The scientific study of language to understand our communication, culture, and self

“How Switching Languages Can Change Your Personality”

“Vocal Fry—It’s All About Power, Status and Gender”

“24 New Words Invented by Teenagers”

“Why Do People Have Slips of the Tongue?”

Headlines like these reinforce that language is all around us: It’s a common thread that ties human beings together in the face of our many differences. Whether spoken or signed, formal or informal—think of ever-evolving Gen Z slang or the Swiftie “fanilect” with its own vocabulary!—languages are everywhere. Linguistics, the scientific study of language, goes beyond the form of language—whether sounds or gestures—to the how of language. How do we as language users encode and decode our own messages without a lot of conscious thought? How is it that others may do it differently, whether they’re across the globe, or even just across the room? How do speech and language disorders happen, and what resources exist to provide support? Ultimately, when we recognize the diversity of human languages, we can more fully appreciate the diversity of the human experience and can leverage that enhanced sense of humanity for the good of the world’s future.

In this program, College of Science faculty will lead students in an exploration of linguistics. Students will investigate how language develops and functions as a personal, mental, and cultural phenomenon. Students will discover how the language we use does more than communicate particular messages: It also communicates something about us as individuals and as members of different groups, thus having enormous implications for how disparate groups understand and interact with each other.