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Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and, given that language impinges on virtually everything we do, it is a broad and interesting subject. Linguistics at the University of Waikato is a top 250 QS-rated programme and will deepen your appreciation for language, as well as provide essential understandings relevant to any career where language is a key component.

Language is a tool we all use instinctively, without necessarily understanding its precise structure. By studying Linguistics, you'll gain an inner working knowledge of language design and organisation. You'll learn about different sounds, words and clause structures, and how they work in world languages. You'll explore different cultures and societies to see how linguistic behaviour changes by location, as well as in various situations.

Your Linguistics studies will also give you a commanding understanding of the English language which can lead to careers in journalism, free-lance writing or academia.

The QS World University Subject Rankings has recognised the University of Waikato among the worlds top 250 universities for studying Linguistics.

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Key information

Study Locations:Hamilton, Online
Papers offered differ by location. The Catalogue of Papers has full location info.
Area of Study:

Career opportunities

  • Education Researcher
  • Journalist
  • Language Policy and Planning
  • Language School Management
  • Lexicography (Dictionary Writing)
  • Second Language Teaching
  • Speech Therapist
  • Writer

100 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
ARTSC105Language in Context15.024A (Online)
Language in Context is an essential paper for students of a broad range of disciplines where language and communication are a focus. Students are given the tools to examine how human language reflects our histories, our social selves, and our immediate physical contexts. We observe how language is used to reinvent and to reinforce ...
ARTSC112Music, Sound and Human Communication15.024B (Online)
Every day we communicate using complex linguistic and musical systems. This paper will explore the role of sound and music in human communication and the cognitive, social, and cultural processes, which underlie such communication. The paper takes a broad, interdisciplinary look at all aspects of sound and musical communication, fr...
COMMS101Communication Competencies15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper introduces students to the significance and meaning associated with our everyday communication choices. From traditional face-to-face conversation to digitally mediated interactions, communication is layered with social meaning that both replicates and constitutes our identities.
ENGLI100Telling the Story15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper examines the deep stories which are at the core of the English literary tradition and the wider Western canon, using picturebooks, fairytales, popular film, detective fiction and short stories.
INTLC101International Languages and Cultures15.024B (Online) & 24G (Online)
This paper introduces students to major world cultures and their languages in a comparative context. Students will gain a critical understanding of culture and diversity through examining the languages and cultures of China, France, Japan, Korea, Spain and Latin America.
MEDIA100Understanding Visual Culture15.024B (Hamilton) & 24X (Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou China)
Our lives are dominated by still and moving images and visual technologies. This paper will constitute an important first step in learning to understand how images variously work to convey ideas, their impact and influence on our behaviour, thinking and culture. It draws on a broad theoretical platform from aesthetics, art history,...
WRITE100Writing for Academic Success15.024A (Hamilton), 24A (Online), 24A (Tauranga), 24B (Hamilton), 24B (Online), 24B (Tauranga), 24JS (Hamilton), 24JS (Online) & 24JS (Tauranga)
The paper gives opportunities for undergraduate students to develop their academic literacy skills. It begins with general academic communication and research skills and then embeds academic literacy practice within disciplines of study.

200 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
LINGS201Language Analysis15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper provides a detailed introduction to phonology and morphology. Students develop analytic skills and discuss theoretical issues related to language analysis.
LINGS203Language, Society and Culture15.024B (Hamilton)
In this paper, we explore cultural diversity through language. We develop understandings of the way that language both reflects, and is used to construct diverse social and cultural identities and practices. We will look at multiple examples of both linguistic and cultural research, as well as learning from our own diverse experien...
LINGS204Language of Social Media15.024G (Online)
This paper introduces students to the study of language in the genre of social media, using linguistics theory and concepts.

300 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
LINGS301Research Apprenticeship15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper provides students with an opportunity to pursue an extended research project, in a sub-discipline of linguistics or anthropology (e.g. sociolinguistics, typology, documentation, anthropology), focusing on a heritage language/culture.
LINGS302Comparative Linguistics15.024B (Hamilton)
This paper concerns the study of linguistic diversity, with an emphasis on the morphosyntactic analysis of lesser-known languages. Current comparative/typological understandings are employed to examine properties and processes in language data.
LINGS303Sociolinguistics15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper teaches major methods and principles of sociolinguistic investigation, including the study of accents and dialects; language variation; relationship between language and education/gender/social class; and language attitudes.
LINGS304Applied Linguistics15.024A (Hamilton)
This paper provides an introduction to areas of research and professional practice in applied linguistics, including language acquisition, second language teaching, language planning, lexicography, translation, forensic linguistics and speech language therapy.

800 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
LINGS800Linguistics MPhil Thesis120.024X (Hamilton)
No description available.

900 Level

Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
LINGS900Linguistics PhD Thesis120.024I (Hamilton), 24J (Hamilton), 24K (Hamilton) & 24X (Hamilton)
No description available.

Scholarships and prizes

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Subject links

Linguistics Programme


Linguistics is available as a major for the BA and BSocSc. Linguistics may also be taken as a second major or as a supporting subject within other undergraduate degrees, subject to academic approval of the Faculty or School of Studies in which the student is enrolled.

For more information about subject requirements please refer to the Catalogue of Papers for the most up to date information. If you have any questions and need more advice, please contact one of our friendly student advisors phone: 0800 800 145 or +64 7 838 4080 or email: [email protected]

Students wishing to take Linguistics as a major or as a supporting subject are strongly encouraged to include a language skills paper in a language other than their first language in their programme of study. Such a paper would not count as a Linguistics paper for the purposes of the degree regulations.


Contacts

School of Arts
Phone: +64 7 838 4932
Email: [email protected]