Who is Caitlyn?
Hello! I'm Caitlyn and I'm studying linguistics and minoring in Spanish. Above is a picture of my boyfriend and I at Devil's Den in Arkansas. He is my adventure buddy and we always find some really amazing places to go. We both really love hiking and he introduced me to camping during spring break this last semester. We have some more adventures planned for this semester and I will probably find a way to talk about them, so look for more posts about hiking and finding more beautiful sunsets.
So, about my major... I am fascinated by languages and everything about them. If you are unfamiliar with linguistics, that’s totally fine. Most people I encounter outside of my major don’t really know what it is either. Linguistics is a sub-field of anthropology that focuses on language. I really like the more technical aspects of my major. For example, I really love phonetics, a sub-field of linguistics. This field focuses on the sounds of languages and how they are produced. My favorite class last semester was Morphology, which focuses on studying the "meaningful chunks" of words and sentences called morphemes.
Over the summer, I spent a few weeks in Tulsa working as an Instructional Assistant at a Summer Reading Academy for middle school and high school aged students in the Jenks Public School District who are behind on their reading levels. Almost all of our students were English Language Learner students and had come here from places all over the globe. I have worked with these students off and on over the last three years and I have really fallen in love with teaching. I plan on teaching ELL classes in public schools or teaching English abroad somewhere for a few years before going on to graduate school.
This is my dog, Maggie
What do I do for fun? Well, I love to read, but don’t have a lot of time for it right now. I have become very fond of audio books lately, though. I just finished up the Harry Potter series on audio book this last year and that was an amazing experience. I'm currently really into Micheal Crichton's books and have been listening to several of his this summer. Right now, I'm in the middle of Timeline and already it is way better than the movie (but that doesn't take much). I tend to love fantasy and science fiction novels. My favorite book is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I also really love movies and television series. I love The Princess Bride and have watched it more times than I can count. Action and adventure movies are what I tend to watch the most of, but I also really love older classics. I am almost always listening to music if I'm not in class or listening to a book. I love just laying in my hammock, listening to music, and hanging out with my friends and my dog by the lake (read more about my love for hammocking in trees here). I think I spend about 70 percent of my time awake listening to music. I tend to listen to mostly alternative rock (especially 90s alternative and grunge), but I also really love classical and lately I’ve been really into folk and Icelandic folk (as a linguist nerd, I tend to experiment with popular music of other cultures).
Hey Caitlyn! I think it is so cool that you're a linguistics major. People underestimate the power of speaking a different language. Until you learn a second language, you don't realize that the words one knows and their intrinsic meaning in their cultural context rarely ever translate over. By speaking the same language as another, not only can you talk to them and delve into their world of understanding, you can speak up for those who can't access the platform that requires the language that you can speak and they can not. By learning Spanish, you get to enter a whole new world and that makes me very excited for you! I enjoyed reading your post and can't wait to read more from you!
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice meeting you again in this new India context, Caitlyn! And of course Sanskrit is the source of much linguistic awesomeness... maybe you will use that Wikipedia Trails option to explore: you could start with one of my all-time features of Sanskrit: bahuvrihi (the linguistics terminology of Sanskrit is so cool in and of itself, and it was a very sophisticated and scientific linguistics indeed, way ahead of anything in Greece or Rome). And of course the whole world of Indian music awaits you... with Sanskrit mantras and chants too. Enjoy! :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlyn! My name is Deborah, and I’m minoring in Spanish as well! I’m not a linguistics major but I have always thought language was really fascinating – both the technical aspects like phonics, how culture plays a role in language, and also the process of learning languages. I hope that by the time I graduate, I will be fairly fluent in Spanish. Anyway, best of luck this year, girl!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Brenna, and it was so cool to learn a little about linguistics while reading your post! I think morphemes is one of my new favorite words. I’m a Spanish minor too, and am totally in awe of how you finished the Harry Potter audiobooks- my best childhood friend’s mom would always have them playing in her minivan on the way to school, and I swear it took them years to make it through all of the material. Also, your dog is precious! She looks so serene. And one of the best things to come from reading these randomized posts has been the google search I did on Icelandic folk- it’s definitely not something I’d have found on my own, so thank you so much for sharing because I’m loving it!
