What is linguistics? :: Majors and Minors :: Lower-Division Courses :: Linguistics and other disciplines
Studying abroad :: Linguistics language program

What is linguistics?

In what ways do languages differ, and in what ways are all human languages alike? These are the basic questions that the science of linguistics seeks to answer.

In formulating hypotheses about language it has been found that languages have intricate structure at a number of different levels. Phonetics studies the sounds of speech and how they are produced and perceived.
Phonology studies the principles by which the sounds of a language are organized into a system and combined into syllables and larger units.
Morphology studies the principles by which smaller units of meaning are combined into words.
Syntax is the study of the principles by which words are combined into larger units such as phrases and sentences.
Semantics studies meaning—the meanings of words and the ways the meanings of words are related to the meanings of larger units such as the phrase, the sentence, and the discourse.
Linguists attempt to discover to what extent the principles at each level vary across languages, and to what extent they are universal.

Because language provides a window into the human mind, linguistics plays a central role in the study of human cognition and figures prominently in the field of cognitive science. We know, for example, that all normal children succeed in learning language relatively quickly at a time when their other cognitive abilities are still developing. The universal properties of human language that linguists discover can be used to provide models of this process, to explain why it occurs so rapidly, and to make specific predictions about the way it unfolds. The results of linguistic research can also be tested directly in experimental studies of how language is represented and processed in the mind (psycholinguistics) and brain (neurolinguistics). Language can also be studied in terms of its function as a cognitive system shared by an entire society; sociolinguistics investigate the ways in which the language we use is affected by our social environment. Historical linguistics examines language change and historical relationships between languages.

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Linguistics Majors and Minors

The UCSD Department of Linguistics offers four different majors: General Linguistics, Cognition and Language, Language and Society and Languages Studies (a combination of Linguistics and study of a language). We also offer two minors: Linguistics or Language Studies. See the Majors and Minors pages for more detailed information. There is also an International Studies-Linguistics major and a minor run by the International Studies Program.

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Lower-division Introductory Courses

The department of Linguistics offers a series of lower-division courses designed to introduce non-majors to the scientific study of language in the broader perspective of a liberal arts education. These are:

LIGN 3 (Language as a Social and Cultural Phenomenon)
LIGN 4 (Language as a Cognitive System)
LIGN 7 (Sign Language and Its Culture)
LIGN 8 (Languages and Cultures in America)
LIGN 17 (Making and Breaking Codes)

These courses may be used to satisfy the Marshall College disciplinary breadth requirement. Lower-division linguistics courses may be used to satisfy the social sciences requirement at Muir College and Revelle College, and they partially fulfill the requirements for a program of concentration in Warren College. In addition, certain linguistics courses satisfy the American Cultures requirement in Revelle College and the cultural diversity requirement in Muir College and Warren College. LIGN 17 (Making and Breaking Codes) satisfies the Thurgood Marshall Computational Skills requirement in addition to the formal skills requirement in Warren College and in the Human Development Program. This course also satisfies the Structured Reasoning requirement in Sixth College. Students should consult their college advising offices to determine which linguistics courses satisfy these other requirements.

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Linguistics and other disciplines

Linguistics courses are relevant to a wide range of fields of study at UCSD, including anthropology, cognitive science, communication, computer science, human development, law and society, psychology, and sociology, as well as areas such as African studies, Chinese studies, Ethnic studies, Judaic studies, Latin American studies, and others. In some cases certain linguistics courses count toward a major or minor in one of these departments or programs. Students should consult with a faculty adviser in linguistics and the other department or program when deciding on their course of study.

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Studying abroad

Students are often able to participate in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) and UCSD’s Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP) while still making progress toward the major. Students considering this option should discuss their plans with the department undergraduate adviser before going abroad. Detailed information on EAP/OAP is found in this catalog under the heading “Education Abroad Program.”
http://pao.ucsd.edu/acadint/LINGabroad.htm

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Linguistics Language Program

The Department of Linguistics oversees the Linguistics Language Program, which offers basic language instruction in Arabic, ASL, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Courses from the Language Program satisfy general-education requirements, as well as the Department of Linguistics language requirement. Graduate students who require a reading knowledge of French or German may enroll in LIFR 11 or LIGM 11, respectively.

The department also offers Heritage Language instruction for individuals who grew up in an English-speaking environment while speaking a different language at home (Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese; other languages may be added to this list if student demand is sufficient). Instruction in these languages is designed to raise students’ linguistic and cultural competence to professional levels. Finally, directed self-instruction is available for a wide variety of languages through LIDS 19.

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Department of Linguistics :: University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive #108 :: La Jolla, CA 92093-0108
Phone: (858) 534-3600 :: TDD: (858) 822-255 :: Fax: (858) 534-4789
E-mail: linginfo@ling.ucsd.edu :: http://ling.ucsd.edu/