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Linguistics

Catalog pages 267-268

Subject abbreviation: LING College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Committee in Charge Vrinda Chidambaram, Director (Comp Lit & Lang) Curt Burgess (Psychology) Christine Chiarello (Psychology) Emily Graham (Comp Lit & Lang) Peter Graham (Philosophy) Claudia Holguin (Hispanic Studies) Gerald Maguire (Medical School) Hyejin Nah (Anthropology) Michael Nelson (Philosophy) Covadonga Lamar Prieto (Hispanic Studies) Wesley Leonard (Ethnic Studies) Christian Shelton (Computer Science) Heidi Waltz (Comp Lit & Lang) Daryle Williams, Ph.D, Dean, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, ex officio

Linguistics is the science of language. It seeks to discover the psychological and motor mech- anisms of human speech, the similarities and differences among languages, how languages change, and the way in which language is acquired. Because linguistics is largely inde- pendent of fields with which the student is likely to be familiar, no special background is required for students entering the major.

Linguistics interacts with a wide variety of fields, such as articulatory phonetics (biology), acoustic phonetics (physics), field methods (anthropology), language and culture (anthro- pology), sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, logic, the philosophy of language, and the study of particular languag- es (including their history). This interaction provides opportunities for students with varied interests and can give new perspectives to those in related disciplines.

Major

Upon electing the linguistics major, and certainly no later than the middle of the soph- omore year, a student should see the Director of the Linguistics Committee for advising.

The director can help students find a suit- able advisor to file the necessary forms. In consultation with an advisor, a student plans a coherent program of specific courses to meet the requirements below. The student and the advisor must then submit a copy of the program to the full Committee on Linguistics for approval.

Students interested in the linguistics major should request from the committee director information concerning the many possible course programs. Many of them permit double majors, thus providing strong preparation for further study in two fields.

Students may add variety and depth to their UCR linguistics major by attending a Summer Program in Linguistics (held in various places) or by participating in Education Abroad. This is an excellent opportunity to become deeply familiar with another country and its culture while earning academic units toward graduation. Students should plan well in advance to ensure that the courses taken outside of the U.S. fit in their overall program at UCR. Consult the departmental student affairs officer for assistance. For details, visit Education Abroad at ea.ucr.edu or call (951) 827-4113.

See Education Abroad in the Educational Opportunities section in the beginning of this catalog.

Requirements for the major are as follows:

  • 2. Twenty-four (24) upper-division units

distributed as follows:

  • 3. At least 12 additional upper-division units

of linguistic electives, to be chosen in consultation with the advisor and with the approval of the Linguistics Program director. (The additional courses may be in linguistics or in related fields. They may relate either to a particular field or specialization or to general linguistics.)

  • 4. Foreign language proficiency equivalent to

six quarters (24 units) of study, including at least fourth-quarter proficiency in one language. (Students may arrange with the director to satisfy this requirement by examination.)

Honors Program in Linguistics

LING 111, LING 121, LING 141, LING 190, LING 191

  • 2. Related courses requirement:
  • f) Additional courses as may be required

by the Linguistics Committee

  • 3. Language Requirement — study in at

least two language areas:

  • a) Primary language: 24 units of foreign

language instruction in a single lan- guage (this may include any courses taught in that language) plus courses in the structure, phonetics and history of the primary language, if available

  • b) Secondary language: 16 units of a single

language or at least 8 units in each of two languages (none of which may be members of the same subfamily of In- do-European as the primary language) plus at least 8 units in the structure, phonetics, or history of the language(s) chosen for the secondary area

In fulfilling the language requirement, stu- dents interested in earning a degree beyond the B.A. should take into account the foreign language requirements of the graduate schools to which they may apply. Students must have at least a 3.00 GPA in courses required for the Honors Program.

Courses