The 2010 film The King’s Speech was Linguistic Graduate Kira Bondi’s first introduction to the field of Linguistics through lens of Speech-Language Pathology. The film follows King George VI as he ascends to the throne and overcomes a stammer with the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. After learning more about Speech-Language Pathology and having the opportunity to job shadow a Speech-Language Pathologist for a day while in high school, Kira knew that this was the career for her.

In her first linguistics course at SFU, LING 100 – Communication and Language, Kira’s love of linguistics was solidified. As she continued in her studies, this love of linguistics and desire to help others communicate in the field of Speech-Language Pathology lead Kira to join a group of fellow undergraduate students as a member of the executive team for the Speech and Hearing Club at SFU. The goal of the club is to create a positive environment for prospective Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology students as they work toward graduate school. Even during the pandemic, the club hosted interview with Speech Pathologists and Audiologists on Facebook Live and held a successful fundraiser for the Aphasia Division of the Stroke Recovery Association of BC where they raised over $400.

Kira is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Linguistics and a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) Linguistics. She completed her honours thesis, Do you hear what I hear? A study of children’s processing of opaque rule interactions in Canadian English, as a member of Dr. Ashley Farris-Trimble’s Phonological Processing Lab. Her thesis investigated how and when children acquire the processes of Canadian raising and flapping, two processes that together form a complex rule interaction. As a member of the lab since Summer 2020, Kira was a part of this project form the early planning meetings through to the analyses of results. Writing her honours thesis allowed Kira to take a deep dive into a project that she had already been working on.

Since completing her degree requirements in Fall 2021, Kira has been working in a clinic with autistic children to support them in their language learning and development. The work that she is doing continues to build on the knowledge she learned during her degree, and she hopes to put that knowledge to good use in a Speech-Language Pathology program in Fall 2023.

INFLUENTIAL COURSES

• LING 100: Communication and Language

• LING 290: The Science of Speech

• LING 321: Phonology

• LING 309W: Sociolinguistics

• LING 801: Graduate Syntax

• LING 490: Honours Essay