Linguistics

Linguistics can be described as the scientific study of language. All human beings know (at least one) language and use it for a variety of purposes:

Communicating with people as part of their normal daily routine
Access and attain knowledge (ie to learn)
Convey ideas to other people
Express emotion
Provide a scientific description of a phenomenon
Produce a piece of art (eg a novel, a poem)

This can be a very, very long list, because language is, in fact, indispensable to so many aspects of human functioning that life seems (almost) unthinkable without it.

In most situations using language does not require any conscious effort on the part of the speaker (or listener), which is probably one of the reasons why most people seem unaware of the extremely complex and the highly structured nature of language.

Why study Linguistics?

Linguistics provides a scientific description of human language, focusing in particular on those properties that are shared by most (or all) human languages. Study in Linguistics includes describing the structural and categorical properties of the building blocks of language (e.g. speech sounds, grammatical elements, words, etc.), and, where appropriate, their meaning.

What will I study?

Linguistics involves study in various other fields including psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, and applied linguistics, and covers a huge range of fascinating questions, such as:

What is the role of language in establishing social identity?
What is involved in the communication between individuals of different cultural backgrounds?
What is the role of language in thinking?
What is the role of language in learning/cognition?

Many of these issues are considered, in varying degrees of depth, in the linguistics courses offered through our School.

Prospective students of linguistics are encouraged to explore the range of available LING courses, and to select those that best suit their academic interests and/or study needs. Students should also note the availability of the postgraduate coursework program: Master of Applied Linguistics.

For further information contact the Head of Discipline

Research Higher Degrees in Linguistics

Current topics being supervised

Nasser Alasmari	PhD	Effects of Acculturation factor on Saudi Arabian English Language Learners: A Contextual Comparison Study
Merzin Alshshrani	PhD	The relationship between second language aptitude and English language proficiency among Saudi learners of English as a foreign language in Saudi Universities
Mohammed Albousaif	PhD	Factors Determining Saudi Learners' Difficulties in Attaining EFL Vocabulary
Fakieh Alrabai	PhD	The Use of Motivational Strategies in the Saudi EFL Classroom
Salih Alzahrani	PhD	Topics in the Grammar of Zahrani Spoken Arabic
Simón Gonzalez	MPhil	TBA
Lydia Green	PhD	Factors of and Resistance to Language Loss in Ghana: a case study of Ikpána (Logba)
Stephen Logan	PhD	Documentation and description of Ririo - a highly endangered Northwest Solomonic language
John Olstad	PhD	Topics in a Grammar of Nehan
Emily Ondondo	PhD	The Phonology and Morphology of Kisa: An Optimality Theoretic Account
Ellen Smith	PhD	Documenting Papapana: a highly endangered Northwest Solomonic language
Lana Takau	PhD	A grammar of Matanvat (Nese)