Minor in Linguistics
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The Department of Linguistics offers course work leading to the Minor in Linguistics that will engage students in the description and analysis of language, language use, and language learning. The Minor will position students for further study in linguistics as well as for many careers in which explicit knowledge of how language works is required.
The applications of linguistics are varied and far-reaching, especially relevant for education, psychology, anthropology, communication, natural language processing and generation, human-machine interface design, language teaching, language app design and assessments.
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“I am very excited to be soon pursuing an MSc in Medical Anthropology at the University at Oxford, England! Having graduated with a degree in Anthropology and minors in Linguistics and Biological Sciences from UIC, being a part of this program will be an incredibly meaningful way to synthesize the three disciplines into a formal course of study. Medical anthropology is the study of how health and illness are shaped, experienced, and understood through global, historical, and political forces, and the MSc in Medical Anthropology will provide extensive teaching that combines social and bio-anthropological approaches to the study of health and healing in diverse societies and cultures. As an aspiring physician, I hope that this opportunity will serve as a way to cultivate and strengthen the empathy, open-mindedness, and sociocultural sensitivity that is expected of a medical professional. I have had such a wonderful time being part of the vibrant Linguistics and UIC community over the past three years, and I’m looking forward to taking everything that I have learned here on my future adventures!”
“I’m interested in resolving social inequities, human rights, and the continuation of cultures surviving under colonialism.In my senior year, I worked on a project titled ‘Revitalization through Self-Documentation, a Community-Centered Language-Learning App’, which involved developing and testing an app allowing members of endangered language communities to document and learn their heritage languages. I presented on the project at the MidWest Association for Language Learning Technology Conference in February 2022. As someone who has been disconnected from their heritage languages on both sides of my family—my great-grandfather was Indigenous, and my great-great-grandmother spoke Gaelic—this project stems from my hope that others will be able to build and maintain those connections for future generations.
“My research interests span across Sociophonetics, African American Language, Raciolinguistics, and Educational Policy. At UIC, my linguistic classes were hubs of diversity in thought and perspective. The professors nurtured blooming ideas and inspired me to discuss and engage with concepts I did not understand. My linguistic curiosity remains unsatiated, and now I am pursuing my Master’s in Linguistics at Northeastern Illinois University. Since starting my graduate program, I have found myself in collaboration with various researchers nationwide. Currently, I am a research consultant for a raciolinguistics project, working with exceptional scholars on assessing curricula in introductory linguistic courses at different institutions. And I am working on a publication about first gen scholars in linguistics with members of the Linguistic Society of America’s First Gen Access and Equity subcommittee. Ultimately, I want to work in educational policy and be involved in the decision-making process concerning speakers of non-standard varieties in the United States.”