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Linguistics studies semantics, syntax, morphology, phonology, and phonetics. The discipline is driven by two fundamental questions. First, what is it that makes the human brain capable of speech? And second, how do children master such a complex system of knowledge in their first years of life?

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About Linguistics

Linguistics is the study of the human language faculty, surely one of the most central components of human nature. We study language from a variety of perspectives, including the construction of illuminating descriptions of these extraordinarily complex systems, their acquisition by young children, their realization in the brain, and how they change over time, among others.

We offer a major which emphasizes theoretical creativity and the ability to articulate insights in both written and oral presentation, preparing students to confidently engage complexity and to make sophisticated original contributions to intellectual inquiry more generally.

Prospective majors are encouraged to take LING 216 as sophomores, if possible. This course is offered once per year, in the winter term. The upper-level requirements for the major can still be comfortably completed if LING 216 is taken in the junior year, but as many of the 300-level courses have LING 216 as their prerequisite, taking LING 216 as a sophomore affords much greater flexibility. Prospective majors are invited to consult the department chair regarding long-term course planning.

Requirements for the Linguistics Major

Major Requirements – 69 Total Credits

Foundational Course – Required 6 credits

Core Courses – Required 18 credits

  • LING 115: Introduction to the Theory of Syntax
  • LING 216: Generative Approaches to Syntax
  • LING 217: Phonetics and Phonology

300-level Courses – Required 18 credits

  • LING 311: The Spoken and Written Word (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 315: Topics in Syntax (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 325: Syntax of an Unfamiliar Language (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 340: Topics in Semantics and Pragmatics
  • LING 350: Invented Languages: From Toki Pona to Na’vi

Elective Courses – Required 18 credits

Linguistic Electives (at any level) – (12 credits)

  • ASLN 111: Writing Systems (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 117: Sociophonetics (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 135: Introduction to Sociolinguistics (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 219: Sociophonetic Analysis (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 240: Topics in Semantics and Pragmatics
  • LING 275: First Language Acquisition (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 276: Between Languages: Heritage Speakers (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 280: Field Methods in Linguistics
  • LING 311: The Spoken and Written Word (not offered 2025-26)
  • LING 350: Invented Languages: From Toki Pona to Na’vi

Related Fields Course – (Maximum 6 credits)

  • CGSC 232: Cognitive Processes
  • CHIN 252: The Chinese Language: A Linguistic and Cultural Survey (not offered 2025-26)
  • CS 202: Mathematics of Computer Science
  • CS 254: Computability and Complexity
  • CS 322: Natural Language Processing
  • PHIL 210: Logic
  • PHIL 223: Philosophy of Language (not offered 2025-26)
  • PHIL 225: Philosophy of Mind
  • PSYC 232: Cognitive Processes
  • PSYC 234: Psychology of Language (not offered 2025-26)
  • PSYC 366: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • PSYC 375: Language and Deception

Senior Thesis and Integrative Exercises – Required 9 credits

  • LING 399: Senior Thesis (3 credits)
  • LING 400: Integrative Exercise (6 credits)

    Starting in the Fall 2026 LING 399: Senior Thesis will be six credits and LING 400: Integrative Exercise will be 3 credits.

Linguistics Courses

  • LING 100.01 The Noun

    We've all been taught that nouns are people, places, and things. Yet, these seemingly simple linguistic objects are surprisingly complex. For instance, languages vary in what information (e.g., case, gender, person, number) nouns display. Even within a single language, the form of a noun may change depending on its function within a sentence or its function within a conversation. This course uses contemporary linguistic theories to account for the many varied forms of nouns throughout the world's languages. No familiarity with languages other than English is required.

  • LING 110 Introduction to Linguistics

    The capacity to acquire and use natural languages such as English is surely one of the more remarkable features of human nature. In this course, we explore several aspects of this ability. Topics include the sound systems of natural languages, the structure of words, principles that regulate word order, the course of language acquisition in children, and what these reveal about the nature of the mind.

