Professor Dolphin came to Lakehead University in 1975 following studies at McGill University and at the University of Wisconsin, and after teaching school in England and at St. Lawrence University in New York. At Lakehead, Professor Dolphin taught Spanish and French Languages and Cultures, and served as Chair of the Department of Languages from 1981 to 1989 and from 1996 to his retirement in June 1999.

Upon his retirement, in commemoration of his dedicated career, his colleagues and students in the Department of Languages established the Emil Dolphin Bursary in Languages, which will be awarded to a student registered in a language program on the basis of financial need and academic achievement. Public announcement of the bursary was delayed due to his illness, but he was made aware of it prior to his hospitalization.

As a teacher and administrator, Professor Dolphin has devoted unremitting energy to second language instruction, particularly to the application of new technologies in this field. He also was instrumental in the organization of courses and immersion field trips in Spain and France and of the promotion of student exchange programs between Lakehead University and institutions in Europe and Asia.

Languages and the cultures they express, were for him a passion that he successfully transmitted to his students. He imparted upon them that the knowledge of another language was not simply a way to increase their career opportunities, but also a way to develop intellectual sensitivity, and increase understanding of others, as well as discovering and enjoying other cultures and civilizations past and present. Emil enjoyed the whole language experience far beyond the spoken word, through food, wine, music, film and dance. He often brought various meats and cheeses to class for the students to sample and enlightened them with music from the regions they studied. On more than one occasion, Emil and Joan generously opened their home to the students for wonderful meals, an event the students enjoyed and spoke about long afterwards. Emil's dedication as a pedagogue extended well beyond the boundaries of the classroom.

Curiosity, enthusiasm, love of life, are words that best describe Emil. He had a great curiosity toward other people, languages, cultures and ideas and loved new discoveries of all sorts. I recall a story of how one day he was speaking to several Japanese students asking how to say this and how to say that, and afterward every chance he got he was sure to greet them in the hallways in their native tongue.

When Emil was interested in something he embraced it whole-heartedly. He loved for example to work around the garden and spent many long hours battling an overgrown hedge coming to work with many scars attesting to his effort. He also loved puns and word-play. Often he would send e-mail messages to family members and colleagues exercising his sharp wit and playful ease with language. The simplest memo would be hand-crafted on an individual basis to fine-tune it to the recipient. Each word was weighed and carefully chosen to express exactly the right meaning. It had to be perfect.

Emil died on December 24 after complications following heart surgery surrounded by his family. Funeral services were largely attended by his friends, students and colleagues and were held on December 28 at St. John Evangelist Anglican Church. The eulogy was delivered by R. Dunstall, a close family friend and himself a former teacher of Spanish and French.

The University community extends its heartfelt condolences to his wife, Joan, a sessional lecturer in the Department of English, and to their daughters Erika and Tania and son Nigel. An enthusiastic and interesting teacher, a well-respected colleague, a witty friend, Emil Dolphin will be sadly missed by all the people whose lives he has touched.

Emil Dolphin Bursary in Languages

Donor List

Angela Kurmey (1998) teaches French and Math at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in Tottenham, Ontario.

Graduate School

A Word Of Welcome

The Department would like to welcome Professor Marie-Noëlle Rinnéas a full-time lecturer. Professor Rinne has been teaching on a part-time basis as a sessional lecturer for several years. We feel very fortunate to have her in this capacity and look forward to working with her for many years to come.

We would also like to welcome Professor Ismel González to the Department. Ismel comes to us from Cuba and brings with him a love for teaching and a great deal of enthusiasm. He is currently teaching the first year Spanish.

We would also like to introduce Miss Linda Grassia a sessional lecturer in French. Linda graduated from Lakehead in 1996 with an HBA.

We are fortunate to have Miss Pascale Wioland as our French Assistant this year. Pascale comes from the Alsace region of France and brings many ideas and a great deal of enthusiasm to everything she does. She is currently working on an International translation project with several faculty members and is an asset to the team.

Research & Publications

Marie-Noëlle Rinné, Lecturer, Department of Languages, participated in the Women's History Month Speaker's Night and presented on October 28 at Lakehead University a paper entitled «Of Mothers, Grandmothers, and Men: A Glimpse at Gender Issues in French Canadian Literature of the Twentieth Century». The theme of Women's History Month for this year was «Yesterday and Today: Francophone Women in Canada»

Vincent Schonberger, Associate Professor, Department of Languages, presented a paper entitled «La Francophonie panaméricaine», at the "Conférence internationale sur la francophonie," organized by CEFCO, and held at the Collège Universitaire de Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, on May 20-22, 1999. The paper will be published in the proceedings of the conference.

Former Faculty and Staff

First Time View of Canada

Last September, I landed for the first time in my life in Canada. As a European, I knew that Canada was famous for its geese, bears, ice-fishing, sleigh rides, snow and coldness. But, I soon realized that Canada could not just be summarized that briefly. For the past months, I haven't travelled as much as I had hoped, but I have found here far more than I expected. Canada has change me a lot...I am probably more relaxed, more open-minded than before, and I've come to realize that people in France don't drive that well!

