5/2/2023 0 Comments Came to rest synonym![]() ![]() These syntactic quirks certainly cause confusion, but Harvard does not appear to be alone. In the Twitter discourse that followed, students from other schools mocked our habit of saying we “take” pronouns (“personally I borrow my pronouns,” one user wrote) as well as our use of pronoun “series” (“HUHHHHH!!?!?!? this is crazy? series?” wrote another). “never before in my life have I heard the phrase ‘i take the she series’. “Today i learned people at Harvard take pronouns,” a Yale student tweeted in March. But our survey respondents reported phrasing that introduction in different ways, from “My pronouns are _” to “I use _” to “I go by _.” This linguistic variation would not in itself be a problem, if our peers at other schools did not find some variants particularly strange - outrageous, even. In the standard first-day-of-class introduction that includes your name, class year, and field of study, it’s become commonplace for students to add their personal pronouns. So whether you still insist on the word “major,” are a die-hard “concentration” user, or tend to match the vibe of your audience, these 15 Harvard words tell an important story about who we are, who we choose to become, and where we’re going. Language shapes our reality and shapes us. “What’s happening in the world, and also what our views are, and what is preoccupying us.” “Language will change, and the words which will come into use - also the words which will die out of usage in some way - has often got a lot to say about the state of the world,” she says. ![]() As with any other language, each Harvard term or phrase has a complex backstory that reveals something about campus culture.įiona McPherson, a senior editor for the New Word team at the Oxford English Dictionary, believes that words are an ever-evolving tool which merely reflect the ever-evolving people who use them. It became increasingly clear that the answer would not be simple. We also combed through old Crimson articles, personal correspondence, and archival records. To do so, we distributed a survey to the entire College, asking current students about their linguistic habits - with questions like “What do you think ‘comp’ is short for?” and “How many hours of work should a ‘gem’ require?” - and received 400 responses, unadjusted for possible selection bias. We were also determined to answer an age-old question: Why do Harvard students talk like that? ![]() ![]() So we set off to compile an (un)official Harvard dictionary for the uninitiated. When speaking with family or friends back home, we spend an extra 10 minutes translating “Harvard speak” into regular terms while telling a simple story. Who’s getting punched, and are they okay? Who spelled “LGBTQ” wrong on this office door? What’s a “comp,” and why am I being yelled at to do it outside of Annenberg? Adjusting to HUDS is a feat of its own.īut there’s also that quintessential freshman feeling of not having a clue what everyone around you is talking about. Many of us must learn how to live with roommates for the first time. The lectures are faster and the essays are longer. Coming to college - especially to a place like Harvard - can be a difficult transition. ![]()
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