Yuka studies MA Linguistics
What was your undergraduate degree? How did it affect your decision to do a masters in Linguistics?
I did my bachelor’s degree in History, and I wrote a thesis about semiotics in history as I was part of a research group of Art History. I’m not entirely sure if it affected my decision to study Linguistics, it was quite a bit different! But it did affect my career afterwards, and my career brought me to Linguistics.
How did you decide you wanted to do a Linguistics degree?
Mostly due to my job, as I’ve been working as a localisation specialist in tech. My position was more about cultural aspects in the first few years, because of my background in semiotics. But then its focus got shifted towards linguistics, especially semantics – I really enjoyed the shift with lots of on-the-job training, and here I am! Also, it made me aware of the gap between global and non-global languages in terms of application in various systems, and I wanted to know more about this through different approaches as I only had corp-based practical experience.
What’s your favourite module so far?
Meaning in the Real World
Do you know what you would like to do after your studies?
I’m planning to go back to the office full-time, but maybe not as a localisation specialist this time. I’d like to pursue a PhD at some point though, I’m not confident enough yet, and I want to look for more concrete themes and such through work.
Are there any extracurricular activities or events that you've participated in which have complemented your academic journey?
Interdisciplinary/interdepartmental research at QMUL; I’m currently working with a research group from the Computer Science department. It’s a mix of Linguistics and Computer Science, and it’s been helping me a lot to learn different kinds of linguistic issues in different fields.
Could you share a particularly insightful interaction you've had with a professor or fellow student that has positively influenced your learning?
Their understanding of my disabilities and medical conditions. Thanks to the people in the department, I can keep myself motivated even when I’m not feeling 100%.