Undergraduate - Area of study Linguistics

Linguistics is the study of the structure and function of language and of the uses of language in communication, including written, spoken and 'cyber' contexts. Linguistics explores how languages differ and what they all share, and provides the techniques and principles to be adopted in the analysis and description of any given language. In addition, the linguistic study of language and language use in socio-cultural contexts contributes to our understanding of identities, social and cultural organisation, multiculturalism and multilingualism, institutions and power, as well as the creative functions of language in texts and discourses. Knowledge of linguistics is central to the study of languages (e.g. English, Australian Aboriginal languages, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish). Linguistics also offers students of anthropology, mathematics, philosophy, sociology, engineering, psychology, law, translation studies and computer science useful insights into the nature of language in their particular area of interest.

Examples of the practical applications of linguistics include communications within organisations, communications interfaces with electronic systems, the preparation of materials for language teaching, the documentation of endangered languages, the development of language policies in government and education, and in the areas of business, professional and technical communication, tourism, intercultural communication and speech therapy.

The first-year sequence provides students with an introduction to the nature of language, including the manner in which sounds are produced and represented (phonetics), the organisation and relationship of sounds in language (phonology), the forms and structures of words (morphology), the organisation of words in sentences (syntax), the analysis of meaning (semantics and pragmatics), language change (historical linguistics) and language variation and the uses of language in social contexts (sociolinguistics).

At second and third-year levels, the areas of syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonetics, phonology, and sociolinguistics are developed on a general and comparative basis and there are also units exploring varieties of English, historical and comparative linguistics, Aboriginal languages, Austronesian languages, discourse analysis, language and identity, psycholinguistics, first and second language acquisition, intercultural communication, endangered languages, multiliteracies in English and the structure of English.

Linguistics also offers a fourth-year honours program which combines coursework and a 24-point research thesis as the foundation for postgraduate research degrees.

Off-campus learning and online resource delivery

Most linguistics units are also offered by off-campus learning or by a combination of online resources and face-to-face teaching. These units are usually available in the same semester as the on-campus delivery of the unit. The access to online resources and off-campus learning allows for flexibility, and face-to-face class commitments are kept to a minimum. Alternative arrangements include the use of the Monash portal and electronic group discussion programs. In addition to the online or print resources, students can access tutorial support by telephone, fax and email. The intention is that the flexible learning program should make linguistics units available to students whose work or other commitments make it difficult for them to attend regular classes on-campus. The following units can be undertaken on-campus, or through flexible mode using online resources: ATS1338, ATS1339, ATS2665/ATS3665, ATS2675/ATS3675, ATS2678/ATS3678, ATS2671/ATS3671, ATS2680/ATS3680 and ATS2683/ATS3683.

For more details on flexible learning units, contact the linguistics program or visit the website at http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/linguistics.

Study Abroad

Students may apply to study linguistics abroad. A list of exchange partner universities is available from the Study Abroad website at http://www.monash.edu.au/students/studyabroad/programs/partners/index.html.

Students should select a shortlist of suitable linguistics units from the exchange partner universities in which they are interested. Units to be taken abroad need to be approved by the linguistics program at Monash before the commencement of the trip. Please submit the unit titles (and synopsis if available), assessment details and total number of contact hours to Dr Anna Margetts at anna.margetts@arts.monash.edu.au or contact the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at LCL.Enquiries@arts.monash.edu.au