2023-24 Edition

Language Science, B.A.

The B.A. in Language Science provides students with an interdisciplinary foundation in the scientific study of language, including its mental representations, its development and use, and its biological basis.

Students completing the B.A. in Language Science combine interests in theoretical linguistics, language development and use, the advanced study of natural or formal languages, and some combination of neuroscience, psychology, logic, computer science, anthropology, education, and hearing and speech sciences. In the process of relating these interests to the scientific study of language and its applications, students develop an understanding of the analytical tools of formal language study.

Graduates have an interdisciplinary language science background that makes them attractive for a variety of careers, including teaching, language technology industry positions, teaching English as a second language abroad, interpreting and translation, technical writing, language consulting for legal firms and medical practices, and advertising, among many others.

This foundation in formal and applied language science also prepares graduates for graduate and professional programs in any of the areas related to languages science, including speech-language pathology, linguistics, cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, natural language processing, and education.

All students must meet the University Requirements.
All students must meet the School Requirements.
Core
A. Complete the following:
LSCI 3 Introduction to Linguistics
LSCI 10 Introduction to Phonology
LSCI 20 Introduction to Syntax
LSCI 43 Introduction to Symbolic Logic
LSCI 51 Acquisition of Language
B. Select two courses from the following:
Topics in Romance Languages
French Phonetics
Structure of Japanese
History of English
Spanish Phonetics
Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
Topics in German Linguistics
Formal Languages and Automata
Introduction to Logic
Elementary Set Theory
Any "3-level" non-English language course or any advanced level non-English language course. 1, 2
Additional Core
C. Select five courses from any linguistics course that is not listed in section A, B, or D, including the courses below. At least three courses must be upper-division:
Languages of the World
Discovering Language
Introduction to Language and Culture
Intermediate Phonology
Introduction to Phonetics
Intermediate Syntax
Introduction to Formal Semantics
Metalogic
Undecidability and Incompleteness
Language and the Brain
Improvisation, Language, and Culture
Language and Social Cognition
A 199 course affiliated with the Language Science Program, or a research course, with a minimum 4 unit enrollment requirement. 3
Specializations
D. Select four courses from the following. Courses must come from at least two of the categories listed below:
I. Theoretical
Special Topics in Phonetics/Phonology
Current Topics in Syntactic Theory
Special Topics in Syntax
Topics in Philosophy of Language
Special Topics in Semantics
Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles
Selected Topics in Spanish Linguistics
II. Behavioral and Neuroscientific
Acquisition of Language II
Bilingual Acquisition
Second Language Acquisition
Special Topics in Psycholinguistics
Language Change, Acquisition, and Complexity
Language Origins: Evolution, Genetics, and the Brain
III. Computational
Computational Methods for Language Research
Special Topics in Computational Linguistics
Compilers and Interpreters
Language Processor Construction
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Applications of Probability in Computer Science
IV. Applied
Hearing
Hearing and the Brain
Diction
and Diction
and Diction
Teaching English Internationally
Language and Literacy
Microimplants
Speech for the Theatre
Classical Chinese
and Classical Chinese
and Classical Chinese
Classical Japanese
and Classical Japanese