Linguistics

Interdisciplinary Program

Students can minor (but not major) in linguistics at Centre College. Linguistics is the science of language: the study of perhaps the most central and unique human ability. A linguistics minor will allow students to integrate their study of English and foreign languages within an overarching awareness of the scientific principles of language use, the acquisition of language, the physical mechanisms of human languages (both spoken and signed), language change over time, socialization through languages, and the political and cultural implications of language differences.

A perspective on world language use informed by the study of linguistics is a powerful element of an educated person’s knowledge-base as a global citizen. Students working within a linguistics minor will also be encouraged to apply their new knowledge to other fields of study, informing their investigations in anthropology, biology, cognitive science, computer science, education, languages, literature, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Linguistics will also help prepare students for careers in a wide variety of fields, including translation, computer science, counseling, psychology, journalism, marketing, speech therapy and speech pathology, teaching English as a foreign language, and international business and public affairs, as well as qualifying them for the study of linguistics at the graduate level.

Faculty

James Morrison (chair), Michael Dixon, Mark Rasmussen, Jeff Shenton

Linguistics Courses

Course Descriptions