Linguistics

College of Arts and Sciences
Gordy Hall 383
Phone: 740.593.4564
Fax: 740.593.2967
linguisticsWeb@ohio.edu
http://www.ohio.edu/linguistics

Christopher Thompson, Chair

Overview

Ohio University offers an undergraduate major in Linguistics, the study of how languages are structured, acquired, and used. Consisting of 34 credits, the major can be completed in two years if a student begins the program in the fall of the junior year.

A core program of 19 semester hours is required of all majors; each student must take 15 additional hours of electives in Linguistics. Areas of possible concentration include the teaching of English as a second or foreign language (TESL/TEFL), theoretical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and the use of computers in linguistic research or teaching. In addition, the major might be useful to students planning advanced study or careers in communication sciences and disorders, bilingual education, translation and interpretation, cognitive science, anthropology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence.

Unlike other majors in the College of Arts and Sciences , linguistics majors must complete three years of foreign language study and meet all General Education requirements. Elective courses are recommended from the subjects of English, modern or classical languages, psychology, cultural anthropology, international studies, education, and other disciplines.

A typical program of study can be sequenced across the last two years of a student’s college career. Some courses may be taken out of sequence, but prerequisites and descriptions of courses listed in this catalog should be noted carefully. A minimum GPA of 2.33 is required in the major, with no grade below C- in the core courses.

A minor in linguistics is also available, requiring a minimum of 17 semester hours and at least two courses at the 4000 level. Areas of specialization include general linguistics, sociolinguistics, and teaching English as a second or foreign language.

Programs

Majors

Linguistics (B.A.) - BA5290

Minors

Japanese - ORJAPN

Linguistics - OR5290

Preservice Teacher Preparation in TEFL

Linguistics also offers a five-course module as preservice teacher preparation in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). The courses include LING 3500 , 4750 , 4800 and 4820. The module can be completed by linguistics majors and nonmajors. Also, Linguistics, in cooperation with Latin American studies, offers coursework toward the TEFL module in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Language and Literature Courses

The Department of Linguistics offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian/Malay, Japanese, and Swahili. At the present, no major in these languages is available. Additionally, the College of Arts and Sciences offers the following less commonly taught languages from these geographic areas: Africa: Akan, Wolof, and Somali; Southeast Asia: Khmer, Thai, and Vietnamese. If a student is working toward an major program in international studies or a certificate in African or Asian studies, they may choose two semesters of an appropriate African or Asian language as part of your course requirements. The Chinese and Japanese language programs offer education abroad programs, which supplement part of the foreign language courses offered at Ohio University.