Central College Majors

Majors
Faculty
Successful Careers
Internships
Courses
Sample Schedule
Research Opportunities
Facilities
Organizations
Study Abroad
Department Web site

Linguistics

Have you ever been interested in the science and analysis of language? You might enjoy a linguistics major at Central College. The college offers a flexible program with many course options in both theory and application that will prepare students for careers in the field of linguistics. Students have a choice of specific course work reflecting individual interests, aspirations and talents. Central also offers certification in teaching English as a second language. Graduates have gone on to become military intelligence specialists, speech pathologists, hearing impairment specialists and teachers of English as a second language.

Faculty

Philip Webber, Ph.D., director of linguistics program, professor of German and linguistics, webberp@central.edu
David Purnell, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, purnelld@central.edu

Successful Careers

Miriam Lind, speech pathologist
Claire Ballantine, certified to teach English, Spanish and ESL
Jeremiah Diephuis, English lecturer, Fachhochschule Steyr, Austria
Hillary Hekel, defense linguist, Monterey, Calif.
Cindra Visser, graduate student in social work with emphasis in cross-cultural counseling

Internships

Learn more about internships at Central.

Courses Include

Principles of linguistics
Field methods in linguistics
History of the English language
Advanced English grammar
Phonetics and phonemics
Sociolinguistics
Teaching English as a second language
Introduction to human anatomy and physiology
The brain and behavior
General logic
Minority groups
North American Indians
Cultural anthropology

Get more details from the course catalog! (Note: this is a PDF file)

Sample Schedule
Freshman year

Appropriate linguistics courses for student interests and schedule
Foreign language courses
Central core courses and/or electives

Sophomore year

Appropriate linguistics courses for students interests and schedule
Philosophy course
2 foreign language courses
Anthropology course
Central core courses and/or electives

Junior year

Two linguistics courses
Psychology course
Central core courses and/or electives

Senior year

Three linguistics courses
Central core courses and/or electives

Facilities
The Weller Center for Business and International Studies houses faculty offices and classrooms for the economics, accounting, business management and modern language departments. The $3.9-million building was completed in 1999 and includes state-of-the-art technologies and a very energy efficient design, including solar panels on the roof. There is a 24-hour computer lab on the main floor and eight high-tech classrooms, two of which contain student computers.

Departmental Web site
Central’s modern languages department maintains its own Web site with even more information about majoring in modern languages.

Organizations
No matter what your interests are, Central has a student group or organization that you’ll want to join! Click here to learn how you can get involved with groups and organizations at Central.

Study Abroad
Students are encouraged to study abroad with one of Central’s eight international programs to enhance their development as global citizens, or with Central’s Chicago program and the Washington, D.C., program. Learn more about about Central’s study abroad programs.