The Linguistics  in the Department of English
Faculty Dr. Tom Nunnally & Dr. Robin Sabino

The ability to use language is a fundamental human trait. Language makes life as we know it possible and allows us to preserve our history and to prepare for our future. To understand this aspect of what it means to be human, linguists study  old and new languages,, living ones and dead ones, as many as we can, as fully as we can. Linguists are investigating how language came into being, how languages are structured, how they are used, how they are learned, and how they change. We are discovering their similarities and difference. Linguistics is what linguists do.

Studying linguistics changes people. After your linguistics course, when you

• hear nonstandard varieties, you will think about what is being regularized;
• hear non-native speech, you will think about how the speaker's first language is influencing their English;
• hear other languages, you will be curious about the differences between those varieties and English, and you will wonder at the many ways humans can accomplish the same communicative goals;
• encounter deaf people, you will think about the similarities and differences between oral and sign language;
• hear prescriptive criticism, you will think of the ways society uses language differences to separate people and to provide privileges to some and limit the opportunities of others;
• read texts written in earlier times, you will think about the ways English has changed;
• hear a child learning to speak you will marvel at the complexity of human language and the power of the human mind.

Linguistics courses not only explore a fascinating subject, they prepare students to think analytically and critically and to argue effectively. Linguistics courses are especially useful for students whose careers will focus on language use, for example technical writing, journalism, publishing, advertising. They are even more advantageous for professions dependant on human relations and interaction like politics, law, medicine, teaching, the ministry, and missionary service. Other students take linguistics courses to enhance their study of related fields: literature, foreign languages, anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, communication, communication and disorders. Auburn University offers the following undergraduate and graduate linguistics courses: 

• ENGL 3110 Survey of Linguistics. Nunnally, Sabino. 

• ENGL 4114 Language Variation. (ENGL 3110 recommended.) Sabino. 

• ENGL 4150 Topics in Language Study. Nunnally, Sabino

• ENGL 6410 History of the English Language. Nunnally, Bertolet. 

• ENGL 5840/6840 Modern English Grammars. Sabino (ENGL 3110 recommended).

• ENGL 7270 The Structure of English. Nunnally, Sabino 
  ENGL 7250 English Language Learning and Development. Sabino

• ENGL 7230 Old English Language and Literature. Nunnally, Goldstein.

• ENGL 7280 Studies in Linguistics. Nunnally, Sabino