Coleman studies MA Linguistics
What was your undergraduate degree? How did it affect your decision to do a masters in Linguistics?
My undergraduate was in Computer Science. One of the biggest effects my degree had was leading me to the Formal pathway instead of the General one, even though I didn’t have an academic background in linguistics, as CS theory and formal linguistic theory can get rather similar. A lot of the last two years of my degree ended up being linguistics-adjacent projects, which helped get me more in the mindset for it.
How did you decide you wanted to do a Linguistics degree?
My undergraduate university didn’t have a linguistics department, actually, so it was a rather unexpected series of events. A combination of Compiler Fundamentals—which taught me more about language than I expected— and Intro to Linguistics, as well as some encouragement from professors, friends, and family, were the biggest factors in deciding to pursue linguistics.
What made you choose Queen Mary?
My first criterion for programmes was that I was going to have relatively small classes— no lecture halls of 50+ people and one professor— and a good student to faculty ratio. After getting in, hearing about the programme firsthand from faculty was probably one of the strongest deciding factors. They fielded every question I had, and some, and made me feel very welcome. QMUL being ranked the best research linguistics department in the UK was an added bonus.
What do you like about your programme of study?
Several things come to mind. The ability to take classes outside of the ones required for my pathway is great, and I feel it’s helped round out my knowledge. I also like just how much I’ve been encouraged to think critically and ask questions.
What’s your favourite aspect of studying in the Linguistics Department?
Within the department, I think it’s the department culture. There’s a lot of collaboration and interaction within the department, and everyone is very encouraging. I feel that they want us students to succeed, genuinely.
What’s your favourite module so far?
Unfamiliar Languages! I’m really enjoying this course! Learning field methods by doing rather than by reading has been one of the most engaging experience here so far. Training my ears for transcription and practicing morphological analysis in real time have been very gratifying experiences. I also value the opportunity to get outside my linguistic comfort zone, so to speak, very highly.
Is there anything that has surprised you about studying Linguistics?
I’m continually surprised by just how much there is left to learn, even about well-studied languages! Several times, I’ve encountered languages or phenomena (both well-studied and otherwise) that I would expect some amount of literature or discussion on, and I couldn’t find much of anything! I thought it would be difficult to find something completely novel to write about, but human language is so incredibly diverse and complex, it’s amazing.
Do you know what you would like to do after your studies?
I’m leaning towards pursuing a PhD!
What advice would you give to students who are thinking about studying with us?
It’s okay to feel indecisive at first, and sometimes taking chances pays off. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to decide on what to do after university, and I didn’t make my decision to go to QMUL immediately after being accepted. I hadn’t even visited the university before I went, so I knew I was taking a risk. But ultimately, I’m really glad I did, and if I could do it over again I wouldn’t change a thing.
Are there any extracurricular activities or events that you've participated in which have complemented your academic journey?
ConSOLE 32 was hosted here at QMUL this past year, and although I wasn’t presenting, attending was very fun! Meeting other linguistics students from around Europe was great, and I learned a lot from their presentations! I’m not sure if the reading groups count, but those are very helpful as well.
Could you share a particularly insightful interaction you've had with a professor or fellow student that has positively influenced your learning?
In my first semester, while talking with David about some data for a paper I was writing, I felt like I was a little in over my head. But towards the end of the conversation, I pointed out a conclusion he’d not mentioned. Suddenly, it felt like several things from earlier in our conversation had clicked into place. When he turned to me and encouraged me to include that in my paper, I felt a lot more confident about what I was doing.