Linguistics gives students deeper understandings of language as the primary means of human communication. Through the Linguistics Minor, students are invited to explore the many facets of language and develop the tools they need to analyse specific language related issues in detail.
In addition to exploring the building blocks of language, students have the opportunity to discover how languages differ, with respect to structure (sound system, word formation, and grammar), expression of meaning, language acquisition, variation, and change; cultural and artistic uses of languages; and the comparison of oral, written, and signed languages. In classes students work with linguistic data from a range of languages and apply theory to real life interactions.
Learning more about language and how it is used offers benefits to students from a wide range of disciplines, for example, for those who study in fields where language 'part of the picture' such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy or politics. It is also valuable for those interested in language learning and teaching or in roles where communication is a focus, for example speech pathology and audiology. Finally, linguistics provides important knowledge in contexts where skilled language use is required, such as professional writing, marketing and the law. Many linguistics subjects teach skills such as creative problem solving skills and detail-focused analysis, which are applicable in other fields and in most workplaces.
Linguistics subjects offered investigate questions such as: Why is language always changing? How do words have meaning? How do we learn languages? and What are all the possible sounds in human languages?
