The Linguistics Programme offers six undergraduate semester-long-modules leading to a Linguistics major. It is compulsory to complete all six modules if one wishes to major in Linguistics. These modules reflect the Department's commitment to the study of the relevance of language in the South African situation, but also retain a strong scientific element.

The Linguistics major can be pursued as part of a BA (General Studies) or BSocSci (General Studies) and is a compulsory component of a BA (Multilingual Studies). In the General Studies programme the linguistics major is usefully taken together with other modules/majors which provide complementary material or analytical tools. Some good options include: Psychology (if you are interested in language and the mind/brain), Political Science & Economics (if you are interested in sociolinguists), Philosophy (if you are interested in cognitive science or the philosophy of language), English (if you are interested in editing and publication), Education (if you are interested in education, teaching, and learning), and Computer Science (if you are interested in computational linguistics or AI).

The Multilingual Studies programme has a very practical orientation suited to those who need to deal with language issues and problems in the workplace (in the fields of public relations, human resource management or industrial training for example).

Modules Offered