Linguistics
About Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
Topics in linguistics covered at McGill University include: the structure of the world’s languages at the level of sounds (phonetics and phonology), words (morphology), sentences (syntax), and meaning (semantics); how languages are learned and processed (language acquisition, psycholinguistics); how linguistic data is modelled using computational and statistical tools (computational linguistics); how languages change over time (historical linguistics); how languages vary in relation to region and social identity (dialectology, sociolinguistics); and methods for collecting, coding, and analyzing data (field methods, quantitative analysis, experimental methods, formal methods). Courses in linguistics prepare students for advanced academic work in linguistics and related disciplines such as anthropology, cognitive neuroscience, computer science, philosophy, psychology.
The core concepts of linguistics also inform skills that are foundational for many careers—including computer science (e.g., natural language processing, speech technology, AI); communication sciences and disorders (speech-language pathology, audiology); language documentation and revitalization; communication, (e.g., journalism, media, advertising); language teaching; translation; and law (e.g., forensic linguistics).
The Department of Linguistics offers a minor concentration, a major concentration, an honours program, and a joint honours program with other departments in the Faculty of Arts.
Available Programs
Linguistics-Related Program: Minor in Cognitive Science
Students following major or honours programs in Linguistics with an interest in cognition may want to consider the Minor in Cognitive Science. For more information, refer to the Cognitive Science page.
Location
Department of Linguistics
1085 Dr. Penfield Ave., Room 111
Montréal, QC H3A 1A7
Telephone: 514-398-4222
Website: mcgill.ca/linguistics
Advising
Website: mcgill.ca/linguistics/undergraduate