‘Go into the uncertainty’ – New grad Lucy Meanwell’s plunge into academia gave her an enduring passion for linguistics

Lucy Meanwell is pursuing a master’s degree in linguistics.

When Lucy Meanwell (BA 2024 WDW) began her undergraduate degree in her late twenties, she wasn’t expecting to fall in love with linguistics.

After high school, Meanwell did an advanced diploma in theatre arts, followed by a handful of odd jobs. It wasn’t until the pandemic and a lot of introspection that she decided to pursue an undergraduate degree.

Meanwell earned her honours bachelor of arts as a member of Woodsworth College and is now pursuing a master’s degree in linguistics. She was also the recipient of the Dorothy Helen McRobb Scholarship and the Elaine Gold Award for Undergraduate Achievement in Linguistics.

Why did you decide to study linguistics?

I have always been interested in languages. I remember as a kid, thinking about the words I was learning and spelling, and how there were these differences between French and English. I thought I was alone in the history of the world in thinking about these things. And then I found out in the course of my twenties that linguistics was a field, and it's about studying the structure of languages. I realized there was this whole area of what I've always been super interested in and compelled by.

How did you decide to continue in academia and pursue a master’s degree?

I realized very early in my linguistics degree this was the thing for me. I just found every second of studying linguistics incredibly fulfilling. It's not that it hasn't been hard and there haven't been times where I've had doubts, but since early in my degree, I just knew I wanted to continue in graduate studies and try to make this what I do with my life, whether that's being an academic or a linguist in some other capacity.

How did receiving the Elaine Gold Award and Dorothy Helen McRobb Award impact your studies?

I was so honoured. It meant a lot to me as someone who came back to school later. I really wasn't sure if I'd be able to do linguistics, because I don't have any math or computing background, and both those fields overlap a lot with linguistics. And so, to be able to work hard at it and then get that validation just spurred me on in wanting to continue my studies in linguistics. It's also a testament to the undergraduate faculty, who are amazing teachers.

Are there any professors or classes that had a big impact on your degree?

The Research in Syntax course I took with Maria Cristina Cuervo. I've also been fortunate to take courses with my current supervisor, Susana Béjar. Maria and Susana really inspired my continued love because I'm doing an MA right now in syntax. These courses in the last year of my undergrad made me fall totally in love with my field. As well, hearing a talk given by Michelle Troberg inspired the work on Scottish Gaelic I did in these courses that I would go on to present at TULCON, the Toronto Undergraduate Linguistics Conference. I’m fortunate to be able to continue working with Michelle as a research assistant during my MA.

Looking back at the last four years, were there any particularly memorable experiences that stick out to you?

Presenting at TULCON. In 2023, they had the linguist Noam Chomsky call in from MIT and give a lecture as the keynote speaker. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to hear him live. It was a testament to the organizing work by the Society for Linguistics Undergraduate Students at U of T. And then the following year, the most memorable part of the conference would be giving my talk. I was really nervous beforehand, and I had never given a conference presentation. It was a super motivating experience.

What was your research about?

My project was on a language called Scottish Gaelic that's spoken in Scotland, but also in Nova Scotia. Talmy’s typology is about the way languages express how you talk about movements. In English, you can say, ‘I walked into a room.’ But different languages have different mechanisms for how they talk about the spatial movement, and how they talk about how you're moving. And so, I was looking at the structures in Gaelic and seeing if it lined up with the expectations of how we would expect this typology to work.

What advice would you give to your first-year self?

It's okay if you feel like you don't have a lot of information. It's okay to take time to figure out how to get through things. It's okay to try different things, take different courses and different subjects. Just know there are such amazing supports available at U of T. Take advantage of academic advising. Take advantage of accessibility services. Even if you didn't have the most typical trajectory into academia or into your studies, there are supports available. Go into the uncertainty. Uncertainty is not a bad thing.

Originally published by Faculty of Arts & Science