Program Overview

Introduction to the Linguistics Major

The Linguistics major is designed to be flexible, meeting the needs of a range of students. It consists of 1 prerequisite, 3 required core courses chosen from the list below, and 4 electives.

The Field of Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists try to answer such questions as:

• Why do particular languages work the way they do?
• What features do languages in general share?
• How do children acquire a language, and how does this differ from adult language learning?
• How and why do languages change?
• Why does language differ from place to place?
• How does language interact with other aspects of society and culture?

Linguistics majors and minors study the results of linguistic research and its relevance to such diverse fields as psychology, philosophy, English, foreign languages, anthropology, communication, speech and hearing sciences, and computer science. In this context, the field of linguistics occupies a special position, bridging the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Linguistics is also central to the developing interdisciplinary field of cognitive science. Linguists do not necessarily need a command of several languages, but a background in foreign languages can be an asset.

Structure of the Major

Prerequisite

• The prerequisite for the Linguistics major is LING 101: Introduction to Language. Students contemplating a Linguistics major should fulfill their General College Social Science Perspective with LING 101.

Required Core Courses

Complete one course from each pair for three out of four of the following pairs of courses:

• LING 200: Phonology | or | LING 520: Linguistic Phonetics
• LING 201: Syntax | or | LING 537: Semantics
• LING 202: Linguistic Variation and Language Change | or | LING 541: Sociolinguistics
• LING 203: Language Acquisition and Development | or | LING 427: Morphology

Electives

• Five Linguistics courses beyond the required core are necessary for the completion of the major. Electives can be chosen from the courses offered by the Linguistics Department that are numbered 200 or higher, except LING 400 and the graduate-level core courses, as well as from courses that are cross-listed with Linguistics.
• Certain language-related courses offered by other departments can also be counted as major electives, including:
  • AAAD 421 Introduction to the Languages of Africa
  • AMST 374 America’s Threatened Languages
  • CHIN 253 Chinese Language and Society
  • COMP 455 Models of Languages and Computation
  • ENGL 115 History of the English Language
  • ENGL 213 Grammar of Current English
  • GERM 500 History of the German Language
  • GERM 501 Structure of German
  • GERM 514 Old Norse I (Old Icelandic)
  • GERM 515 Old Norse II (Old Icelandic)
  • GERM 521 Variation in German
  • GERM 545 Problems in Germanic Linguistics
  • ITAL 526 History of the Italian Language
  • PHIL 345 Philosophy of Language
  • PORT 526 History of the Portuguese Language
  • PSYC 432 Psychology of Language
  • SPAN 683 Linguistics of Indigenous Languages
  • SPHS 530 Introduction to Phonetics
  • SPHS 540 Speech Science
  • SPHS 570 Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech, Language, and Hearing Mechanisms
  • SPHS 582 Introductory Audiology I

Independent Study

The University offers independent study experiences for undergraduate students, including directed readings, internships/practica, mentored undergraduate research, and senior honors thesis courses for an individual student. Students, in consultation with the faculty member, must complete a learning contract and have it approved by the director of undergraduate studies (or designee).

Special Note on Graduate Level Core Courses

Most LING courses in the 400/500 range are intended for both graduate and undergraduate students. However, the following four courses are different. They are specifically designed for graduate students, since they are graduate-level equivalents of the 200-level courses, 200-203:

• LING 523: Phonological Theory I
• LING 525: Historical and Comparative Linguistics
• LING 528: Language Acquisition
• LING 530: Syntactic Theory I

Most undergraduates take the 200-level core courses, but exceptionally capable and motivated students may take the graduate-level equivalents with permission of the course instructor.

Honors Thesis

Any Linguistics major with a cumulative total GPA of at least 3.300 overall, and at least 3.500 in the major, is eligible to write an honors thesis in Linguistics. Membership in the UNC Honors Program is not required.

Undergraduate Program

The Linguistics Department offers the following undergraduate programs:

• Major
• Minor
• BA/MA
• Pre-Speech and Hearing
• Design Your Program
• Study Abroad
• Transfer Students