Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists investigate speech sounds, grammatical structures, meaning, and more across the world's languages.
Linguistics is the study of how language works—everything from how we produce sounds to where new words and languages come from. This degree provides a solid foundation in all areas of language research and prepares you for graduate studies or a career in a language-related field.
Study the ins and outs of the English language and apply that knowledge in one of four tracks. Learn to teach English to speakers of other languages, master computer tools for interacting with language, study the relationship between language and culture, or dive into historical English language and literature.
Become an expert on English grammar and style and master the science and art of crafting language as you take books, magazines, and other media from unpolished manuscripts to published products.
Get a master’s degree in the study of language with a focus on corpus linguistics and computing, language acquisition, language in society, or general linguistics. This program prepares you for professional work in linguistics or for going on to a PhD.
This master’s program enables you to work with colleges, companies, and communities to teach, design curriculum for, assess, and administrate the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. Get hands-on experience in all these areas as you prepare for a professional TESOL career or further education.
A great minor for students in a language major or anyone interested in how language works. Learn about the sounds of the world’s languages, theories of language structure, the roles of language in culture and society, and more.
Ever wondered how your phone assistant understands what you say, how translation software works, or whether artificial intelligences will ever be able to learn human language? Explore the fascinating intersection of language and computing, and master digital tools for studying and processing spoken and written language.
Take your writing skills to the next level with classes on grammar, usage, and editing, and get experience editing, typesetting, and publishing books, journals, and magazines. This minor is a fantastic résumé booster for anyone going into a field involving writing, editing, publishing, or research.
Learn to teach English to adult speakers of other languages as you work toward an internationally recognized TESOL certificate. You’ll learn strategies for teaching in the classroom and get in-person, mentored teaching experience at BYU’s English Language Center.
Social interaction is important in any learning environment, but Professor Dan Dewey argued that it is absolutely essential when studying a second language.
As a child in Cambodia in the 1970s, nine-year-old Chab Chheang, nicknamed “Nike” for his love of the shoes, crossed the border into Thailand with his family. But instead of finding safety, Nike’s starving parents were greeted by farmers who presented an excruciating choice: a bag of rice in exchange for their son.
At BYU’s 2019 Education Week conference, professor of Linguistics David Eddington shared his insights about the nature of births, deaths, and evolution of languages.
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"I feel that it can safely be said that using language is indeed miraculous. I truly believe that if language did not exist and someone proposed it, it would be dismissed as an impossibility."
