Linguistics (BA in Linguistics)
Linguistics Program
Linguistics is the study of language both as a faculty of mind and as a social institution.
Linguistics majors learn about speech sounds, word formation, and sentence structure in the world’s languages, along with models for representing linguistic knowledge in the mind and tools for discovering the structure of different languages. They also study language change, including the history of English, and language variation within communities, including its social and political bases.
A course must be completed from each of the groups listed below to fulfill the 38-credit requirement for the major. Each major is normally expected to select courses in accordance with the following plan:
Required Credit Hours: 38
Core Requirements
Courses are to be selected by the student in consultation with a faculty member.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major Writing Requirement | ||
| Select one of the following with a grade of C- or better: | 4 | |
| Linguistic Field Methods | ||
| Sociolinguistic Field Methods | ||
| Experimental Field Methods | ||
| Evolution of Language | ||
| Required Courses | ||
| LING 220 | Study of Language | 3 |
| LING 221 | Exploring Linguistics | 1 |
| LING 304 | Syntax | 3 |
| LING 307 | Phonetics and Phonology | 3 |
| LING 308 | Sociocultural Linguistics | 3 |
| LING 310 | Language Patterns: Types and Universals | 3 |
| Sociolinguistics Course | ||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 3 | |
| Soon Come: Caribbean Languages and Identities | ||
| Language Attitudes | ||
| Introduction to Pragmatics | ||
| Language and Society | ||
| Experimental Linguistics Course | ||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 3 | |
| First Language Acquisition | ||
| Experimental Psycholinguistics | ||
| Computational Methods in Language Science | ||
| Subfield Depth Requirement | ||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 3 | |
| Meaning and Understanding in Western Cultural Thought | ||
| Historical Linguistics | ||
| Language and Society | ||
| Linguistic Anthropology | ||
| Caribbean Linguistics | ||
| Discourse Analysis | ||
| Social & Linguistic Theories of Bilingual Speech | ||
| Linguistic Field Methods | ||
| Sociolinguistic Field Methods | ||
| Experimental Field Methods | ||
| Evolution of Language | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
| Research Seminar in Linguistics | ||
| Elective Choices | ||
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
| Soon Come: Caribbean Languages and Identities | ||
| Finite Automata and Theory of Computation | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
| African-American English | ||
| Speech Sound Analysis | ||
| English Language in United States Culture | ||
| History of the English Language | ||
| Topics in Linguistics | ||
| First Language Acquisition | ||
| Language Attitudes | ||
| Experimental Psycholinguistics | ||
| Computational Methods in Language Science | ||
| Introduction to Pragmatics | ||
| Meaning and Understanding in Western Cultural Thought | ||
| Historical Linguistics | ||
| Language and Society | ||
| Linguistic Anthropology | ||
| Caribbean Linguistics | ||
| Discourse Analysis | ||
| Linguistic Field Methods | ||
| Sociolinguistic Field Methods | ||
| Experimental Field Methods | ||
| Evolution of Language | ||
| Topics in Linguistics (may be repeated when topics vary) | ||
| Research Seminar in Linguistics | ||
| Independent Study in Linguistics | ||
| Research in Linguistics | ||
| Honors | ||
| Honors | ||
Students may count 3 credits of a Linguistics HISP course toward the elective requirement 2 | ||
| Introduction to Arabic Dialects | ||
| French Phonetics and Diction | ||
| Philosophy of Language | ||
One semester of a non-Indo-European language | ||
| Total Hours | 38 | |
- 1
If taking more than one, other(s) may be counted as electives.
- 2
(HISP 262 Spanish Phonetics and Phonology or other HISP courses focused on linguistic content).
The student may propose other courses, including study-abroad courses, to count towards the major. Such choices will be approved on a case-by-case basis, depending on the overall coherence of the student’s proposed major program. Examples of such courses include but are not limited to the courses listed below.