Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, and it involves an analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context. The earliest activities in the documentation and description of language have been attributed to the 6th century BC Indian grammarian Pāṇini who wrote a formal description of the Sanskrit language in his Aṣṭādhyāyī.
Linguists traditionally analyse human language by observing an interplay between sound and meaning. Phonetics is the study of speech and non-speech sounds, and delves into their acoustic and articulatory properties. The study of language meaning, on the other hand, deals with how languages encode relations between entities, properties, and other aspects of the world to convey, process, and assign meaning, as well as manage and resolve ambiguity. While the study of semantics typically concerns itself with truth conditions, pragmatics deals with how situational context influences the production of meaning.
Grammar is a system of rules which governs the production and use of utterances in a given language. These rules apply to sound as well as meaning, and include componential subsets of rules, such as those pertaining to phonology (the organisation of phonetic sound systems), morphology (the formation and composition of words), and syntax (the formation and composition of phrases and sentences). Modern theories that deal with the principles of grammar are largely based within Noam Chomsky's framework of generative linguistics.
In the early 20th century, Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between the notions of langue and parole in his formulation of structural linguistics. According to him, parole is the specific utterance of speech, whereas langue refers to an abstract phenomenon that theoretically defines the principles and system of rules that govern a language. This distinction resembles the one made by Noam Chomsky between competence and performance in his theory of transformative or generative grammar. According to Chomsky, competence is an individual's innate capacity and potential for language (like in Saussure's langue), while performance is the specific way in which it is used by individuals, groups, and communities (i.e., parole, in Saussurean terms).
The study of parole (which manifests through cultural discourses and dialects) is the domain of sociolinguistics, the sub-discipline that comprises the study of a complex system of linguistic facets within a certain speech community (governed by its own set of grammatical rules and laws). Discourse analysis further examines the structure of texts and conversations emerging out of a speech community's usage of language. This is done through the collection of linguistic data, or through the formal discipline of corpus linguistics, which takes naturally occurring texts and studies the variation of grammatical and other features based on such corpora (or corpus data).
Stylistics also involves the study of written, signed, or spoken discourse through varying speech communities, genres, and editorial or narrative formats in the mass media. In the 1960s, Jacques Derrida, for instance, further distinguished between speech and writing, by proposing that written language be studied as a linguistic medium of communication in itself. Palaeography is therefore the discipline that studies the evolution of written scripts (as signs and symbols) in language. The formal study of language also led to the growth of fields like psycholinguistics, which explores the representation and function of language in the mind; neurolinguistics, which studies language processing in the brain; biolinguistics, which studies the biology and evolution of language; and language acquisition, which investigates how children and adults acquire the knowledge of one or more languages.
Linguistics also deals with the social, cultural, historical and political factors that influence language, through which linguistic and language-based context is often determined. Research on language through the sub-branches of historical and evolutionary linguistics also focus on how languages change and grow, particularly over an extended period of time.
Language documentation combines anthropological inquiry (into the history and culture of language) with linguistic inquiry, in order to describe languages and their grammars. Lexicography involves the documentation of words that form a vocabulary. Such a documentation of a linguistic vocabulary from a particular language is usually compiled in a dictionary. Computational linguistics is concerned with the statistical or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective. Specific knowledge of language is applied by speakers during the act of translation and interpretation, as well as in language education – the teaching of a second or foreign language. Policy makers work with governments to implement new plans in education and teaching which are based on linguistic research.
Related areas of study also includes the disciplines of semiotics (the study of direct and indirect language through signs and symbols), literary criticism (the historical and ideological analysis of literature, cinema, art, or published material), translation (the conversion and documentation of meaning in written/spoken text from one language or dialect onto another), and speech-language pathology (a corrective method to cure phonetic disabilities and dis-functions at the cognitive level).
