Minor in Linguistics

The minor in Linguistics has three components. First, it offers students a grounding in contemporary linguistic theory and its constituent domains of phonology (sound structure), morphology (word structure), syntax (grammatical structure), and semantics (the structure of meaning), with attention to a great variety found among languages of the world. Second, the minor addresses the interaction of the study of language with fields as diverse as philosophy, literature, child development, neuroscience, and evolutionary theory. Third, as part of the appreciation of linguistic diversity, the minor requires students to develop proficiency in one or more foreign languages.

For questions about the Linguistics minor, please contact Jaouad Elkamouss.

Program Requirements and Policies

• Language Requirement: Students may not use the Culture Option to fulfill Part 2 of the Arts and Sciences Foreign Language Requirement; they must either complete six semesters (or equivalent) of one foreign language, or three semesters each (or equivalent) of two foreign languages.
• In addition to the language requirement, the minor in Linguistics requires six courses, of which no more than two may also be used toward the student's major.
• The selection of courses must be approved by the student's linguistics advisor. Students may petition their advisor to include other courses in category 3 below.

Course Requirements

The minor in Linguistics requires six courses, including:

1. LING 15/PHIL 15/PSY 64: Introduction to Linguistics
2. TWO of the following courses:
   • LING 112/PHIL 112/ PSY 151: Syntactic Theory
   • LING 113/ PHIL 111/ PSY 150: Semantics
   • LING 155/ PSY 155: Phonological Theory
3. THREE of the following courses:
   • A third course from category 2
   • LING/PHIL 3: Language and Mind
   • LING/PHIL 33 or 103 Logic
   • LING 92/ML 96: Romance Linguistics
   • LING 101/ENG 101: Old English
   • LING 114/ED/ML/GER 114: Linguistic Approaches to Second Language Acquisition
   • LING/PHIL 133: Philosophy of Language
   • LING 137/ANTH 137: Language and Culture
   • LING/PSY 149: Psychology of Language
   • LING/PSY 152: Psychology of Bilingualism
   • LING 153/PHIL 110/PSY 153: Biological Foundations of Language
   • LING 155/ CSHD 155: The Young Child's Development of Language
   • LING 71/CLS 71: Historical Linguistics
   • LING/CLS 170: Indo-European Linguistics
   • LING 177/CSHD 177: Bilingual Studies
   • LING/CSHD 195: Developmental Disorders of Language and Reading
   • LING/CSHD 243: Reading, Dyslexia and the Brain
   • LING 80: Psychology of Music
   • LING 91/191: Special Topics in Linguistics/Advanced Topics in Linguistics
   • LING 93: Independent Research in Linguistics

Students interested in pursuing the minor in Linguistics need to pay attention to when LING 15: Introduction to Linguistics, LING 112: Syntactic Theory, LING 113: Semantics, and LING 155: Phonological Theory are offered. LING 15 is usually offered in the Fall semester and LING 155 is usually offered in the Spring semester. But in any given year, students interested in taking these courses should confirm this with the relevant faculty members. LING 112 and LING 113 are typically offered in alternating years, usually in the Spring, though again, interested students should confirm this with the relevant faculty members.

Affiliated Faculty

• Chip Gidney, Child Study and Human Development
• Gregory Crane, Classical Studies
• Anne Mahoney, Classical Studies
• John Fyler, English
• Hosea Hirata, International Literary and Cultural Studies
• Saskia Stoessel, International Literary and Cultural Studies
• Dilip Ninan, Co-Director; Philosophy
• Ariel Goldberg, Co-director; Psychology
• Gina Kuperberg, Psychology