Linguistics - the scientific study of language - is inherently interdisciplinary. With respect to the administrative and curricular divisions of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University, the field of linguistics is in fact fully interdivisional. The subject matter of linguistics includes topics from all three divisions: humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics. A brief sketch of the history and current status of the field shows how this is possible.
Linguistics first flowered in the 19th century as an elaboration of classical philology, the historical study of the classical languages, including Latin, Greek, and, eventually, Sanskrit-upon recognition of the relatedness of the languages of Europe with the languages of India. The continuing strong ties of linguistics to literary and philosophical studies as well as to the study of languages thus make linguistics one of the humanities.
Early in the 20th century linguistics established itself as a valuable tool in the study of the ways of life of nonliterate peoples. In this way linguistics became recognized as one of the four major subfields of anthropology. This affiliation and the contributions of linguistics to the study of social phenomena make linguistics one of the social sciences.
In the latter part of the 20th century many linguists identified themselves as cognitive psychologists. Linguistics is essential to an understanding of language as a human ability. Increasing study of the biological and neurological bases of language, and development of computational models of language processing, further strengthen the case for including linguistics in the Division of Science and Mathematics.
Language is an object with innumerable facets, and linguistics encompasses them all. On the other hand, linguistics is by no means a mere agglomeration of the language-related aspects of a myriad of different disciplines. The analytical methods, theoretical constructs, and specific objects of study of linguistics are the unique products of a long tradition of identifiably linguistic inquiry. The Harpur College program in linguistics provides a strong foundation in the principles of linguistic theory and method, as well as a wide variety of cross-disciplinary and sub-disciplinary offerings.
Linguistics as Preparation for Graduate and Professional Studies
Undergraduate study in linguistics serves as an excellent preparation for graduate and professional study in many fields, including law, anthropology, education and counseling, as well as linguistics. Students planning to pursue graduate or professional study in any of these areas are strongly advised to keep these plans in mind as they select courses. Students with an interest in graduate work in linguistics, for example, are well advised to study at least two languages other than English, one a language of scholarship and the other a non-Western language. Students considering professional training in applied and clinical areas such as language teaching, speech/language pathology and audiology, deaf education or counseling are urged to consult appropriate pre-professional information sources early in their undergraduate career, preferably not later than the beginning of the sophomore year.
Post-Graduation: Applications for a Major in Linguistics
Though of course the ‘uses' of any undergraduate major are varied and ever-changing, four general applications of a major in Linguistics have developed over recent years. First, of course, the option of a professional career in academics has been explored by some of our recent graduates. Second, recent graduates have also explored some variation on the idea of teaching English abroad or teaching a foreign language here in the United States . Third, graduates have explored doing translation work in various settings, including the business world. Finally, students have used their major in Linguistics as a distinguishing feature in their applications to Law Schools.
An updated course list is to be found in the university's online bulletin at:
http://bulletin.binghamton.edu
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Revised
10/21/09