Olga Temple

My name is Olga Temple, and I think that Human Language is one of the most fascinating things to learn about in this fascinating world. Why? Because we become conscious of ourselves and the world around us through language. In other words, language is the source of all abstract thinking and, therefore, knowledge.

Originally, I come from Riga, Latvia (the small Baltic state, now part Europe, but I find the question “Where do you come from?” difficult to answer – not just because I have lived and worked in Europe, Africa and the South Pacific (and not stopping there!), but because I am an Earthling. I feel at home anywhere on this planet, and believe in the unity of all mankind.

I studied in the Latvian State University in Riga, Latvia, and the Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia, where I obtained the Master of Arts degree in Romanic/Germanic Philology. My main academic interests are in the area of dialectical linguistics, cognitive science, syntax and sociolinguistics.

For the past ten years, I have been teaching linguistics courses at the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby, PNG.