Dorjana Širola
Encyclopedia
Dorjana Širola is a Croatian
quiz
zer, linguist
and anglicist
. She was the highest placed woman at the World Quizzing Championship
in seven years from 2005 to 2011. She was also the winner of the University Challenge
(UC) quiz in 2002 as a member of the University of Oxford
, Somerville College
team and the winner of the University Challenge: The Professionals (UCP) quiz in 2006 as a member of the Bodleian Library
team. She is the only person to have won both UC and UCP and the only person who has won University Challenge twice in two different teams.
In 2011 she won Silver with her club "Europalia" (Derk de Graaf (Netherlands), Thomas Kolåsæter (Norway), Holger Waldenberger (Germany)) at the European Quizzing Championships
in Bruges
She obtained her B.A.
from the University of Zagreb
in 1996 in general linguistics
and English language
and literature
; her M.Phil.
from the University of Cambridge
, Trinity Hall
in 1998 in English language and applied linguistics
; and her D.Phil.
from the University of Oxford
, Somerville College
in 2005 in comparative philology
and general linguistics.
Her area of research covers writing system
s, writing-phonology
interface; historical linguistics
, comparative linguistics
, Restsprachen and language variation. She currently works as a senior assistant lecturer at the University of Rijeka
in Rijeka
, Croatia
.
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
quiz
Quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...
zer, linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and anglicist
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. She was the highest placed woman at the World Quizzing Championship
World Quizzing Championship
The World Quizzing Championship is an individual quiz contest organised by the International Quizzing Association...
in seven years from 2005 to 2011. She was also the winner of the University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
(UC) quiz in 2002 as a member of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Somerville College
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
team and the winner of the University Challenge: The Professionals (UCP) quiz in 2006 as a member of the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
team. She is the only person to have won both UC and UCP and the only person who has won University Challenge twice in two different teams.
In 2011 she won Silver with her club "Europalia" (Derk de Graaf (Netherlands), Thomas Kolåsæter (Norway), Holger Waldenberger (Germany)) at the European Quizzing Championships
European Quizzing Championships
The European Quizzing Championships are an annual multi-disciplinary quiz event, in which representatives from various countries compete as individuals, teams and pairs. The last championships took place in Bruges, Belgium 4-6 November 2011...
in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
She obtained her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
in 1996 in general linguistics
Theoretical linguistics
Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that is most concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge. The fields that are generally considered the core of theoretical linguistics are syntax, phonology, morphology, and semantics...
and English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
; her M.Phil.
Master of Philosophy
The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...
from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Trinity Hall
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
in 1998 in English language and applied linguistics
Applied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems...
; and her D.Phil.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Somerville College
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
in 2005 in comparative philology
Comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness....
and general linguistics.
Her area of research covers writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
s, writing-phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
interface; historical linguistics
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
, comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness....
, Restsprachen and language variation. She currently works as a senior assistant lecturer at the University of Rijeka
University of Rijeka
The University of Rijeka is situated in the city of Rijeka with faculties also located in cities throughout the regions of Primorje, Istria and Lika....
in Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.