Linguistics
Administrative Information
Program Director: Alan Timberlake, 714 Hamilton; 854-3941; at2205@columbia.edu
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Affiliated Faculty |
Youssef Nouhi (Arabic; Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) |
Language is central to all human mental activity and communication. Linguistics investigates language in three ways: as self-contained system (sounds, words, grammar, syntax); as constituent of culture and society; and as cognitive and neurological operation of individuals.
Courses in linguistics acquaint students with the theoretical ideas, conceptual apparatus, and research techniques of the scientific study of language. The discipline of linguistics provides an intellectual context for students who enjoy learning languages and who are fascinated by the diversity of language. Linguistics intersects with a range of academic disciplines whose subject matter in one way or another involves language, and for this reason, linguistics is valuable for students whose primary field of study is philosophy, anthropology, music, sociology, political science, psychology, computer science, philology, or a national literature.
The Columbia Linguistics Society
The Columbia Linguistics Society is a lively and congenial organization of undergraduates interested in linguistics. The society sponsors lectures and hosts informal social events. Information about the society is available at http://columbialinguistics.wordpress.com/ or through Facebook.
Study Abroad
In the past few years undergraduate linguists have engaged in interesting travel and research including sign language in Nicaraugua; language attitudes in Ireland and Kyrgyzistan; colloquial Arabic in Cairo; summer internship at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology; and study abroad to India, Hungary, and Ireland.
Graduate Study
Columbia's young linguists have distinguished themselves with awards and plans after graduation such as Fulbright Fellowships to France, Georgia, andTurkey; and graduate study at Northwestern, California (San Diego), New York University, and SUNY Buffalo. There is no graduate program in linguistics at Columbia, however interested students may want to consult Teachers College for programs in applied linguistics.