A simple vegetable will serve as the focus of a presentation on etymology and the history of language headed up by Ohio State University professor Terrell Morgan.
The associate professor of Hispanic linguistics will hold a colloquium on Okra in the Americas: An Object in Historical Linguistics from 3 to 5 p.m. today in 301 Gordy Hall.
Morgan's speech will use the word okra as an example demonstrating the ways in which languages transform themselves.
What I've done is I've taken one artifact
one item - in this case it's a vegetable - and I've followed the history of the plant and the food itself from Africa to the Americas he said. So much history and culture is tied up into every etymology - in other words
the history of every single word in every language in the world.
The presentation is being co-hosted by the Modern Languages, Latin American Studies and Linguistics departments, said Emilia Marks, associate professor of Spanish.
(Morgan is) an expert in phonetics and linguistics. He's really enthusiastic about any aspect of the language
Marks said. We've talked for many years about the possibility of having him come to campus.
Morgan will guest lecture in two of Marks' classes before holding the colloquium.
By having more than one department host Morgan's visit, facilitators hope that a wider variety of students will benefit from the professor's presentation, said Peter Githinji, assistant professor of linguistics.
Githinji added the event is open to all faculty and students and should appeal to the interests of a wide variety of people.
Morgan, who grew up in the south - where okra is common - became interested in the history of the word upon discovering his Spanish wife was not able to translate the vegetable's name into her native language.
The professor went on to interview people from all over four continents in order to build a basis of knowledge about the many words used to describe the vegetable and its history in various areas.
This is just one example of how the history of that word parallels the history of movements of people and movements of food and changes in culture
he said. There's so much tied up in the history of that one word.
Marks hopes Morgan's background and knowledge of the topic will contribute to a presentation that strikes a chord with students.
I hope students get a feel for how vast the Spanish language is
Marks said. It's not just a grammar class. Spanish is all over the world.
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Rebecca McKinsey
