Q & A: What is Linguistics?

Linguistics is the study of human language:

Spoken  

Signed    

Written  

One of the first questions that people ask linguists is,

While many linguists specialize in the study of one or more specific languages that they speak or have learned, linguistics is not just about collecting knowledge of how to speak, sign or write multiple languages.

 How  many  languages  do  

you  speak?        

LINGUISTS STUDY:

How  languages  function  and  change  

How  languages  are  acquired  

How  people  use  language  for  social  

purposes  

LINGUISTS ASK RESEARCH QUESTIONS SUCH AS:

How  do  bilingual  people  learn  and  integrate  the  

grammars  of  two  languages?    

Why  do  some  people  want  to  keep  their  

accents  and  others  want  to  change  them?    

How  do  learners  of  a  second  language  draw  on  knowledge  and  

structures  of  their  :irst  language  when  they  speak  or  write?  

What  is  the  underlying  knowledge  people  use  to  produce  the  sounds  of  language  in  patterned  

ways?  

How  do  languages  and  writing  systems  develop  

over  time?    

WHAT DO LINGUISTS DO?

EDUCATION    Teach  in  schools,  Colleges  and  Universities  

Work  in  Tech  Industries  

Consult  in  :ilm  and  media  

Translation  and  Interpretation  

MANY  THINGS!  

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A DEGREE IN LINGUISTICS? With a B.A. or an M.A. in Linguistics, there are many career opportunities. v Jobs in computational linguistics include

working in the computer industry on speech recognition and synthesis (think, Siri!), artificial intelligence, natural language processing or language learning platforms or apps. Linguists can also be consultants in the film and media industries, or work in publishing.

v Linguistics graduates often work in

language education, where they put

their theoretical and social knowledge of language structure and acquisition to use

in TESOL (Teaching of English to

Speakers of Other Languages) or the teaching of languages other than English.

These jobs are available

close to home

…and all over the

world.  

v Other language-teaching-related

occupations include developing instructional materials (written, online,

video) and working in language testing. v Linguistics is a valuable background for

careers in translation and interpreting

for both spoken language and sign language.

o Translators and interpreters work in

many domains, including schools and universities, courtrooms, and medicine.

v CSULB has a new BA in sign language

interpretation

v Pursue an MA or a Ph.D Because the use of language intersects with many other aspects of humanities and social science research, students with Linguistics BA degrees are well-placed to pursue MA or doctoral research in many fields, to include

o Anthropology o Psychology, o Education o Computer Science o Communications o Communications Disorders.

Linguistics is a great minor (or double major) for students in v RGRLL v Anthropology v CHLS v AAAS v AIS v AFRS v Communications Studies v International Studies

….and many others Check out the Linguistics Major or Minor today!

THE LINGUISTICS MINOR LING 170 Intro to Linguistics + 4 Linguistics courses from the following: • LING 101 Intro to the World’s Languages (D2) • LING 325 Modern English Grammar • LING 329 Language Acquisition (GE D2) • LING 379 Sociolinguistics • LING 401 Corpus Linguistics • LING 413 Language and Culture • LING 420 Phonology • LING 421 Syntax • LING 423 Semantics • LING 425 Education Across Cultures HD, Capstone) • LING 426 History of the English Language • LING 433 Discourse Analysis • LING 438 Applied Linguistics • LING 460 TESOL Composition • LING 470 Language and Gender • LING 472 Language and Social Justice (WI Capstone,

HD) FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE UNDERGRADUATE ADVISOR NANCY HALL (NANCY.HALL@CSULB.EDU)

OUR FACULTY

DR. REBEKHA ABBUHL DR. MICHAEL AHLAND DR. COLLEEN AHLAND DR. JOHN ATTINASI DR. MATT DAVIDSON DR. CHERYL FANTUZZI DR. MALCOLM FINNEY DR. JOE GALASSO MR. TIM GOUGH DR. NANCY HALL DR. SARVENAZ HATAMI DR. ALEXANDRA JAFFE MR. ED KELLY DR. WENDY KLEIN DR. BARBARA LEMASTER DR. PETRA LOTT MS. REZENET MOGES-RIEDEL DR. WANETTE REYNOLDS DR. AMIR SHARIFI MS. HALEEMA WELJI