When she read the word aloud, she shortened the “r-sound.” Ever alter, I noted it and consulted my father regarding it. It is the Hindi word for “friend” or “pal.”
_It was .actually the Hindi language that was the root of mostifmy problems. BengaliI can understand and speak and even read, albeit at the level of an eight-year-old. Hindi, how- ever, I was absolutely uneasy with, a fact of which my friends enjoyed taking advantage.
ONe word that I quickly picked up, however, was the word “Shadhi” (wedding), a topic which my friends delight- ed in discussing. This piece of vocabulary proved to be of great use when I was forced to have conversations with my friends’ grandparents, many of whom chose to communi- cate with me in Hindi, whether from necessity or pitifullness I am uncertain. I would gener-
money will not be coming f,, things like research. Of professors receive reseay, grants from agencies outs} the university as well. If th is a problem in research fy, ing at the moment it is in attitude of governments, w sometimes seem to have dif culty appreciating the imp, tance of research, probab because the benefits are o long-term rather than imp diate.
Abroad Thoughts From Home
ally, at most, hazard a word the negative or affirmatiy guided only by the few Hin¢ words that resembled Bengs words. However, whenever t word “shadhi” cropped up, answer in the negative was; vehement that the grandch dren were usually summoned for explanation.
Of course, I was not the on one having comprehensio difficulties. Aware of the fa that other’s might have pro lems understanding English generally slowed down an eliminated most peculiar co loquial phrases. When addres ing members of my famil however, I did not take th precaution. After hearing short conversation I had wi my father, one of my father friends began shaking hi head.
“What's the matter?” aske Dad in concern.
“It’s hopeless... hopeless” “What is?”
“TfI can’t understand a wo your daughter says, what’s m daughter going to do?”
Family consulations mus have ensued, for on our visit t4 their house, his daughte adamantly restricted the co versation to Bengali.
_ G. Longley © 1986
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