Minor and Cluster Requirements

The Department of Linguistics offers a minor as well as several clusters in linguistics.

Minor

A minor in linguistics follows the same curriculum as the major. Students are exposed to the same materials, methodologies, and learning experiences.

This minor is an excellent background for those going on to fields such as law, education, and political science. An analytic understanding of human languages and exposure to the methods of linguistic analysis will strengthen and add depth to the student’s ability to handle complex data.

Minor Requirements

LING 110: Introduction to Linguistic Analysis
LING 210/410: Introduction to Language Sound Systems
LING 220/420: Introduction to Grammatical Systems
LING 225/425: Introduction to Semantic Analysis
One linguistics elective

Clusters 

The department offers seven linguistics clusters, all in the social science academic division.

Natural Language
This cluster gives students an overview of the nature of human language.

Syntax
This series of courses considers in depth how sentences are formed from words, and the principles that govern them.

Speech
This cluster considers the sound systems of languages and the articulatory mechanisms that produce those sounds.

Language and Meaning
This series of courses focuses on the semantics and pragmatics of natural language, and how linguistic forms and their usages give rise to meanings.

Language Structure
This cluster introduces students to the techniques for investigating the structures of a wide variety of languages.

Language in Society
This cluster considers the impact of how we talk about things in our daily lives, and how it affects society as a whole.