Linguistics

Introduction

Linguistics, the science of language, is an interdisciplinary field which 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 Edward Vajda, Humanities 255, 360-650-4856, for advisement. Fax: 360-650-6110, e-mail edward.vajda@wwu.edu. Website: http://linguistics.wwu.edu/.

Faculty

EDWARD J. VAJDA, Director. Modern and Classical Languages. Morphology and semantics, language typology, historical-comparative linguistics.
EVA BAHARAV, Communication Sciences and Disorders. Language acquisition, language analysis, language disorders.
JORDAN BREWER, Linguistics. Semantics, phonology, phonetics.
MASANORI DEGUCHI, Modern and Classical Languages. Japanese linguistics, syntax and semantics.
KRISTIN DENHAM, English. Syntactic theory, morphology, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, Native American languages.
KENDRA DOUGLAS, Modern and Classical Languages. Sociolinguistics, language contact, phonology.
THOMAS DOWNING, Philosophy. Philosophy of language, ethics.
SHANNON DUBENION-SMITH, Modern and Classical Languages. Germanic linguistics, syntax, phonology, historical linguistics.
SHAW N. GYNAN, Modern and Classical Languages. 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.
McNEEL JANTZEN, Psychology. Cognition, speech perception, language acquisition.
CHRISTINA KEPPIE, Modern and Classical Languages. Applied French linguistics, sociolinguistics, general linguistics.
ANNE LOBECK, English. Syntactic theory, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics.
NED MARKOSIAN, Philosophy. Philosophy of language, metaphysics.
JUDY PINE, Anthropology. Anthropological linguistics, language and society.
DWAN SHIPLEY, Linguistics. General linguistics, sociolinguistics.
TRISH SKILLMAN, TESOL. Language, teaching methodologies, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition.
JOHN UNDERWOOD, Modern and Classical Languages. Hispanic linguistics, language technology, applied 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.
JANET ZHIQUN XING, Modern and Classical Languages. Chinese linguistics, historical linguistics, discourse analysis, SLA.
LINA ZEINE, Communication Sciences and Disorders. Phonetics, phonological acquisition.

Linguistics Area Advisors:

English — Kristin Denham, Anne Lobeck
Anthropology — Judy Pine
Communication Sciences and Disorders — Eva Baharav, Lina Zeine
Computer Sciences — James W. Hearne
Modern and Classical Languages — Shaw N. Gynan
Philosophy — Ned Markosian
Psychology — Todd Haskell
TESOL — Trish Skillman

Undergraduate Degrees and Programs

Linguistics, BA

Linguistics Minor

Linguistics Courses

Click here to view a list of courses.