Linguistics
Office: 202 Brooks Hall
Phone: 924-7048
| All Linguistics courses (except LING 100-199) apply toward fulfillment of the College area requirement in Social Sciences |
Linguistics is the study of the structure and organizing principles of languages. It studies how (and whether) human language differs from other forms of animal communication, what human languages have in common and how they differ, how and why they change over time, how language affects and is affected by other cognitive processes and the sociocultural context in which it is used. Linguistics contributes to many related disciplines including anthropology, psychology, sociology, semiotics (the study of signs), poetics, philosophy, and cognitive science.
The Linguistics Program is an interdepartmental program, which means that linguistics courses are taught in a variety of participating departments, and do not always have the LING or LNGS prefix. A list of the courses included in the program may be found in the Undergraduate Record under Linguistics, and an updated set of course descriptions for each upcoming semester is available on the website above. For more information about the program and the major contact Lise M. Dobrin at (434) 924-7048.
ANTH 341 (Sociolinguistics) and LNGS 325 (Introduction to Linguistic Theory) may be appropriate courses for first-year students.