Kaitlin Maddever—current BA student

For Kaitlin, studying Linguistics allows you to see things from other peoples’ perspectives.

My studies in Linguistics and NZSL have taught me to see things from different angles. Language and accents are different all over the world, as well as within our communities. But there’s no reason that people should be looked down on for the way they speak. This applies just as well to perspectives, leading to a healthy dose of tolerance and understanding. That is a serious advantage that I didn’t have before studying Linguistics.

New Zealand Sign Language is one of our country’s three official languages and is used by the Deaf community within New Zealand. Learning NZSL as a hearing person was eye-opening. It’s too easy to encounter only people who have similar lives and opinions. Linguistics and NZSL Studies has enabled me to see more than just that, and to be respectful of the many different experiences people have.