Linguistics
The linguistics program offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of language.
Based in the Department of Anthropology in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the linguistics program’s interdepartmental minor includes course offerings in anthropology, classics, speech and hearing and East Asian and Romance languages. By combining courses from these areas, the program offers traditional approaches to linguistics, as well as those that focus on the social effects of language use. We seek both to describe language patterns and to explain the way those patterns exert an influence on human thought and action.
Related Majors, Minors, and Concentrations
In addition to the above list of departments, our students study music, English, art, political science, history and media.
What can I expect to learn in the Linguistics program at GW?
Students in linguistics learn to think about linguistic structure in sophisticated ways as well as how to make compelling arguments about detailed data relating to language.
What is the Linguistics community like at GW?
As researchers and teachers, we are engaged in thinking about language in all its diversity. Our work is comparative, seeking to establish what is universal as well as what is distinct about local languages.
What can I do in the Linguistics field?
The ability to execute fine-grained research on language is increasingly sought for a variety of careers, including politics, the media, the arts, research, international development, health care, education and business.
Faculty, Student Research
Several faculty members are looking at cultural performance in the use of language, which has led to research on U.S. electoral politics, violence and the role of the news media in daily life.
The GW Experience
Students
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Creating Next Generation Leaders
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Where the City is a Classroom
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Faculty
Fighting Neglected Diseases
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Building the Super Computer
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Blast From the Past
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Alumni
Giving Back to the District of Columbia
D.C. public health director calls GW education the foundation of his career.
GW Opens Doors
A chance encounter with a GW alumna helped give one GW undergraduate, an aspiring broadcast journalist from Texas, his big break.
The Legend Lives On
The $2 million bequest commitment caps a lifetime of philanthropy and service to GW, establishing the Elyse B. and Donald R. Lehman Endowed Professorship in Theoretical Physics.