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Personal Statement:Languages and LinguisticsTSR Wiki > University > Applying to University > Personal Statement Library > Languages and Linguistics
Languages and Linguistics Personal StatementBeing a member of a multicultural family, I realised that what I have been brought up with contradicts popular black-and-white beliefs held in my home country, such as the stances on the removal of Germans from Sudetenland after the Second World War. This experience showed me that different perspectives determine subjective truths and it sparked my curiosity to explore other cultures. Learning Standard Arabic made me appreciate the Arab culture and read books related to this topic. I read the book "Rails In Paradise" talking about Muslim women's lives. I sympathise with Malika Hosseinpour's thoughts as she defends her faith and is not afraid to speak about religious controversies, admitting contradictions in Quran. This brought me an insight into different life paths of different people who, although having faced serious problems and doubts about their faith, have not converted for they believed in the positive aspects of the religion. I enjoy learning about Arab influences in Andalusia. Members of other religions were involved in building mosques but were meanwhile exempted from obeying Sharia laws. It points out the society's solidarity and a balanced judicial system in which anyone had to obey the laws of the religious community one belonged to. I went to Cordoba on my own to explore the background myself. I was impressed by the exposition dedicated to influential women held in the Casa de Sefarad. What I have found fascinating about this is that, just like today, success was measured by the appearance in written sources. Therefore only those involved in academia were considered successful, because the ones outside were not of the intellectuals' interests, so their achievements could not be reported. Besides the Arab culture, I am interested in the Spanish one. I enjoy reading Borges's pieces. His essays on language have captured my interest as they contribute to comprehension of philosophy of language as the author emphasises various meanings of translated words among languages. This idea shows the meaning varies throughout ages as the language evolves, the case of Spanish word "agarrar" having meant "hold" but meaning "take" today. This demonstrates the meaning is dependent on the interpretation of the speaker who uses the word particularly. I was translating the Cuban dissident Yoani Sanchez's blog, which enabled me to look into the life of the Cuban resistance. Sanchez's enquiries describe the Cuban events from a daily perspective which could become a vital key for understanding the development of the country. This translation experience helped me to improve my writing skills and provided me with an insight to this work. I like the lessons of Czech, emphasising grammar more than English schooling systems do. The interest was extended by participation as a volunteer for the extension of corpus. The experience helped me to comprehend the application of the current research outcomes which caters for the Internet users' needs, such as the intersection between textual lingustics and sound analysis helping to voice pages or analyse spoken word. Regarding my career, I plan continuing my studies in education science and becoming a researcher in comparative education. As languages form a part of any educational system and I am a dedicated language learner, I believe the degree related to languages will help me to get onto that stage. Universities Applied to:
Grades Achieved (Czech Maturita):
CommentsReceived unconditionals from both Firm and Insurance despite missing offers, going to UCL in the autumn of 2011. General Comments:Comments on the statement: |
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