Terrell A. Morgan walked into Gordy 301 Friday not knowing what to expect.
What he found was a room with every seat taken and still more people sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall - all of them not only willing, but excited, to become actively involved in a discussion about a vegetable.
The Ohio State assistant professor of Hispanic Linguistics gave a presentation titled Okra in the Americas: An Object Lesson in Historical Linguistics.
Students and faculty from multiple departments remained attentive as Morgan chronicled his efforts to document the words used to describe okra in various Spanish-speaking countries and throughout the world by tracing the vegetable's history, beginning in Africa.
Morgan's research involved showing people from around the world a photo of okra and asking if they knew what it was and, if so, what they called it. Although some of his research was done abroad, many of his answers came from professors down the hall or acquaintances down the street who had previously lived and worked in other countries.
A side benefit of this project - and what he described as his eclectic methodology - was the people it put him in contact with, Morgan said. He met faculty at OSU and members of the community he never would have encountered had he not conducted this research.
I was on a mission
and I was not going to let that mission stop at the borders of campus he said. In central Ohio alone there are scores of languages spoken by people anxious to talk about their cultures and experiences.
After years of investigation, Morgan found a variety of terms used for okra in other languages, including: quimbombó, molondrón, guingambó, gombó, quiabo, kubewa, okoro, saalu, nkruma, ocre and ocra.
The key to looking at how specific terms developed was to chronicle the vegetable's journey from Africa and throughout the world, Morgan said. After he did so, more global discoveries about historical linguistics as a whole came to light.
Morgan's expertise in linguistics drew the interest of Kierstin Guenther, a freshman studying linguistics and French.
I like learning anything about linguistics
Guenther said. I like the history of language and how it develops.
The presentation remained relevant to Spanish students as well.
The most interesting thing I learned was making connections between African words and learning how Spanish words were derived from them
said Nick Welch, a senior studying Latin American Studies and Spanish.
Morgan was pleased at the turnout and the response he received from students.
Nobody fell asleep
he said, laughing, after the speech's close. The audience asked good questions that were totally on-target. They were paying attention and interested to the point that they formulated really good questions.
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Rebecca McKinsey
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