Language Is Alive

At its core, linguistics is the scientific study of language systems and how they work. In practice, studying these systems also means studying the active ways people constantly use, interpret, and change language in order to communicate and relate with others.

“Language isn’t a closed book; it’s a living system that researchers are still actively mapping,” said Thorsten Huth, associate professor of German and chair of the college’s interdisciplinary Linguistics Program. “Sounds, words, and grammar are only the beginning, because language is also identity, power, culture, humor, belonging, and change. People don’t just use language; they constantly reshape it.”

The Linguistics Program offers students opportunities to study fields where linguistics overlaps with fields like psychology, sociology, education, speech pathology, and others. It prepares students for graduate work in linguistics and related areas, and enriches language studies overall. It also provides a strong foundation for students interested in teaching English as a second language.

Linguistics graduates are prepared for a variety of language-related and applied professional fields: translation, language teaching, publishing, journalism, marketing, speech pathology, anthropology, the tech industry, government and international relations, or continuing their study at the graduate level.

Excitement for How—and Why—Language Works

Getting involved in linguistics can be a transformative experience. Huth recalls inquisitive students that ignited his own fascination as a graduate student teaching German for the first time.

“They asked questions like ‘Why does this phrase sound right but that one doesn’t?’ or ‘Why does word order change here?’” said Huth. “I realized I often only had intuition, not an explanation.”

The students’ questions inspired Huth to investigate language in a deeper way. In turn, he now shares his excitement for the field with students in the Linguistics Program.

“What still amazes me most about linguistics is how systematic language is, and how much of that system sits completely outside the system of grammar most of us were taught in school,” said Huth. “Linguistics is where you start seeing the architecture underneath, the multiple layers of patterns that govern sounds, word formation, sentence structure, meaning, and how all of those interact with context and society.”

Through that interaction, studying language means also studying humanity: physiological foundations like how our brains create perception and speech production; how we develop slang words like “skibidi;” the use of professional jargon—phrases like “aligning with strategic outcomes;” and the use or disappearance of old sayings we inherit and the new ones we coin.

“Language is how we build relationships, transmit knowledge, signal who we are, and navigate society,” said Huth. “We live inside it every day. As we develop and change, our language changes with us.”

Courses Dig Into Details to Broaden Linguistic Understanding

Core courses give students a panoramic view of the field along with a strong analytical foundation: the study of sounds, word structure and word formation, syntax and grammar, language history and change, and the social forces that shape how people speak and write.

“Students often come away realizing that ‘correctness’ and ‘clarity’ are only small pieces of the story, and that variation and change are not flaws, but fundamental features of language,” said Huth.

Courses in the Linguistics Program range from introductory topics to in-depth looks at how languages form. Linguistics 150: How Language Works is an inviting entry point for students interested in what linguistics research can show about how human language works.

“It helps students see early on why linguistics matters—whether they’re interested in education, law, health communication, social justice, AI, or simply how humans make meaning together,” said Huth.

Linguistics 350: How to Construct a Language taps into the same kind of imagination that fuels world-building in popular culture.

“Think Klingon, Elvish, or the invented languages and dialect systems you see across fantasy and sci-fi franchises and video game universes,” said Huth. “Students don’t just make up words; they design a complete language system. It’s creative, but also deeply analytical as students quickly discover that to invent a believable language, you have to understand how real languages work.”

Faculty Deliver Expertise For Student Success

Linguistics faculty members are internationally recognized scholars whose wide-ranging expertise fuels the success of the program. Their scholarship is published in leading journals, they mentor both graduate and undergraduate student researchers, and they shape the field through leadership and service in professional organizations.

“Our faculty collectively cover the full spectrum of linguistic study,” said Huth. “This includes language processing in the brain and cognition; language teaching, learning, and writing (including in ESL contexts); multilingualism and identity; language history and change; how conversation and interaction work; and studying reading, writing, and literacy development.”

Students benefit from this breadth of expertise—building strong research toolkits across wide-ranging topics and learning methods—plus from access to the study of the many languages offered in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

“We’re also mindful that linguistics is perhaps more publicly relevant than ever,” said Huth. “With language-learning models and generative artificial intelligence reshaping how society thinks about ‘language,’ we have an opportunity to help people understand what these technologies do well, what they don’t, and what human language actually is.”

by Randall Brown