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Matching Linguistics Colleges
University of California-Santa Barbara
Four or more years; Public; $41,196 average out-state tuition; $11,442 average in-state tuition |
University of California-San Diego
Four or more years; Public; $41,196 average out-state tuition; $11,442 average in-state tuition |
Montclair State University
Four or more years; Public; $20,443 average out-state tuition; $12,323 average in-state tuition |
Ohio State University-Main Campus
Four or more years; Public; $34,101 average out-state tuition; $11,018 average in-state tuition |
Brigham Young University
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $6,120 average out-state tuition; $6,120 average in-state tuition |
The University of Texas at Austin
Four or more years; Public; $40,996 average out-state tuition; $11,752 average in-state tuition |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Four or more years; Public; $38,757 average out-state tuition; $10,927 average in-state tuition |
Scholarships for Linguistics Majors
Beinecke Scholarship - Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College |
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award $34,000 |
deadline Varies |
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DescriptionThe Beinecke Scholarship is open to juniors at Dartmouth College who plan to enter a master's or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. You must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marian Islands and demonstrate financial need to qualify for this award. In addition,... View Scholarship Details |
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TowerCares ScholarshipTowerCares Foundation |
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award $5,000 |
deadline May 15, 2025 |
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DescriptionThe TowerCares Scholarship is available to high school seniors and full - time college freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. You must be enrolled or plan to enroll in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) or Foreign Language Linguistics major. Additionally, you must be a U.S. citizen and reside in Maryland, the District of Columbia,... View Scholarship Details |
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Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association ScholarshipU.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association |
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award Up to $3,000 |
deadline June 30, 2025 |
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DescriptionThe Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association Scholarship is available to graduating high school seniors who are entering their freshman of college as well as current college students. You must be sponsored by a current U.S. NCVA member in good standing and submit a brief written statement in order to be considered for this award. Selection is... View Scholarship Details |
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Michael Hodge Memorial ScholarshipGalveston College |
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award $1,000 |
deadline Varies |
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DescriptionThe Michael Hodge Memorial Scholarship is available to students at Galveston College. You must have completed 6 semester minimum, have a minimum GPA of 2.5 and pursuing a degree in humanities or fine arts to be eligible for this award. View Scholarship Details |
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Humanities & Social Sciences Tiger Athletic Foundation ScholarshipLouisiana State University, Baton Rouge, College of Arts and Science |
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award $1,000 |
deadline Varies |
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DescriptionThe Humanities & Social Sciences Tiger Athletic Foundation Scholarship is available to students at Louisiana State University. You must be enrolled in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, demonstrate financial need, and have a minimum 3.4 GPA to be eligible for this award. View Scholarship Details |
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Ernest R. Johnson Memorial PrizeUniversity of Iowa |
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award $1,000 |
deadline Varies |
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DescriptionThe Ernest R. Johnson Memorial Prize is available to graduating students at the University of Iowa who have the highest academic standing in the College of Liberal Arts. All qualified candidates will automatically be considered for this award; no additional application is required. View Scholarship Details |
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Catherine F. Vuozzo ScholarshipUniversity of Maryland, College Park - College of Arts and Humanities |
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award $1,000 |
deadline Varies |
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DescriptionThe Catherine F. Vuozzo Scholarship is available to full-time undergraduate liberal arts majors at the University of Maryland, College Park. Your selection for this award will be based on academic merit, financial need and an essay (2 pages double spaced) on the topic, "What does it mean to be an 'educated' person? What is the role of the... View Scholarship Details |
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Chesley I. Cochran ScholarshipSan Joaquin Delta College |
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award $1,000 |
deadline April 20, 2025 |
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DescriptionThe Chesley I. Cochran Scholarship is available to students at San Joaquin Delta College. You must have been a resident of San Joaquin County for the previous five years, be involved in community service, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA to be eligible for this award. You must also be majoring in social sciences, human services, or humanities. View Scholarship Details |
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Alice McInnes Memorial ScholarshipSan Joaquin Delta College |
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award $1,000 |
deadline April 20, 2025 |
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DescriptionThe Alice McInnes Memorial Scholarship is available to female liberal arts students at San Joaquin Delta College. You also demonstrate participation in activities and community service, leadership abilities and financial need. Additionally, you must be a graduate of Stockton Unified, Lincoln Unified, or St. Mary's School District and have a... View Scholarship Details |
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Vicente Narciso Marcelo Scholarship in EnglishSan Francisco State University |
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award Up to $1,000 |
deadline November 01, 2025 |
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DescriptionThe Vicente Narciso Marcelo Scholarship in English is open to undergraduate students attending San Francisco State University. You must be majoring in Professional Writing and Rhetoric, English Education, Linguistics, or Literature, have a minimum GPA of 3.0, be enrolled in a minimum of 9 units and submit a 250 essay on the topic provided by... View Scholarship Details |
Linguistics Related Majors
- Spanish Language and Literature
- Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- French Language and Literature
- Japanese Language and Literature
- Language Interpretation and Translation
- Sign Language Interpretation and Translation
- Chinese Language and Literature
- German Language and Literature
- Arabic Language and Literature
- Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- Comparative Literature
- Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- Russian Language and Literature
- Italian Language and Literature
- Korean Language and Literature
- Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- Linguistics of ASL and Other Sign Languages
- Latin Language and Literature
- Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature