We are the Freakatives

Cory’s Bio:
I speak English and know some Japanese because I watch Naruto with subtitles. I have taken multiple Spanish classes, but foreign languages are not my strong point. Although, after taking linguistics, I feel I can apply what I have learned to my acquisition of another language. People tell me I’m smart and pretty. I can do lots of things but I really enjoy doing nothing. I’m really good at making the best of things while seeing the worst in them. In particular, my skills and strengths in relation to linguistics is rather limited. I have a hard time comprehending the material and an even more difficult time applying it. I do know APA rather well though!

Steve’s Bio:
I’m Steve Juarez, my nickname is Captain. I’m half Mexican and half Merman. I enjoy short drives to Pizza Hut, people watching, and playing my music so loud that it sets off car alarms. I’m 5’8’’ about 155 lbs, wear a size 9 shoe and size 11 heels. My strengths in Linguistics/languages rely in the fact that I speak Spanish and English; although in the English portion I find myself being a grammar nazi and correcting people’s grammar/spelling on social networks. My goal is to become an English teacher, although I currently get paid to party.

Michelle’s Bio:
Growing up in an Italian family, language was a big part of our lives. Not only did we yell ALL THE TIME (even if we weren’t angry), we spoke a lot with our hands—you can’t be an Italian unless you “speak with your hands.” This influenced me greatly to be the loud, hold-nothing-back person I am. Since I’m so short, I have to make myself seem bigger than I am. Years later, I studied American Sign Language in college for 2 years. This came easier to me than others, because I was used to “speaking with my hands.” Not only did I need this language for my major, but I was extremely interested in the deaf culture and wanted to learn more. I only needed one semester of ASL, but pursued it further for the knowledge. Aside from being Italian and learning ASL, I also played piano for 10 years. Using my hands to talk is now a natural thing to me—sometimes there doesn’t even need to be a spoken language between myself and another individual if we can communicate via hands gestures (and not just the inappropriate hand gestures!).

Giovanna’s Bio:
My name is Giovanna but almost everyone calls me “gioo” I was born here but my entire family is from Mexico. I speak and write both English and Spanish. My major is English Single Subject Teaching and this is my first semester as a transfer student. I want to become an English teacher and later go on to law school if I am able to, and have the money for it. What I consider my strength is that I love to do things perfectly, as a matter of fact, I use a ruler to write so that my writing doesn’t come out uneven, regardless of there being lines on the paper or not. Also, it is easier for me to speak Spanish and write in English, weird but true.

Keana’s Bio:
Hi! I’m Keana. I’m Filipino and Japanese and know bit of each language. I love naps, the Arctic Monkeys, sweet tea, Michael Fassbender, Mad Men, Regular Show and clash of clans. I’m new to linguistics so I haven’t developed any strengths yet, however, pictured with me is my nephew and one of the reasons I switched my major to linguistics. He’s about to be two, and he’s got dancing down but hasn’t started talking in proper sentences. I taught him words to say and his ability to pronounce them and understand what they correspond to intrigues me. In regards to linguistics I would like to teach kids to develop their speech or study how they do so.

Ana’s bio:
My name is Ana Rebeca Rodas. My family exclusively calls me Rebeca and my friends only call me Rodas (so you can call me Ana since it’d be pretty cool to have yet another identity). I consider myself to be an optimistic person who is always tired and who gets asked whether I am being sarcastic or not waaay too often. I like to laugh at life and everything it throws at us. As for my ethnic background, I was born in the US but the rest of my family is Guatemalan. Spanish was my first language, I learned some Hebrew and I am currently learning Arabic. When I was little, I would tell people that when I grew up, I wanted to be a dictionary. (I didn’t have many friends as a kid). Pursuing this lifelong dream of becoming a dictionary, I switched my major to Linguistics. So far my linguistic skills are average, but the amount of components there are to language itself is definitely very interesting to me. I would like to someday become a translator or work for the government.