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Undergraduate Study


Why Linguistics?

Linguistics, the systematic study of human language, lies at the crossroads of the humanities and the social sciences. Much of its appeal derives from the special combination of intuition and rigor that the analysis of language demands. The interests of the members of the Department of Linguistics and colleagues in other departments span most of the major subfields of linguistics: phonetics and phonology, the study of speech sounds; syntax, the study of how words are combined; semantics, the study of meaning; historical linguistics, the study language of change in time; computational linguistics, the modeling of natural language in all its aspects from a computational perspective.

Studying linguistics is not a matter of studying many languages. Linguistics is a theoretical discipline with ties to such areas as cognitive psychology, philosophy, logic, computer science, and anthropology. Nonetheless, knowing particular languages in some depth can enhance understanding of the general properties of human language. Not surprisingly then, many students of linguistics owe their initial interest to a period of exposure to a foreign language, and those who come to linguistics by some other route find their knowledge about languages enriched and are often stimulated to embark on further foreign language study.

Students interested in learning more about linguistics and its relationship to other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences are encouraged to take Linguistics 1101, a general overview, which is a prerequisite for most other courses in the field, or one of the first-year writing seminars offered in linguistics (on topics such as metaphor, language processing and disorders, English outside the box, and the language instinct). Linguistics 1101 and our other introductory courses fulfill various Arts College distribution requirements. Most of our 1100 - and 2200-level courses have no prerequisites. These cover various topics in linguistics (e.g., LING 1109 - English Words: Histories and Mysteries, Ling 2221-Language and Society, LING 2285 - Linguistic Theory and Poetic Structure) or focus on the linguistics of a particular geographic region or historical development of particular languages (e.g., LING 2217 - History of the English Language to 1300, LING 2218 - History of the English Language Since 1300, Ling 2241 -Yiddish Linguistics).

Talks and discussions about linguistics are organized by Cornell’s Undergraduate Linguistics Organization (the Underlings) and the Linguistics Colloquium (organized by the Cornell Linguistic Circle and the department). These meetings are open to the university public and anyone wishing to learn more about linguistics is most welcome to attend. Information about such events is posted on the Department website.

The Linguistics Major

For questions regarding the linguistics major, contact Professor Wayne Harbert, 210 Morrill Hall, 255-8441, (weh2@cornell.edu).

A. Prerequisites: Linguistics 1101 plus one of the other Foundation Courses in B.

B. Foundation Courses: Majors must complete all of the following courses.

C. Core Courses: Majors must complete three courses from the following list, chosen in consultation with their advisors.
LING 3333 Problems in Semantics
LING 4400 Language Typology
LING 4401 Phonology I
LING 4403 Syntax I
LING 4419 Phonetics I
LING 4421 Semantics I
LING 4423 Morphology
LING 4424 Computational Linguistics
LING 4425 Pragmatics
LING 4436 Language Development
LING 4474 Introduction to Natural Language Processing
LING 6600 Field Methods

D. Elective Courses
Majors must complete three elective courses chosen in consultation with their advisors. These can be selected from among the remaining courses listed in the Core Courses category, or other courses in linguistics or another department with a substantial linguistic content, including courses on the linguistics of specific languages. Two of these must be at the 2200 level or higher. One must be at the 3300-level or higher.

E. Ancillary Skills Courses
Majors must complete two semesters of study in one or more of the following areas, selected in consultation with their advisors. This requirement is intended to equip them with practical skills relevant to their particular interests in linguistics.

The Ancillary Skills Course requirement may be waived for students with a second major, or those with a concentration in cognitive studies.

Some substitutions to these standard requirements are possible after consultation with your advisor and approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The minimum grade for courses applied to the linguistics major is C.

Honors
Many Linguistics majors choose to write a senior honors thesis. Applications for honors should be made during the junior year or by the start of fall term of the senior year. Candidates for admission must have a 3.0 (B) average overall and should have a 3.5 average in linguistics courses. In addition to the regular requirements of the major, the candidate for honors will complete an honors thesis and take a final oral examination in defense of it. Students are expected to give an oral presentation on their thesis topic during the department’s year-end undergraduate honors colloquium, and to deposit a copy of the final thesis with the department. The thesis is usually written during the senior year but may be started in the second term of the junior year when the student's program so warrants. The oral examination will be conducted by the honors committee, consisting of the thesis advisor and at least one other faculty member in linguistics. Members of other departments may serve as additional members if the topic makes this advisable. Linguistics 4493 and 4494 may be taken in conjunction with thesis research and writing but are not required.