Mar 28, 2024  
College Catalog 2014-2015 
    
College Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Linguistics Major


Major Requirements


  1. All students completing an interdisciplinary major in linguistics are required to take LING 100 , LING 104 , LING 200 , and LING 205 . After this, they may follow either a cultural or a cognitive track.

Major in linguistics with added emphasis in cultural and language studies.


Students with a strong interest in languages and the humanities may wish to consider the cultural track. This includes:

  1. Language courses: three language courses beyond the college-wide four semester requirement
  2. Two more courses in one other discipline as it relates to language. Two courses in a sequence can be chosen from:
    PHIL 201 - Modern Philosophy  and
    PHIL 311 - Philosophy of Language  (Same as LING 311 ); OR
    JAPA 235 - Communicative Strategies in Japanese Society  (Same as LING 235 ) and  
    JAPA 335 - Analyzing Japanese Language  (Same as LING 335 ) or
    JAPA 488 - Translating Japanese: Theory and Practice ; OR
    CHIN 452 - Translating Chinese: Theory and Practice 
    HISP 309 - Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics  and
    HISP 435 - History of the Spanish Language 
    HISP 436 - Spanish Dialectology 
    HISP 437 - Applied Linguistics: Spanish Second Language Acquisition 
    HISP 494  - Spanish in the United States

    Or, an alternative pair approved by the department chair including courses such as:

    POLI 170 - Theories of Rhetoric 
    MCST 110 - Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies 
    SOCI 175 - Sociolinguistics  (Same as LING 175 )
    MCST 128 - Film Analysis/Visual Culture 
    MCST 234 - New Media Theories/Practices 
    RUSS 265 - Translation as Cross-Cultural Communication  (Same as INTL 265 )
     
  3. Two more courses chosen from the following:
    LING 103 - Advertising and Propaganda 
    LING 201 - Historical Linguistics 
    LING 202 - Origins/Evolution of Language 
    LING 301 - Language and Alienation  (Same as  )
    LING 206 - Endangered/Minority Languages 
    LING 225 - 100 Words for Snow: Language and Nature  (Same as ENVI 225 )
    LING 204 - Experimental Linguistics 
     
  4. The Capstone Sequence:
    LING 300 - Linguistic Analysis 
    LING 400 - Field Methods in Linguistics 

Students in this track are required to complete six courses offered by departments other than linguistics, chosen in consultation with the department chair.

Major in linguistics with added emphasis in cognitive studies.


Students with a strong interest in cognitive science frequently approach linguistics from a background in mathematics, psychology, logic or computer science, rather than natural languages. Such students may wish to consider following the cognitive track.

  1. A sequence in psychology:
    PSYC 180 - Brain, Mind, and Behavior 
    PSYC 242 - Cognitive Psychology 
    PSYC 378 - Psychology of Language 
     
  2. A sequence in computer science:
    COMP 123 - Core Concepts in Computer Science 
    COMP 484 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 
     
  3. Two more courses to be chosen from the following:
    PHIL 111 - Introduction to Symbolic Logic 
    PHIL 213 - Philosophy of Mind 
    PHIL 311 - Philosophy of Language 
     
  4. The capstone sequence:
    LING 204 - Experimental Linguistics 
    LING 614  - Independent Project: Capstone (an independent experimental project conducted in the linguistics, psychology, or computer science laboratory facilities).

Students in this track are required to complete six courses offered by departments other than linguistics, chosen in consultation with the department chair.