Linguistics is the scientific study of language: how it is structured, used, and learned. The interdisciplinary Minor in Linguistics is designed to enable students interested in the nature of language and its use in society to enrich a degree in any field, including modern languages, communication, anthropology, education, English, computer science, psychology, writing and rhetoric, and more.
Requirements
Students take two core courses and four electives. In order to ensure the interdisciplinary nature of the minor, no more than two elective courses may come from the same program.
Choose Two Core Courses
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required course on language in the mind * | 4 | |
| HOW LANGUAGE WORKS | ||
or CMNS 221 | HOW LANGUAGE WORKS: INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS | |
or ENG 222 | INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS | |
or WRD 220 | HOW LANGUAGE WORKS | |
or ANT 390 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY | |
| Required course on language in society | 4 | |
| Choose One: | ||
| LANGUAGE AND CULTURE | ||
| SOCIOLINGUISTICS FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY | ||
| CULTURES IN CONVERSATION | ||
| SPANISH SOCIOLINGUISTICS | ||
| LANGUAGE, SELF AND SOCIETY | ||
*MOL 220 is cross-listed with CMNS 221, ENG 222, WRD 220, and ANT 390. Other topics in anthropology taught as ANT 390 do not apply to this minor.
Choose Four Electives
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASL 352 | ASL LINGUISTICS | 4 |
| ASL 354 | SOCIOLINGUISTICS FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY | 4 |
| ANT 106 | LANGUAGE AND CULTURE | 4 |
| ANT 317 | LANGUAGE, POWER AND IDENTITY | 4 |
| BBE 316 | SOCIOCULTURAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION | 4 |
| BBE 326 | THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ESL AND WLE | 4 |
| or WLE 326 | THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ESL AND WLE | |
| BBE 355 | HOW ENGLISH WORKS: ENGLISH SYNTAX FOR ESL AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION TEACHERS | 4 |
| BBE 360 | SECOND, WORLD AND HERITAGE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | 4 |
| or BBE 366 | FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | |
| or ECE 325 | SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND EARLY LITERACY DEVELOPMENT | |
| or WLE 360 | SECOND, WORLD AND HERITAGE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | |
| BBE 370 | LANGUAGE, LITERACIES AND CULTURES | 4 |
| or BBE 304 | LANGUAGE, LITERACY AND CULTURE | |
| CMN 101 | INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION | 4 |
| CMN 103 | INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION | 4-6 |
| CMNS 308 | TOPICS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION (when applicable topic) | 4 |
| CMNS 328 | HISTORY OF RHETORIC AND COMMUNICATION | 4 |
| CMNS 333 | CULTURES IN CONVERSATION | 4 |
| CMNS 361 | GENDER AND COMMUNICATION | 4 |
| CHN 211 | LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY IN MODERN CHINA | 4 |
| CSC 397 | TOPICS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE (when applicable topic) | 2-4 |
| ECE 307 | LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (BIRTH TO 8) | 4 |
| ENG 370 | HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE | 4 |
| FCH 322 | FRENCH GRAMMAR AND USAGE | 4 |
| FCH 350 | FRENCH PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS | 4 |
| GER 351 | GERMAN PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS | 4 |
| HON 208 | TOPICS IN SOCIO-CULTURAL INQUIRY (when applicable topic) | 4 |
| ITA 351 | HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE | 4 |
| ITA 352 | ITALIAN LANGUAGE IN THE SOCIETY OF COMMUNICATION | 4 |
| ITA 353 | ITALIAN PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS | 4 |
| JPN 330 | INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE LINGUISTICS | 4 |
| MOL 349 | TEACHING MODERN LANGUAGES | 4 |
| MOL 350 | METHODS OF TEACHING MODERN LANGUAGES IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | 4 |
| MOL 354 | THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS/CURRENT RESEARCH SECOND/FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | 4 |
| MOL 356 | PSYCHOLINGUISTICS | 4 |
| NET 364 | VOICE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES (FORMERLY TDC 364) | 4 |
| PHL 322 | PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE | 4 |
| SPN 242 | INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH LINGUISTICS | 4 |
| SPN 351 | SPANISH IN THE U.S. | 4 |
| SPN 352 | SPANISH PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS | 4 |
| SPN 353 | THE STRUCTURE OF SPANISH | 4 |
| SPN 354 | SPANISH SOCIOLINGUISTICS | 4 |
| SPN 355 | THE HISTORY OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE | 4 |
| SPN 356 | BILINGUALISM IN THE SPANISH-SPEAKING WORLD | 4 |
| SPN 391 | SOCIOLINGUISTICS OF HERITAGE LANGUAGE LITERACY | 4 |
| WLE 349 | STANDARD AND CONTENT-BASED METHODS OF TEACHING WORLD LANGUAGES K-12 | 4 |
| WRD 264 | LANGUAGE, SELF AND SOCIETY | 4 |
| WRD 330 | LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS | 4 |
| WRD 362 | SEMIOTICS | 4 |
| WRD 368 | GLOBAL ENGLISHES | 4 |
| WRD 378 | TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN CHICAGO | 4 |
Other courses involving the study of language may also be counted as electives on a case-by-case basis in order to make the minor maximally applicable to students from all courses of study. Such substitutions could include relevant topics courses, independent study courses, or the courses listed below. Substitutions must be approved by the Program Director.
Example related courses available for approval on an individual basis
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AAS 338 | ASIAN CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION | 4 |
| BBE 310 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND CULTURE | 4 |
| BBE 324 | METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE | 4 |
| or ECE 314 | METHODS AND MATERIALS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION | |
| CMNS 321 | CULTURAL AND SYMBOLIC CRITICISM | 4 |
| CMNS 336 | STORYTELLING: COMMUNICATION AS NARRATIVE | 4 |
| CSC 233 | CODES AND CIPHERS | 4 |
| CSC 347 | CONCEPTS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES | 4 |
| PHY 206 | SOUND AND ACOUSTICS | 4 |
| PSY 360 | THEORIES OF LEARNING AND COGNITION | 4 |
| PSY 379 | COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE | 4 |
| ARB/ASL/CHN/FCH/GER/GRK/ITA/JPN/LAT/MOL/RUS/SPN 395 | FOREIGN LANGUAGES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM | 2 |