I have seen, heard, and experienced new things, never before had I had my hair frozen, nor breathed fresh morning air of 35 below. Never in my life, have I been walking on a frozen river or lake, nor enjoyed lying in the snow watching the trees and a pure blue sky. Never in my life have I said "hello" every morning to the squirrels nor bathed in a lake in October, with the water as cold as 13 degrees. That is just a hint of the way I have been enjoying Canada's marvellous landscapes, lakes, forests and log cabins. I said that the past months here have changed me, in the sense that I am now enjoying people I meet. Every new person I meet is a discovery to me. I am more aware of the wealth in every person. Canadian people are friendly, open-minded, honest, helpful, trustful, interested in me, and in my French and Alsatian cultural backgrounds.

 

Lakehead University will probably be my best memory and of being among the teachers of course and the secretaries and other staff members, the students and my students. I count numerous friends...some taught me how to play the guitar, some invited me for lunch or dinner, or just to relax and chat, some helped me with my English, and proofread my papers, some just gave me hugs when I missed my family, some were just there when I needed someone.

I am really grateful to all these people for they made me feel important and worthy of their friendship. I came here to be the French T.A. but my role here has extended to wider responsibilities. I try to give my friends as much as they give me, I am concerned with the well- being of my students, and do my best for them to enjoy our French conversation labs, I do my best to interest them in French culture and language. They all know that if they come to France, or rather WHEN they come to France my house is their house.

I, last but not least, would like to thank, among others, some individuals. Thank you to Alain, Lori, Marie-Noëlle;, Peter, Vincent, Al, Ismel, Linda, Sarah and thank you to Emil.

Communications and Technology

Retirements and Appointments

Spanish at Lakehead

¡Hola a todos!

A survey carried out in the States some time ago reflected that by this century, Spanish would become the official language in this country. Did you know that speaking English and Spanish in the States is the ticket to better jobs? Let me introduce myself to all those who don't know me yet. My name is Ismel González and I am teaching the Spanish 1000 course.

 As part of my duties in the department of languages, I have been asked to contribute to our newsletter. In this way, I will try to keep you posted about what's going on in the Spanish 1000 course. Here's the report on what happened in the month of January in our class. This past month, in an effort to make the Spanish classes more motivating and interesting for students, I had the idea of having a practical class in which students were to bring food prepared by hemselves and present it in the class (in Spanish, of course). The day arrived and we could enjoy all kinds of foods and desserts from Canada and from other parts of the world. From Perogies to Brownies (ask Lori, our secretary, about them), and from Stir-Fry to frozen Spaghetti with Meatballs (we didn't try this one), they all tasted GREAT!!! The students' presentations were GREAT also, taking into account that they have only been speaking Spanish for four months. FELICITACIONES, guys! the effort was appreciated. The chapter of study at the moment involves Spanish and Latin American cuisine and the different cultural aspects related with this area. I'm looking forward to having these kinds of activities in the future. Remember that the study of a foreign language not only involves the study of language as such, but also all the different cultural areas related to it.

For this reason and many others you may find out later on, I invite you to take part in the next Spring course to experience these fun sessions and learn this wonderful language that is getting into our society more and more each day.

Finally, I would also like to invite you to stop by the department and find out about the Spanish courses offered in Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cuba (Yes, Cuba's also on the list!), if it is your desire to study the language in the countries in which it is spoken. This is it for now.

See you next time.

Profile By Veronica Brown, President French Club

This issue's profile is of our secretary Mrs. Lori Kapush.

 

 

 An example is La Quintessence Des Nouvelles, a weekly newspaper published in The Hague and edited by Madame Dunoyer, a Huguenot refugee who fled France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which prohibited Protestantism in France.

"Printed on one side only of one page, format in folio, it was a satirical newspaper devoted to political, literary and social scandals," says Nabarra. "Its main target was Louis XIV, a despotic, intolerant but "Very Christian Monarch" who, according to the newspaper, delighted in wars and amorous conquests, and never hesitated to wreck his kingdom and starve his subjects, in the pursuit of his own pleasure and glory."

 

Prof. Nabarra was particularly responsible for the newspapers published in French outside of France during the 18th century, and is the author of 28 entries. Some of these newspapers, circulated clandestinely in France, served as an outlet for information and thoughts that were banned from the censored domestic press.

The first two volumes of the Dictionnaire de la Presse, to which Nabarra also contributed several articles, were published in 1991.

New French Courses

A course designed to develop an awareness of various forms of written expression in French. Exercises allow the students to improve their ability to perform a number of tasks: writing summaries, reports, letters, résumés, argumentation, etc.

French Club

Our French club has been actively meeting and enjoying a variety of events. They are currently selling t-shirts to raise money for future activities.

(Department of Languages home page:)
https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/languages

Tell Us What You've Been Doing

Thought for the Day