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Julie Brittain

Governor General's Gold Medal 2000

Julie Brittain Julie Brittain grew up in Tanzania, studied archeology in Scotland and taught English as a Second Language in places such as Spain, Tibet, and Hong Kong, experiences that exposed her to a world of languages. When she arrived at Memorial in 1990, Dr. Brittain began to explore her interest in language through graduate studies in linguistics. After one of her courses awakened her curiosity about the linguistics of Canadian aboriginal languages, she set out to study elements of the Algonquian language and received a master of arts in linguistics in 1994.

In her doctoral research, Dr. Brittain studied Western Naskapi, one of the most easterly dialects of the Algonquian language, Cree. Her research took her to Kawawachikamach, Quebec. She worked closely with aboriginal groups, learning about the language from them and making her data available to them for use in the Naskapi grammar they are writing.

Her research focused on the conjunct verb form and the differences in the ways it is used by different groups of speakers.

“I am interested in how dialects of a single language vary from one community to another. I'm trying to pinpoint the differences and find out what areas of the language are most vulnerable to change,” said Dr. Brittain.

Because her work is based on research in the field, Dr. Brittain's doctoral research relied on grants from the Northern Scientific Training Program and the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

Dr. Brittain was awarded the Governor General's Medal for achieving the highest academic standing in her graduate program. She is quick to share the recognition with her supervisors, Dr. Marguerite MacKenzie (aboriginal linguistics) and Dr. Philip Branigan (linguistic theory).

“It was a great surprise and honour for me but I am also pleased on behalf of my department and my supervisors. I worked in an atmosphere of academic generosity. That's a gift someone gives you and I hope to do the same for students when I teach.”

Dr. Brittain's dissertation will be published next year by Garland Publishing in New York. Meanwhile, she will start post-doctoral studies this fall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), home of the prestigious linguistics department that counts Noam Chomsky as one of its members.

Highlights

  • Unlike most Canadian universities, Memorial has enjoyed stable student enrolment for the past two years, owing to the work of the student recruitment office, retention efforts by academic and administrative departments, new and responsive academic programs, and the improved scholarship offers made possible by The Opportunity Fund.

  • Grenfell College opened a Wellness Centre, a partnership between the college, Western Regional School of Nursing and Health and Community Services Western, to improve students' knowledge of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

  • The Founders' Archives in the Faculty of Medicine was created to collect and store material about the history and development of the faculty, as well as records reflecting the contribution of the medical school to health care in the province.

  • Grenfell College is getting new student residences and an exhibition centre. The provincial government will contribute $7 million towards the construction. Three clusters of four residence buildings will be completed by winter 2001-2002. The exhibition centre will be a showplace for the west coast's culture and will provide additional exhibition, studio and workshop space to complement and enhance existing fine arts facilities at the college.

  • Faculty, students and staff participated in a detailed environmental audit of Memorial's St. John's campus. The audit examined environmental management policies and procedures with an eye to compiling a detailed environmental management plan.

  • Engineering student Chris McNeil won a silver medal at the Canadian National Championships for cyclo-cross, held in St-Sauveur, Quebec. Chris is the only Newfoundlander ever to place on the podium for this sport. Cyclo-cross is a combination of off-road biker racing and marathon running.

  • The Memorial Sea-Hawks won the 1999-2000 AUAA women's basketball championship. They last won the title in 1995.

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