About the SFA Linguistics Minor
The SFA Linguistics Minor was first implemented Fall 2010, and, as of Spring 2013, twelve students have graduated with the minor, and another 26 are currently in the minor.The minor was designed with three student-centric goals in mind:
- to provide the students with a non-biased, well-rounded view of the discipline of linguistics;
- to prepare students to use their newly found linguistic knowledge after graduation-whether their plans include graduate school or the workplace;
- to involve students in collaborative research outside the classroom (see Faculty/Student Collaborations).
One of the most unique aspects of our program is its course offerings: we offer the only face-to-face undergraduate forensic linguistics course in the U.S.; we offer an invented languages course, which--as far as we know--is only offered as a full-fledged course at one other U.S. university; and we strive to offer rigorous courses like Field Methods for our students, which are often only offered at graduate levels.
The minor also reflects the interdisciplinary nature of linguistics itself, and, as such, it can complement any major. As the promotional posters state, "It goes with everything."
SFA Linguistics Conference 2013
On Wednesday, May 1, we held our first ever SFA Linguistics Conference; twenty-two student poster and/or multimedia presentations were on display for conference attendees in the Twilight Ballroom. During the conference, Dr. Paul Frommer, who invented the Na'vi language for the movie Avatar, spoke with all conference attendees via Skype and allowed time for a Q&A session with the attendees.
Dr. Steve Brown Talk (4/18/13)
Dr. Steve Brown, from Youngstown State University
Dr. C. Sams introducing Dr. Brown to the audience
Dr. Brown presenting facts about TESOL practices and providing effective feedback for non-native speakers on their written English work
Dr. Brown's audience, including SFA students and faculty