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RSS feed for this sectionToronto street interviews
During a crisp weekend in late January 2013, my videographer, Grant Hoeppner, and I hit the streets of Toronto to shoot some footage as a pilot project for the “Oh my God” concept. It’s been a while since I had so much fun! The stories we heard were riveting, hilarious and gut-wrenching. We got a lot more than pilot footage. Thanks to everyone who was willing to respond to our question, “When was the last time you said, ‘Oh my God’? Enjoy the video.
-David Balzer
U of T linguistics professor explains role of teens in language change
Our weekend of video taping in Toronto in January 2013, began with a visit to University of Toronto’s linguistics department. During my academic reading about language variation I discovered Dr. Sali Tagliamonte and her fascinating investigation of words such as ‘like’ in everyday usage. My research had me curious about the role of female pre-teens in language change in society. A highlight for me was when I got the chance to test my hunch with Dr. Tagliamonte. Her expertise in sociolinguistics had a lot to offer an understanding of Oh my God in everyday talk. Here’s just a fraction of the interview with Dr. Tagliamonte.