  • LING 115 Introduction to the Theory of Syntax

    This course is organized to enable the student to actively participate in the construction of a rather elaborate theory of the nature of human cognitive capacity to acquire and use natural languages. In particular, we concentrate on one aspect of that capacity: the unconscious acquisition of a grammar that enables a speaker of a language to produce and recognize sentences that have not been previously encountered. In the first part of the course, we concentrate on gathering notation and terminology intended to allow an explicit and manageable description. In the second part, we depend on written and oral student contributions in a cooperative enterprise of theory construction.

  • LING 117 Sociophonetics

    This course is a theoretical and practical introduction to studying phonetics (the science of speech) and its relation to sociolinguistic variation (how speech systematically varies across speakers). Throughout the course, students will collect their own conversational speech data and learn to conduct acoustic analysis. Skills developed in the course include recording speech, transcribing, data processing and normalization, and effective presentation of results.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 135 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

    There is a complex relationship between language and society. This course examines how language variation is tied to identity and the role of language in human social interaction. We will consider language as it relates to social status, age, gender, ethnicity, and location as well as theoretical models used to study variation. We will also examine how language is used in conversation, in the media, and beyond using ethnography of communication and discourse analysis. You will become more aware of how language is used in your own daily life and will be able to argue sociolinguistic perspectives on language attitudes.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 216 Generative Approaches to Syntax

    This course has two primary goals: to provide participants with a forum to continue to develop their analytical skills (i.e., to ‘do syntax’), and to acquaint them with generative syntactic theory, especially the Principles and Parameters approach. Participants will sharpen their technological acumen, through weekly problem solving, and engage in independent thinking and analysis, by means of formally proposing novel syntactic analyses for linguistic phenomena. By the conclusion of the course, participants will be prepared to read and critically evaluate primary literature couched within this theoretical framework.

  • LING 217 Phonetics and Phonology

    Although no two utterances are ever exactly the same, we humans don’t function like tape recorders; we overlook distinctions to which mechanical recording devices are sensitive, and we “hear” contrasts which are objectively not there. What we (think we) hear is determined by the sound system of the language we speak. This course examines the sound systems of human languages, focusing on how speech sounds are produced and perceived, and how these units come to be organized into a systematic network in the minds of speakers of languages.

  • LING 219 Sociophonetic Analysis

    This course introduces participants to sociophonetics, a field of study that weds theories of phonetics (the study of the science of speech) to the methodological approaches of sociolinguistics, and which examines the relationships between linguistic variation and speaker identity. Participants consider the acoustic characteristics of vowels, consonants, and prosody; the variation that occurs across these; and how this variation impacts the production and perception of speech. Working with natural speech data, participants learn to use Praat to assess articulatory variation, and contextualize their findings against the backdrop of previous sociophonetic literature.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 240 Topics in Semantics and Pragmatics

    Semantics is the study of how speakers interpret what words and constructions mean in a language. Pragmatics is the study of how factors related to context affect interpretations. Topics include lexical semantics, the computation of meaning over syntactic structures, the various interpretations of ambiguous constructions, and the computation of contextually supplied information. Offered at both the 200 and 300 level, coursework will be adjusted accordingly. Register for LING 340 if you have taken LING 216; register for 240 if you have taken a 100-level linguistics course and have not taken LING 216.

  • LING 275 First Language Acquisition

    Humans are unique among animals in that we attain native speaker competency in any language(s) we receive a sufficient amount of exposure to during the right time of our development. The path of first language acquisition is remarkably stable regardless of the language(s) being acquired, and yields insights into the nature of human language. In this course, we explore children’s capacity to acquire language, with a focus on its implications for linguistic theory. Topics include acquisition of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, and acquisition in extraordinary circumstances.

    Not offered in 2025-26

    • 6
    • SI, Social Inquiry

    • Student has completed any of the following course(s): One 100-level LING course with grade of C- or better.
    • CGSC Elective CL: 200 level LING Elective

  • LING 276 Between Languages: Heritage Speakers

    Heritage speakers are individuals raised in homes where a language other than the dominant community language is spoken. They are bilinguals of the heritage language, to which a cultural connection persists, and the dominant societal language. We explore the complexities of such an ‘imbalanced’ bilingualism, including the cultural, familial and personal relationship to the heritage language; psycholinguistic implications of a multilingual mental lexicon; unique ways heritage speakers/learners are equipped with differential, but far from trivial, language ability. We draw on primary resources, empirical studies, and seminal scholarship to understand, challenge and improve present models of heritage language grammar.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 280 Field Methods in Linguistics

    This course will introduce students to techniques of linguistic research and analysis through direct work with a native speaker of a language not taught at Carleton. Students will learn techniques for eliciting, organizing, describing, and analyzing data in an ethically responsible and scientifically rigorous manner. Our goal is to develop a description of the language–primarily, aspects of its phonology, morphology, and syntax–through working exclusively with a native speaker. Each student will investigate some aspect of the language in depth, culminating in a class presentation and research report.

