What Linguistics Is and What Linguists Do...
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. We seek to understand the structure of language, how it is learned, how it changes over time, how it interacts with the world, how it is represented in the mind, and how humans produce and understand language.
Our work informs a wide variety of human concerns: education (foreign-language teaching, the way to approach standard and non-standard languages in the classroom), technology (speech recognition, artificial intelligence), health care (diagnosis and treatment of language disorders), language's place in a diverse society (the role of multilingualism, protections for endangered and minority dialects and languages), and the legal system (interpreting legal language and the significance of linguistic evidence).
Humanities Radio
For more information, we encourage you to listen to Episode 2 of the Humanities podcast, where Aaron Kaplan, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, answers all of these questions.
Mission Statement
The Department of Linguistics at the University of Utah is committed to advancing the understanding of human language in the service of local, national, and global communities.
We accomplish this by:
- conducting cutting-edge research on language structure, acquisition, and processing
- preparing students to achieve personal and professional goals equipped with the knowledge and skills developed through the study of linguistics.
Our Specializations and Interests
In the Department of Linguistics at the University of Utah, our faculty specialize in:
- theoretical syntax and semantics
- theoretical phonology
- second language acquisition
- second language phonology
Our faculty also have interests in historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics. We offer undergraduate, MA, and PhD degrees, as well as a computational linguistics certificate and a TESOL certificate.
About the Department
Linguistics provides the intellectual satisfaction of learning how human language works, while at the same time developing the analytical skills necessary to be highly competitive on the job market. Students in linguistics learn how to analyze languages and develop crucial skills for today’s job market: reasoning, critical thinking, rigorous analysis, and written and verbal communication.
Graduates of our program have been admitted to some of the top graduate programs in linguistics and other fields and found careers in ESL instruction, language analysis, and computational linguistics.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF LinguisticsGet Involved
News
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UofU Linguistics '97 Alumn Kathleen Klaiber Awarded College ESOL Professor of the Year by Statewide Professional Group
Kathleen Klaiber, graduated from the University of Utah, Department of Linguistics program in 1997, has been awarded College ESOL Professor of the Year by Statewide Professional Group 2023. "I dedicate this award to all of my mentors in the state of Utah, including my U professors, my former co-workers at the Guadalupe Schools and Salt Lake Community College, and especially to the late George Plautz, who supervised my practicum."
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PhD Student Mohammed Al-Ariqy Presents at the International 2023 Western Conference on Linguistics
Mohammed Al-Ariqy PhD presented his work "Object Pronoun Alternation in Yemeni Taizzi Arabic" at the international 2023 Western Conference on Linguistics (WECOL) held at California State University, Fresno, between 11-12 November.
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PhD Student Mohammed Al-Ariqy Presents at Annual Meeting on Phonology and the 17th Arizona Linguistics Circle
Mohammed Al-Alriqy PhD presented his work 'Tri-consonantal Clusters in Qassimi Arabic: The case of definite determiners' at the Annual Meeting on Phonology held at Johns Hopkins University during October 20-22, and his other work 'Object Pronouns Alternation in Yemeni Taizzi Arabic' at the 17th Arizona Linguistics Circle held at The University of Arizona on October 27th.
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Ying Zhang PhD Awarded 2023 Doctoral Dissertation Grant
The Department of Linguistics is pleased to announced that Ying Zhang, who is a PhD candidate, has been awarded a 2023 Doctoral Dissertation Grant (DDG) from The International Research Foundation (TIRF) www.tirfonline.org. The grant will support funding for her dissertation research on second language (L2) pragmatics titled, “The Effectiveness of Digital Gaming in Promoting Pragmatic Competence for L2 Learners in Rural China: A Mixed-Methods Study.” Please join us in congratulating Ying on this accomplishment!
