Linguistics Major Concentration (B.A.) (36 credits)
Offered by: Linguistics (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 36
Program Description
The Major Concentration in Linguistics focuses on various aspects of linguistics, including theoretical linguistics (phonology, syntax and semantics); experimental linguistics (phonetics, laboratory phonology, language acquisition and psycholinguistics); computational linguistics; linguistic fieldwork and language revitalization; and language variation and change (sociolinguistics, dialectology and historical linguistics).
Degree Requirements — B.A. students
To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.
We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.
Degree Requirements — B.A. & Sc. students
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Arts & Science (B.A. & Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
Required Courses (15 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LING 201 | Introduction to Linguistics. | 3 |
Introduction to Linguistics. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 General introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of human language. Covers the core theoretical subfields of linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Also provides background on other subfields including sociolinguistics, pragmatics, historical linguistics, linguistic variation, and language acquisition. | ||
| LING 330 | Phonetics. | 3 |
Phonetics. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Transcription, identification, and production of speech sounds. Introduction to the acoustic properties of speech sounds, acoustic analysis of speech, and auditory phonetics. | ||
| LING 331 | Phonology 1. | 3 |
Phonology 1. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to phonological theory and analysis. | ||
| LING 360 | Introduction to Semantics. | 3 |
Introduction to Semantics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Introduction to the rudiments of semantics, focusing on those aspects of meaning that are invariant across contexts and the ways in which the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its constituents. | ||
| LING 371 | Syntax 1. | 3 |
Syntax 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Introduction to the study of generative syntax of natural languages, emphasizing basic concepts and formalism: phrase structure rules, transformations, and conditions on rules. | ||
Required courses must be completed at McGill unless Departmental permission is obtained.
Complementary Courses (21 credits)
3 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMP 230 | Logic and Computability. | 3 |
Logic and Computability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Propositional Logic, predicate calculus, proof systems, computability Turing machines, Church-Turing thesis, unsolvable problems, completeness, incompleteness, Tarski semantics, uses and misuses of Gödel's theorem. | ||
| MATH 318 | Mathematical Logic. | 3 |
Mathematical Logic. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Propositional logic: truth-tables, formal proof systems, completeness and compactness theorems, Boolean algebras; first-order logic: formal proofs, Gödel's completeness theorem; axiomatic theories; set theory; Cantor's theorem, axiom of choice and Zorn's lemma, Peano arithmetic; Gödel's incompleteness theorem. | ||
| PHIL 210 | Introduction to Deductive Logic 1. | 3 |
Introduction to Deductive Logic 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025 An introduction to propositional and predicate logic; formalization of arguments, truth tables, systems of deduction, elementary metaresults, and related topics. | ||
18 credits in Linguistics (LING) chosen according to the student's interests.
At least 9 of these credits must be at the 400/500 level.
Only 3 credits at the 200 level may count towards complementary credits.