Program Areas

Linguistics (LING)

Campus Life
Linguistics is a discipline dedicated to understanding all aspects of language.

Linguists study how language is used, how it is acquired, how it changes, how it is represented in the brain, and much more. Linguistics is of particular interest to students studying Anthropology, Education, English, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, and any foreign language.

The study of Linguistics includes:

  • The structure of language
  • The relationship between language and society
  • Principles of language change
  • Representation of language in the human mind/brain
  • The universal properties of language
  • How first and second languages are acquired


You should consider taking Linguistics if:

  • You are interested in how languages are organized and structured
  • You are interested in the grammatical structures of language
  • You are curious about the sounds of language
  • You like to take words apart
  • You are interested in how children and adults learn language
  • You would like to know about how the human mind processes language

Students pursuing a minor in Linguistics learn about the structure of language including its words, sounds, and sentences. Students can also learn about how children and adults acquire language; how languages change over time; how languages differ from one another; and how the brain represents and processes languages. A minor in Linguistics is advantageous to students interested in pursuing a career in Speech Pathology or in teaching English as an additional language, and is beneficial to anyone interested in languages more generally. Students planning on completing a minor in Linguistics should be advised that not all Linguistics courses are offered every year. Students should check with the Coordinator to ensure that they are able to meet all requirements before graduation.
Curriculum & courses

Students should consider this minor if:

they want to understand how language development interacts with other types of cognitive development
they would like to know the differences in learning styles between children and adults
they are interested in cultural diversities in the classroom
they want to learn about issues concerning immigrant children in Canadian schools
Students completing a Minor in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) are not certified to teach in Alberta.
Curriculum & courses