What is Linguistics?
Linguistics is the study of human language; how it is structured, how it is acquired, and how it is used. The study of human language is approached via careful analysis of a wide range of cross-linguistic data. Staff in the discipline research and teach in a variety of areas, including phonetics and phonology, voice training, morphology and syntax, discourse and conversation analysis, second language acquisition, neuro-linguistics, and the documentation and analysis of Aboriginal languages.
Study Opportunities in Linguistics
At an undergraduate level, to study the structure of language means to examine its sounds (phonetics & phonology), words (morphology), sentences (syntax) and meaning (semantics). Studying how language is used includes: looking at the way it is acquired by children and processed by adults (psycholinguistics); how it is interpreted in different contexts (pragmatics); the way it changes across time (historical linguistics); and its role in the everyday life of communities and how different regional, social or occupational varieties develop (sociolinguistics). Honours in Linguistics can be taken as an addition to an undergraduate degree.
Graduate Certificate and Diploma, and Master of Arts are offered in Linguistics and TESOL Studies, along with a Master of Arts (Advanced) in Linguistics. Research Higher Degrees can also be undertaken in the area.
Related links for: Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Dr Michael HarringtonSenior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics
Dr John IngramSenior Lecturer in Linguistics
Dr Ilana MushinLecturer in Linguistics
Dr Rob PensalfiniSenior Lecturer in Linguistics and Drama
Associate Professor Ghil‘ad ZuckermannARC Discovery Fellow in Linguistics