  • LING 294 Directed Research in Linguistics

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

  • LING 311 The Spoken and Written Word

    Spoken language is an innate human capability but written language is a cultural innovation and reading a learned skill. Learning to read depends on language abilities, but rarely have we considered how the acquisition of literacy reshapes our language ability and general cognition. How has the advent of writing affected us, as individuals and members of cultural groups? We explore its cognitive, linguistic, and cultural implications. We examine theories of the origin of language and the history and the cognitive implications of the development of writing; students will also have the opportunity to design their own writing systems.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 315 Topics in Syntax

    What moves where, how, and for what purpose? In this course, participants explore accounts of various types of syntactic movement within the Minimalist Program. After an introduction to Minimalism, we read, discuss, and evaluate primary literature. This course offers an overview of the progression of generative syntactic theory from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, with a focus on objectively comparing competing analyses. By the end of the course, participants will have familiarity with scholarly literature on theoretical syntax; with evaluating and critiquing existing theoretical analyses; and with proposing and defending a novel analysis.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 325 Syntax of an Unfamiliar Language

    In this course we examine, with the help of a native speaker consultant, the syntax of a language deliberately chosen for its being unfamiliar to all the participants. Our goals will be to construct a coherent and theoretically respectable account of principles of the grammar of this language, and to understand what our account reveals about the structure of human language generally. Each student will investigate some aspect of the syntax of the language in depth, culminating in a class presentation and research report.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • LING 340 Topics in Semantics and Pragmatics

    Semantics is the study of how speakers interpret what words and constructions mean in a language. Pragmatics is the study of how factors related to context affect interpretations. Topics include lexical semantics, the computation of meaning over syntactic structures, the various interpretations of ambiguous constructions, and the computation of contextually supplied information. Offered at both the 200 and 300 level, coursework will be adjusted accordingly. Register for LING 340 if you have taken LING 216; register for 240 if you have taken a 100-level linguistics course and have not taken LING 216.

  • LING 350 Invented Languages: From Toki Pona to Na’vi

    Invented, or artificial, languages have come to be for many reasons, whether a desire to improve existing languages, an effort to unite the world, or a need to explore how languages are learned. But, the majority have failed. Why? What can we learn about natural language from invented languages? This class investigates the numerous underpinnings of various invented languages, from 17th century Real Character, to Toki Pona, to Solresol, to more recent creations like Na’vi. We also examine the successful ‘reinvention’ of Modern Hebrew. Students will invent their own language and formally present weekly aspects of their developing grammar.

  • LING 394 Directed Research in Linguistics

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

  • LING 399 Senior Thesis

    This course prepares students to engage in the research needed for their comps projects. Students will identify a research topic, begin engaging with the relevant literature, and deliver presentations throughout the term. By the end of fall term, students will have a portion of their comps drafted in preparation for the independent research and writing component during winter term.

    • Fall 2025
    • S/CR/NC
    • 3
    • No Exploration

    • Student has completed any of the following course(s): One 300 level Linguistic (LING) course with grade of C- or better.
    • Catherine Fortin 🏫 👤

  • LING 400 Integrative Exercise

    Students continue, and complete, their comps research, building upon the foundation built in LING 399. In close consultation with their primary adviser, students set and meet weekly goals for collecting and analyzing data, writing, and revising. By the end of winter term, students must receive approval from their primary and secondary advisers on the final iteration of their 30-40 page paper.

    • Winter 2026
    • S/NC
    • 6
    • No Exploration

    • Student is a Linguistics major AND has Senior Priority.
    • Catherine Fortin 🏫 👤