Welcome
Welcome to the Linguistics Program’s website. We hope that our website will help you learn more about the field of linguistics, our faculty, the undergraduate degrees in linguistics that are possible at NU, and the specific courses that we offer.-
What is Linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. A growing and exciting field, it has links to diverse fields including cognitive psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, computer science, artificial intelligence, sociology, language teaching, anthropology, and education. Linguistics is a key component of the emerging field of cognitive science, the study of the structure and functioning of human cognitive processes. Read more » -
What can you do with a Linguistics degree?
The real answer is “just about anything!” While the majority of graduates in linguistics go on to work in linguistics or a related field (computer science, education, speech pathology, journalism, editing), many also find jobs in areas outside of the field, for example, working in middle management for a large fortune 500 firm, or going to law school. Because linguistics focuses on the analysis of language at many different levels, students completing the program have the ability to think abstractly, along with exceptional analytic skills. Learn More »
Puzzle of the Day
How would you fill in the blank? A friend shows you a new invention, which is called a “blap”. Then she shows you that she has a box full of them. You ask, in astonishment, “How many _____ have you made?”Click for answer
All native English speakers will fill in the blank in exactly the same way, with the word “blaps”. It would be very odd for someone to say “blapi” (like “syllabi”), “blapren” (like “children”), or “blep” (like “men”). This is because the most productive, regular way of making the plural in English is by adding an “s” suffix, and we add it with any newly created word. In fact, English speakers, over time, even start to regularize words that have irregular plurals. Today, the traditional plural “cacti” is competing with the form “cactuses”, and the same is true of “hippopotami” and “hippopotamuses”.