continuing growth as a graduate student
Growing up in a multilingual society triggered my desire from a tender age to study language; know how speech and sound works, how it is acquired and how sentences are constructed to convey meaning. I have witnessed firsthand the difference in languages through tones and connotations, and how they can be used to convey meaning. Having grown up in Kaduna, a Hausa-speaking state in northern Nigeria, I had an early taste of multilingualism in addition to my understanding of Yoruba language (my mother tongue), English Language and Pidgin English. I remember a particular day many years ago when I accompanied my father to a community meeting for landowners. I remember being in awe of a beautiful display of the different dialects of familiar languages. Intrigued, I closely studied the various tones and observed certain patterns in the speeches. Even though I struggled to make much sense of conversation due to the multiplicity of dialects and accents, I was fascinated. That single experience bears a significant mark in eventually shaping my career choice in Linguistics.
Studying Linguistics as an undergraduate with a major in phonetics and phonology afforded me invaluable exposure in appreciating the complexity in human language while equipping me with the tools to be able to identify patterns in speech and be able to interpret grammar fundamentals in different languages. I have been able to study and research the nature of language and communication while identifying general properties prevalent to all or large groups of languages. In the course of making research on the dynamics and application of Linguistics during my undergraduate years, I quickly noticed how fairly new Linguistics is in the realms of science, and how unceremonious the field is in Nigeria. This further strengthened my drive to learn more about how and why humans interact the way we do and unlock new discoveries about human languages. During my tenure as the Vice President of the Linguistics department, I created and led a team of tutors who instructed and provided academic guidance for fellow undergraduates. I also took on the responsibility of training the team and together, we achieved the goal of instilling foundational knowledge of Linguistics on students and this earned me a certificate of meritious service.
My quest for understanding how language works have seen me gain practical knowledge over the years. I successfully carried out research on the morphological detail of the 'Ikaare' dialect with a view to understanding its internal structure for existing and new speakers. Additionally, my undergraduate final thesis focused on the vowel harmony of Iingau speech form. These researches have provided me with useful practical experiences while kindling a personal desire to embark on and complete more researches on Linguistics. I believe that by pursuing this MA degree, I will be taking a step closer towards actualizing a lifelong goal.
I am applying for a graduate program in Linguistics in order to further my understanding of the Linguistics field, having been provided with a solid foundational knowledge of the traditional core areas of Linguistic analysis during my undergraduate years. My ideal MA experience would be a place where I would be imparted with practical knowledge and opportunities to explore the science of linguistics on a grand scale. I know that ### School has a serene and conducive environment for linguistics and I know that the School will develop my analytical and quantitative approach to understanding how languages work. I am well aware of ### School's reputation and capabilities and am confident that it has the best curriculum that suits my academic needs. I am much attracted to the learning culture in ### School, and I strongly believe that your impeccable faculty would be of the great help in broadening my knowledge in my chosen field.
I look forward to continued growth by being a graduate student of ### School.
