Mar 28, 2024  
2009-2010 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2009-2010 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Linguistics, B.A. Major in


Linguistics is the systematic, scientific study of language. Linguistics has many subfields, including the history and relationship among languages, the study of meaning, grammar and context, the sound patterns of language, the interplay between language and society, the role of language and cognition in human evolution, the importance of language in interpersonal and intergroup communication, and the significance of linguistic analysis in law. It is language that most clearly separates humans from all other species on the planet. Human affairs revolve around language. Linguistics enables students to understand the inner workings of this most special human tool: how and why communication happens or fails to happen, how language is used to support people in groups, how the structure of language is the structure of human intelligence. Linguistics prepares a student for many possible occupations. Linguistics gives language students a deeper understanding of how their language works. Linguists often go into language and computer-related fields. TESOL students teach English at all levels, and all over the globe. Anthropologists consider linguistics to be one of the core fields of anthropology. Linguistics helps those in legal professions to use language more precisely, and to better understand manipulation and deception in legal applications.

B.A. Specialization in Linguistics:


consists of the succesful completion of 30 s.h. as follows:

9 s.h. in linguistics courses:


Of the remaining 18 s.h., at least 9 s.h. must be in LING courses.  The final 9 s.h. must be taken as some combination of the following:

Additional LING courses


Additional LING courses.

Other appropriate courses


specifically approved by a linguistics adviser.

Linguistics Subfields


We recommend (but do not require) that, through advisement, students choose a particular subfield to organize the remainder of their course selection for the major. Two possible subfields are cultural linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) linguistics. Other subfields may be delineated by advisement.

TESOL Linguistics:


Recommended courses: