Linguistics

Introduction

Linguistics, the science of language, is an interdisciplinary field that relates to the diversity of the cultures and languages of the world. It is an integral part of most serious pursuits dealing with aspects of language study and/or analysis. As the boundaries of the world change, an understanding of individual languages and cultures becomes increasingly more important. Communication in this complex society requires knowledge of the workings of languages as well as their interrelationship with their respective cultures. All linguistics majors are expected to acquire a rudimentary knowledge of the functions of language at various levels and knowledge of the techniques/methods used in language analysis. A student of linguistics will thereby significantly advance his/her appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Students interested in pursuing a major or minor in linguistics should contact Kristin Denham, Humanities 357, 360-650-3217, email kristin.denham@wwu.edu. Website: chss.wwu.edu/linguistics.

Faculty

KRISTIN DENHAM, Director. English. Syntactic theory, linguistics in education, psycholinguistics, Native American languages.
EMILY CURTIS, Linguistics. Phonology, metalinguistic awareness, linguistics pedagogy and outreach, Korean, Lushootseed.
MASANORI DEGUCHI, Modern and Classical Languages. Japanese linguistics, syntax and semantics.
SHANNON DUBENION-SMITH, Modern and Classical Languages. Germanic linguistics, variationist, linguistics, dialect and regiolect syntax, historical syntax, Pennsylvania Dutch.
JENNIFER GREEN, Director ELL Endorsement. English linguistics for educators, academic language, teaching methodologies.
SHAW N. GYNAN, Modern and Classical Languages. Hispanic linguistics, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, syntax and phonology.
TODD HASKELL, Psychology. Psychology of language, visual and auditory perception, cognition.
JAMES W. HEARNE, Computer Science. General linguistics, computational linguistics, narratology.
BRIAN HUTCHINSON, Computer Science. Speech and language processing, machine learning, optimization.
McNEEL JANTZEN, Psychology. Cognition, speech perception, language acquisition.
CHRISTINA KEPPIE, Modern and Classical Languages. Applied French linguistics, sociolinguistics, general linguistics.
YUDONG LIU, Computer Science. Statistical natural language processing, eye-tracking applications.
ANNE LOBECK, English. Syntactic theory, language and gender, language ideology and discrimination, language and identity.
RODOLFO MATA, Modern and Classical Languages. Hispanic linguistics, morphology, morphosyntax, sociolinguistics, language contact, pedagogy, Spanish as a heritage language.
CATHY McDONALD, English. Discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics.
CHEIRON McMAHILL, TESOL. Language education policy, language ideology, multilingual children’s education.
JUDITH M.S. PINE, Anthropology. Linguistics anthropology, semiotics, language and identity.
JORDAN SANDOVAL, Linguistics. Semantics, phonology, phonetics.
TRISH SKILLMAN, TESOL. Language, teaching methodologies, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition.
EDWARD J. VAJDA, Modern and Classical Languages. Morphology, language typology, historical-comparative linguistics.
KATHRYN VULIC, English. History of the English language, Old English in translation, medieval literatures and cultures.
RYAN WASSERMAN, Philosophy. Metaphysics, philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics.
SUZI WRIGHT, TESOL. Second language acquisition, language/education policy, First People’s language revitalization, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, functional linguistics.
JANET ZHIQUN XING, Modern and Classical Languages. Chinese linguistics, historical linguistics, discourse analysis, second language acquisition.

Linguistics Area Advisors:

Anthropology — Judy Pine
Communication Sciences and Disorders — Kimberly Peters
Computer Science — James W. Hearne
English — Anne Lobeck
Modern and Classical Languages — Shaw N. Gynan
Philosophy — Ryan Wasserman
Psychology — Todd Haskell
TESOL — Trish Skillman

Programs

Undergraduate Major

Linguistics, BA

Undergraduate Minor

Linguistics Minor

Courses

Linguistics

Courses numbered X37; X97; 300, 400 are described in the University Academic Policies