Studying LINGUISTICS at UFS at undergraduate level

• Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists study things like language structure (syntax & morphology), speech sounds (phonology & phonetics), meaning (semantics & pragmatics), sociolinguistics (language contact, language in education, language rights,…), historical linguistics, typology, or applied linguistics  (first or second language acquisition, speech impairments), psycholinguistics…  Linguists also document and describe languages or help speech communities to do so.
  
• Career pathways include:
  • work with dictionaries (lexicography)
  • work for the government
  • work for IT companies (like Google) that hire trained linguists for programming, (machine) translation and multilingual implementations
  • work for an advertising or branding company
  • work on language documentation or conduct fieldwork
  • work in the publishing industry, as a technical writer, or as a journalist
  • work for a testing agency
  • teach a foreign or second language
  • become a consultant on language in professions such as law or medicine
  • become an actor or train actors
  • become an academic (lecturer/researcher)

  Linguistic work specifically needed in South Africa includes:

  • work on endangered languages (Khoisan)
  • work on documenting variation
  • work on improving materials (e.g. studying how children learn based on different types of orthographies, varieties used)
  • study language teaching and learning in the South African context
  • work on issues related to language contact, multilingualism and contact languages

Linguistics modules:

• HLIN1514: Introduction to linguistics
• HLIN1644: Sociolinguistics
• HLIN2634: Semantics and Pragmatics
• HLIN2644: A linguistic survey of the African continent
• HLIN3738: Syntax and Phonology
• HLIN3728: Language acquisition

Degree pathways including Linguistics

You can take linguistics as a major (as part of the BA General programme) or minor or take linguistics modules as electives.

• Linguistics MUST be taken as a minor with: Language Practice
• Linguistics CAN be taken as a minor or elective with a wide range of subjects; please see the table below and consult The Humanities' undergraduate Rule Book for more details.

MAJORS (2 x 128 credits = 256 credits)	MINOR (64 credits)	ELECTIVE (32 credits)
Students need to have two majors taken for the three academic years. Select two from the following:	Students select one minor from the following:	Select elective from the following (subject which has not been chosen as major or minor):
Major 1 – choose one: Linguistics Ancient Near Eastern Studies Philosophy History Classical Studies Art History and Image Studies Major 2 – Choose one of: Afrikaans and Dutch Sesotho (mother tongue) (SSM) IsiZulu home language Afrikaans and Dutch (AFN) South African Sign Language Political Science Criminology Psychology English Hebrew Arabic French (French for beginners) German (beginners or intermediate) Anthropology Sociology Any subject from another faculty	Ancient Near Eastern Studies Philosophy History Classical Studies Classical Languages Art History and Image Studies Sesotho (mother tongue) (SSM) Sesotho (non-mother tongue) (SSO) IsiZulu home language Afrikaans and Dutch (AFN) Afrikaans (additional language) (AFR) South African Sign Language Political Science Criminology Psychology Language Practice English Hebrew Arabic French (French for beginners) German (beginners or intermediate) Linguistics Communication Sciences Anthropology Sociology Industrial Psychology Public Administration Business Management Any subject from another Faculty	Ancient Near Eastern Studies South African Sign Language Political Science Criminology Psychology Language Practice English English for professions (ENGS1504) Hebrew Arabic French (French for beginners) Philosophy History Classical Studies Classical Languages Art History and Image Studies Sesotho (mother tongue) (SSM) Sesotho (non-mother tongue) (SSO) IsiZulu home language Afrikaans and Dutch (AFN) Afrikaans (additional language) (AFR) German (beginners or intermediate) Linguistics Communication Sciences Anthropology Sociology Industrial Psychology Public Administration Business Management Any subject from another faculty

       For more information please see The Humanities' Rule Book