Linguistics

Requirements

Admission to the Major

After passing Linguistics 311 (or an equivalent), the prospective linguistics major must present a plan of study to the department for approval.

Requirements for the Major

  1. Linguistics 311, six additional courses in linguistics (or cross-listed in linguistics).
  2. Competence in two languages other than English, equivalent to second-year college-level proficiency in one language, and at least first-year college-level proficiency in the second.
  3. A total of four semester units in an allied field, none of which can be used to fulfill 1 or 2 above. Some representative examples are: a) Anthropology 211 plus three upper-division anthropology courses (including linguistics courses cross-listed with anthropology); b) four courses in psychology, including the introductory course; c) four courses from the Division of Literature and Languages; d) four courses in mathematics; e) four courses in philosophy. Other choices of allied field are also acceptable, as appropriate to a student’s needs and interests, and subject to the approval of the department.
  4. A junior qualifying examination in linguistic theory and method, to be attempted after taking no fewer than five units of linguistics. An element of the examination will be a thesis proposal.
  5. Linguistics 470 (thesis), which may, as appropriate, be jointly supervised by faculty members from linguistics and an allied field.

Recommended:

  1. Further courses in the allied field and in linguistics.
  2. At least one classical language (Greek or Latin) or one non-Indo-European language (Chinese) as part of, or in addition to, the language requirement above. Additionally, more advanced competence in the languages used to meet that requirement.
  3. Courses in anthropology, psychology, and/or philosophy, in addition to courses in the student’s chosen allied field, if it is not one of these. Students’ attention is particularly drawn to those courses dealing with poetry, prose style, and the grammars of individual languages, both modern and classical, in the Division of Literature and Languages; courses on logic and the philosophy of language; and courses on cognition, mental representations, and psycholinguistics.

Group and Division Applicability

Of the courses described here, Linguistics 332, Anthropology/Linguistics 311, 312, 313, 334, 348, 373, and 430 count towards the Group B requirement. If taken as Anthropology courses, the cross-listed courses count towards divisional requirements in History and Social Sciences. Anthropology/Linguistics 311, 312, and 348 and Linguistics 321, 323, 324, 326, 328, 329, 332, 334, 336, 338, 341, 344, and 373 count toward the Group D requirement. Linguistics/Psychology 296 and 393 count toward either Group B or Group D.