The academic content and curriculum of the Linguistics undergraduate program focuses on the scientific study of language and aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the structure, use and development of languages. The program starts with courses covering the core areas of linguistics and then deepens with elective courses according to students' interests.
General Linguistics: Introduction to the basic concepts of linguistics. An overview of the nature, function and diversity of language is presented. This course provides a basic grounding for understanding other sub-branches of linguistics.
Phonology (Phonetics): Includes detailed knowledge of how language sounds are produced, perceived and classified. Students learn the tools necessary to identify and analyze sounds.
Morphology (Morphology): Provides information about the structure of words and how words are formed. This course examines the internal structure of words and the role of morphemes (the smallest meaningful units of words).
Syntax (Syntax): Examines the structure of sentences and the rules of how sentence elements are put together. This course provides an in-depth understanding of the rules of language and sentence structures.
Semantics: This is the study of the meaning systems of languages. They learn how words, phrases and sentences carry their meanings and how meaning is formed.
Pragmatics: Examines the use of language and the effects of context on language. This course explores the role of language in communication and how meaning can change depending on context.
Language Acquisition: The study of how children and adults learn languages, the processes of second language acquisition, and the psychological and social aspects of these processes.
Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics: Deals with the social and psychological aspects of language. Sociolinguistics is among the courses that link language and society, while psycholinguistics focuses on language processing and mental processes.
Historical Linguistics: Examines how languages change over time and the relationships between languages. This course helps to understand language families and the causes of language change.
Elective Courses and Applications: Students can take elective courses in areas such as language technologies, language planning, language policy, translation science, etc. to develop expertise in their areas of interest. They also have the chance to gain hands-on experience in language laboratories and research projects.
This curriculum gives students a solid foundation in understanding various aspects of language and a career in linguistics. The linguistics program comprehensively covers not only the structure of languages, but also how they are used by people and how they function within society.