Hi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteI have to start off by saying how adorable your dog is! It was fun reading your introduction and getting to know you. Also, your major seems very intriguing! As someone who speaks more than one language, I agree that languages can be fascinating. I never heard of someone with your major, so it was nice to learn somethings about it. Also, I love the Princess Bride too and watched it so many times! Hope this year goes well for you!
Hi Caitlyn, it was so nice to see another book lover in this class! I am completely in love with the Harry Potter series, and I even chose to go to Harry Potter World in Florida for my senior trip in high school. If you haven't been, I suggest trying to go because it is literally a life changing experience! I wish you the best of luck this semester! Happy reading as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI definitely didn’t know what linguistics major was until you put it in your introduction. I have not heard anyone having that major. Is it a very popular major? Adventures are so much fun, especially if you have a buddy to go with you(; I really like out doors activity myself. I look forward to reading about your adventures in your posts. Good luck this semester.
Hi Caitlyn! It’s great to learn and read more about you from your introduction post! It’s awesome that you are studying linguistics and minoring in Spanish because I never thought about that! I’m kind of interested in learning more about linguistics due to reading about it from your introduction post. Overall, I want to keep it short and wish you the best of luck for your future!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn! I like the photo! It’s sweet that you and your boyfriend could travel to beautiful places. The world has so many amazing and beautiful places, and it’s amazing that you have adventure buddy (I don’t). I like hiking, too! I’m from Seoul, Korea that has so many mountains, so I know how fun hiking really is. My native language is Korean, and I speak English as a second language. The two languages are totally different, and sometimes I’ve wondered why languages are so different from one another. I think linguistics can explain why, and it’s a really cool major. I wish you all the best and it’s nice to meet you Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteHey Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteThats a great photo, It is fun to see that you and your boyfriend are able to travel to some awesome places, and are hopefully able to continue doing so. I have never met anyone who was a linguistics major here, until now. It seems very interesting. Hope you have a good rest of the semester.
Hi Caityln! So cool that your a linguistics major. I got really into audio books recently as well! It's definitely a lot different than actually reading a book, but it's so helpful when you have to drive around a lot. Were the audiobooks for Harry Potter really long? Also, hammock life sounds amazing. I need to get one. MAGGIE IS SO CUTE!! Good luck with the rest of this semester and all your adventures to come!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn! You are the first person I have heard of that is a linguistics major at OU. I also always thought it was so interesting how languages develop and how they relate to each other. However, I was too lazy to ever do anything with that interest. I have gone camping once and loved it! Enjoy all of your adventures to come.
ReplyDeleteHey there Caitlyn
ReplyDeleteIt is very awesome that you a linguistics major! I know first hand how powerful it can be to speak multiple different languages because living in different countries, the language barrier was a very hard thing to overcome. I too really enjoy listening to music, and also spend majority of my day listening to music! I look forward to reading your future stories, later on in the semester!
Hi Caitlyn, like you said most people do not know about linguistics and i am definitely one of those people but it was fun reading what you had to say about it. I love that your passionate about what you are studying, that is super important i think. I went to Jenks almost my whole life, it is a great school and i love hearing that you worked there to help those students who just needed some extra help to catch up, that is awesome. Your dog is also really cute, i miss my dog at home, im hoping to get one of my own very soon. I also love to hike and my family is always looking for new places to go. One of my favorites was Moab, Utah, I would highly recommend going!
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlyn!
ReplyDeleteWow, linguistics sounds like a very versatile major in reference to the ability to work in multiple environments in many places across the world. It sounds like that kind of job would fit you very well considering your adventurous and curious lifestyle! My mother is a speech pathologist so I had heard of linguistics growing up but never really learned what material that field would look at exactly. I've heard of a lot of people teaching English in a foreign country to gain some life experience and have a gap between undergraduate and graduate work. My friend always talks to me about how I could teach English in Korea and live pretty well, maybe you could look into that! Hope you have a great semester.