Words never fail for linguistics grad

Two years ago, a graduate student from a coastal province in eastern China chose UVic for his further studies in Canada. In the words of Jianxun Liu (MA, linguistics), “I said goodbye to so many things in China” to move to Victoria. “Graduation normally means completion, but for me, it is more a true beginning.”

Jianxun’s own beginnings were in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province, a city known for its hundreds of artesian springs. Jianxun earned a BA from the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade in 1996 and an MA from Shandong University in 2004. He chose UVic due to “good professors and the program I wanted,” and Canada because of “a dream and a birthday gift to my wife.”

Years ago, his wife was fascinated with a beautiful scene of Canada in a photography magazine. He bought that magazine as her birthday gift, and also made a promise: “We might go there someday.”

Jianxun says he had “been studying English for many years, and before I came to Canada, I had got my first MA in English language and literature. I have long been puzzled, and more fascinated, by the differences between English and Chinese. I am interested in knowing more and in more depth, thus naturally I came into the field of linguistics.”

His master’s thesis explores an applicative approach to two grammatical constructions in Chinese. In the acknowledgements section of the paper, he says he is “happy that now I can look back at the writing process and express my thanks to the people who have helped me. In the whole past year, my brain has been occupied by organizing words and phrases into meaning; at this moment, however, I feel words and phrases fail me.”

“For me, life is simple, mainly from home to campus. At weekends, I like to walk in and enjoy the beautiful nature with my wife and my daughter, experiencing the change of the seasons.”

He adds, when asked if he faced any particular challenges, “At the beginning, cultural difference might be a little challenge, but I have got much better, and I begin to enjoy the culture here.”

He is now working toward his PhD in linguistics from UVic.