Okay, I get it. Most people don’t know what Linguistics is. But can we please stop asking the same questions over and over?
I will admit that before university, I had no idea what Linguistics was or that it even existed. I decided to apply for the program at the advice of my high school guidance counsellor who knew this program could help me get into Speech Pathology.
Just to clarify, Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
I know what you’re thinking and no, I don’t speak another language—just English.
Yes, I understand that the definition of Linguistics is kind of confusing. Basically, we break down language into its components and figure out the rules for how those components can be put together.
Yes, we look at languages other than English, but we do not learn these languages, we just figure out rules when given a set of data.
Yes, it is complicated and sometimes difficult.
Yes, it is really interesting and as I have already said, my goal is to get into Speech Pathology, which for those of you who don’t know, is basically speech therapy.
No, I don’t have a plan for whether I want to work in a school board, hospital or privately. My goal right now is to get into the program.
For those of you wondering—yes, I have this conversation at least once a week with people who ask what I am in school for. I don’t expect everyone to know what it is, but come on people, I’m tired of answering the same questions over and over. I understand that these conversations are not with the same people, but somehow they are all the exact same.
In class, we have joked that when people ask what we study and we reply with “Linguistics,” their first question is always, “What is that?” Without fail, their second question is, “So, how many languages do you speak?”
I understand that it seems weird that we study language without having to know other languages, but Linguistics isn’t about learning language; it’s about learning where languages come from and how they are related to one another. It’s concerned with rules for making words and sentences, and so much more.
Recently, I was talking to someone who asked what I studied and then, instead of asking what it was, decided to Google it. It was like a breath of fresh air to not have the exact same conversation, again. I am more than happy to clarify things and talk about my program, I just get frustrated when I only ever answer the same two questions.
So, if you are having a conversation with someone who is studying Linguistics, try to come up with something better than, “So, how many languages do you speak?”
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