Course details

Summary

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It addresses questions relating to the structure of language, how and why languages differ and change, how humans acquire and process language, the relationship between language and society, and the systems of speech sounds that underlie the words and utterances that we speak and hear. For example, studying linguistics can help us to understand how children can easily learn to speak both English and Maori, why New Zealanders sound different from Australians, why the words ‘air' and ‘ear' rhyme for some people but not for others, and why ‘sweet as' isn't just ‘slang'.

Given the unique nature of language, Linguistics is an inherently interdisciplinary field that bridges the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. It has links with, among other fields, Anthropology, cognitive science, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, evolutionary biology, language study, neurology, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology. It is therefore an ideal complementary field of study.

Courses

100-level courses

You must take the following courses in first year if you want to major in Linguistics:

LING101 The English Language

LING102 From Babies to Adults: How Experience Shapes Your Language or LING103 How to Learn Another Language.

LING101 and LING102 are also prerequisites for 200-level Linguistics courses.

Language course/s

Linguistics majors need to include one course in a language other than English (or have equivalent language ability). This can be taken any year during the degree. UC students can choose from:

• Chinese
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Spanish
• Russian, and
• Te Reo Maori courses.

200-level and beyond

At 200 and 300-level more specialised courses explore a variety of topics including forensic linguistics, sociolinguistics, syntax, phonetics and phonology, morphology, New Zealand English and the history of English.

At 200-level the following are the core courses required for anyone to major in Linguistics:

LING215 The Sounds of Speech

LING216 Systems of Words and Sounds in Language

LING217 Sentence Structure

At postgraduate level, there are a raft of arts and science qualifications in the area of Linguistics - from taught programmes to those requiring in-depth independent research.

Career opportunities

Linguistics provides the foundation for a wide range of jobs and careers including teaching, education, translation/interpreting, marketing, publishing, journalism, law, medicine, information technology, speech and language therapy, social research and international relations. In fact, studying Linguistics will help prepare you for any profession that requires skills in analytical thinking, problem solving, argumentation, critical thinking, data collection and analysis, and written and oral expression.

Naturally, you will also become familiar with many different languages and cultures, and as a result, develop important cross-cultural skills.

Linguistics is often a training ground for those who end up teaching English as a second language, which is a popular career and offers excellent travel opportunities.

Further study

The Certificate in Science can be used as a stepping stone to a Bachelor of Science.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Certificate in Arts. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.