Hello everyone!
I'm trying to develop this SOP for MA into one for PHD. Do you think it is well presented enough or there is any details need to be added?
I also need suggestions for improving the language.
Thanks for your help :)
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Life is a journey of discovery, and I have discovered that linguistics is a glamorous field deserving one's wholehearted devotion. As an exchange student in Taiwan, I met several erudite professors who bestowed me with a glimpse of the way of being enthralling. They were educated in the U.S. and are still working hard on research and teaching in various subfields of linguistics. Hence, I have decided to pursue an MA degree first, hoping it will provide me with a level of training suitable for entry into a Ph.D. program in linguistics.
My exchange experience has transformed my view of language from a body of vocabulary and a set of grammatical rules to a forest of mind and an ocean of possibilities. I understood the difference between learning a language and the study of it: one is to master a pragmatic skill, and the other is to dig deeply into not only people's heart, but also the society and the web of the world. I also learned about the importance of linguistics, which lies in the core of developments of science and technology.
Epiphanies occurred when I was reading about linguistics, particularly sociolinguistics. They led me to my three major interests. I migrated from the north of China to the south to receive college education. This experience led me to think reflectively about migrant students' social identity construction and acculturation. Thus language and social identity has become my first interest. My second interest is language contact. When I heard Mandarin, Hakka, Taiwanese, and English in Taipei subway platform announcement, I felt strong curiosity in how multilingualism has become a social phenomenon governed by the needs of globalization and cultural openness. Learning the distinct honorific terms used by males and females in Japanese kindled my third interest, which is within the sphere of language and gender.
One of those epiphanies inspired me to do a preliminary study in language and ideology, which turned out as my presentation at the Cross Culture Studies: Fourth Annual Research Presentations at Fu Jen University in Taiwan. Basing on the readings of critical discourse analysis (CDA), I tried to use this method to reveal several ideologies in moral constructions in modern China. I discovered this issue unexpectedly when surfing the website of Ministry of Education of PRC. For the first time, I found the annually appeared notification of "Learning from comrade Lei Feng" an anomaly. Why this person so important for so many years that frequently emerges in China's mass media and street slogans? To unravel this puzzle, I chose to analyze the "published" diaries of household role model Lei Feng, a flag of China's moral paradigm. I assembled various forms of official propaganda of Lei Fengïźsuch as posters, movies, pictures and diariesïźand thought all of them could be analyzed in my study to some extent. But later I realized that this was impractical. It was too complicated and my time and energy was limited. Then I narrowed down the scope of materials to several pieces of Lei Feng's diaries. Yet how to fathom the methodologies of CDA became another barrier. Though I had read extensive literatures, I could not make sure whether I had applied it properly into my analysis. However, I indeed got results of invisible propaganda of ideologies and power relationships between government and its people. The three-dimensional analysis (text, process, social) taught me how to analyze systematically of an intricate issue, how to read between lines and how to regard discourse as a social interaction.
My research experience has kindled my desire to be armed with profound linguistic trainings, which undergirds my probe into linguistic phenomenon. University of Colorado at Boulder is an ideal place for me to pursue graduate study. I am especially attracted by the research of your distinguished faculty member Kira Hall, who focuses on language and social identity. I am also excited to learn the quality of your facilities, which could help me obtain a variety of approaches to the socio-cultural analysis of language. For instance, your sociolinguistic library could provide me with up-to-date resources to pursue research in sociolinguistics, and your sociolinguistic lab, housing state-of-the-art equipment, could assist me in the collection and analysis of language data. If I could fortunately be admitted to your program, I would be willing to join your informal departmental group Sling, and apply to your Graduate Certificate Program in Culture, Language, and Social Practice (CLASP). I hope my involvement could not only get me the versatility needed to reach my full potential as a linguist, but also inject fresh ideas into the advancement in this area.
Great strat!
Hence, I have decidedThat inspired me to pursue an MA degree first, hoping it will provide me with a level of training suitable for entry into ain hope of preparing myself better for Ph.D. program in linguistics in the future .
