Linguistics

Linguistics is the formal study of human language, its structure and how words translate into meaning during spoken communication. Those who choose to major in this fascinating field will study the role of language in social interaction; the cultural aspects of language; grammar & syntax; semantics; and text analysis. Some of the courses you may encounter when majoring in linguistics might include: the neurological aspects of language, dialects, etymology and phonetics. Some programs in this major require students to perform a linguistic analysis of a specific language, which might be the more common languages such as English, French and Spanish, or niche languages such as American Sign Language or Creole. This analysis is often done in addition to the foreign language requirements of the major.

If you are a fan of the written and spoken word, and enjoy learning about the history and original uses of words, you may want to consider a major in linguistics. It is the ideal major for anyone who has ever wondered about the way people talk and why, or how words come to have meaning. A major in linguistics can also prepare you for a variety of interesting careers, such as speech technology, college teaching positions, speech pathology, speech research or bilingual education.