Prospectus

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Linguistics: Linguistics

This is a specialisation within the MA Linguistics.

This specialisation consists of several suggested thematic routes. Each route focuses on a different research area. These routes have been previously approved by the Board of Examiners.

Students take the following courses:

20 EC: (At least) Theme courses

20 EC: Electives (Elective courses, internship, individual project) and/or extra theme courses

20 EC: MA thesis

Each thematic route consists of a selection of theme courses and suggested elective courses. Some routes additionally contain (suggested) method courses.

Students may also choose their own 'free route'', where they can make any combination of courses based on the available courses in this specialisation. However, they will have to submit their proposal to the Board of Examiners for approval. Students opting for this should first contact the coordinator of studies, Else van Dijk. Please use this formLink

All routes

1. Theoretical Linguistics

Semester 1: Advanced Syntax 1, Advanced Syntax 2, Cross-Linguistic Variation in Semantics, Advanced Phonology 1, Advanced Morphology 1
Semester 2: Comparative Syntax, Advanced Phonology 2, Advanced Morphology 2
Suggested electives: Advanced Typology, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Field Methods, Bilingual Language Acquisition
Suggested method course: Statistics in Linguistics

2. Language Processing and Cognition

Semester 1: Experimental Phonetics, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Methods in Experimental Linguistics, Methods in Speech Processing
Semester 2: Forensic Speech Science, Bilingual Language Acquisition
Suggested electives: Second Language Acquisition, Statistics in Linguistics

3. Language Description and Documentation

Semester 1: Describing languages of Africa, America and Asia, Advanced Typology, Field methods, Language Documentation
Semester 2: Language Endangerment, Fieldwork Internship
Suggested electives: Language Contact, Oral Traditions, Language Culture & Cognition, Individual Project

4. Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Diversity

Semester 1: Describing languages of Africa, America and Asia, Experimental Phonetics, Advanced Syntax 1, Advanced Morphology 1, Advanced Phonology 1
Semester 2: Fieldwork Internship, Comparative Syntax
Suggested electives: Advanced Typology, Advanced Morphology 2, Advanced Phonology 2
Suggested method course: Methods in Speech Processing, Field Methods

5. Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

Semester 1: Indo-European Linguistics I, Advanced Indo-European Morphology, Methodology of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics
Semester 2: Indo-European Linguistics II, Advanced Indo-European Phonology
Suggested Electives: Anatolian Languages: Hittite and Luwian, Anatolian Historical Linguistics, Vedic Sanskrit: Language and Prehistory, Ancient Greek for Indo-Europeanists

6. Language and Communication

Semester 1: Pragmatics, Approaches to Argumentative Discourse, Sociolinguistics, Language Culture & Cognition
Semester 2: Argumentative and Rhetorical Practices, Oral Traditions
Suggested elective: Language and Communication in Africa, Qualitative Methods in Linguistics, Multilingual The Hague, Stilistiek: formuleringskeuzes en overtuigingskracht, De sturende kracht van taal, Een argumentatieve benadering van populisme

7. Applied Linguistics

Semester 1: Second Language Acquisition, Experimental Phonetics
Semester 2: Forensic Speech Science
Suggested methods: Statistics in Linguistics, Methods in Speech Processing, Field Methods, Methodology of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Methods in Experimental Linguistics, Qualitative Methods in Linguistics

8. Free route

Choose your own curriculum. Please contact Else van Dijk about the procedure

1.

Theoretical Linguistics

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Advanced Syntax 1 5
Advanced Syntax 2 5
Advanced Phonology 1 5
Advanced Morphology 1 5
Cross-linguistic Variation in Semantics 10

Semester 2

Advanced Phonology 2 5
Advanced Morphology 2 5
Comparative Syntax 10

Suggested method course

Suggested electives

Statistics in Linguistics 5
Advanced Typology 10
Cognitive Neuroscience of Language 10
Field Methods 5
Bilingual Acquisition 10
Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

2.

Language Processing and Cognition

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Experimental Phonetics 10
Cognitive Neuroscience of Language 10
Methods in Speech Processing 5
Methods in Experimental Linguistics 10

Semester 2

Forensic Speech Science 10
Bilingual Acquisition 10

Suggested elective

Second Language Acquisition 10
Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

3.

Language Description and Documentation

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Advanced Typology 10
Diversity Linguistics: Africa, Asia and the Americas 10
Field Methods 5
Language Documentation 5

Semester 2

Fieldwork (Internship/Practicum) 5/10
Isseus Language Endangerment and Documentation 5

Suggested electives

Language, Culture and Cognition 10
Oral Traditions 10
Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

4.

Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Diversity

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Diversity Linguistics: Africa, Asia and the Americas 10
Experimental Phonetics 10
Advanced Morphology 1 5
Advanced Phonology 1 5
Advanced Syntax 1 5

Semester 2

Comparative Syntax 10
Fieldwork (Internship/Practicum) 5/10

Suggested electives

Advanced Typology 10
Advanced Morphology 2 5
Advanced Phonology 2 5

Suggested method courses

Field Methods 5
Methods in Speech Processing 5
Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

5.

Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Advanced Indo-European Morphology 10
Indo-European Linguistics I 5
Anatolian Historical Linguistics 5
Methodology of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics 5

Semester 2

Advanced Topics in Indo-European Phonology 10
Indo-European linguistics II 10

Suggested electives

Ancient Greek for Indo-Europeanists 5
Anatolian Languages: Hittite and Luwian 5
Vedic Sanskrit: Linguistic Structure and Prehistory 5
Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

6.

Language and Communication

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Approaches to Argumentative Discourse 10
Language, Culture and Cognition 10
Pragmatics 10
Sociolinguistics 10

Semester 2

Argumentative and Rhetorical Practices: strategic maneuvering with truth 10
Oral Traditions 10

Suggested method course

Qualitative Methods in Linguistics 5

Suggested elective

Multilingual The Hague 10
Language and Communication in Africa 5
Stylistics: Formulation Choices and Persuasiveness 10
Rhetorics of language 10
An Argumentative Approach to Populism 10
Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

7.

Applied Linguistics

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Theme courses

Choose 20 EC

Semester 1

Experimental Phonetics 10
Sociolinguistics 10
Second Language Acquisition 10

Semester 2

Forensic Speech Science 10

Suggested method courses

Field Methods 5
Methods in Speech Processing 5
Statistics in Linguistics 5
Qualitative Methods in Linguistics 5
Methods in Experimental Linguistics 10
Bilingual Acquisition 10

Suggested electives

Internship Linguistics 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10

8.

Free route

Choose your own curriculum (40 EC in courses in total). Please contact Else van Dijk about the procedure.

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Obligatory course

MA Thesis Linguistics 20

Electives: choose 40 ec from

First semester

Anatolian Languages: Hittite and Luwian 5
Ancient Greek for Indo-Europeanists 5
Advanced Indo-European Morphology 10
Advanced Morphology 1 5
Advanced Phonology 1 5
Cross-linguistic Variation in Semantics 10
Advanced Syntax 1 5
Advanced Syntax 2 5
Advanced Typology 10
Approaches to Argumentative Discourse 10
Cognitive Neuroscience of Language 10
Diversity Linguistics: Africa, Asia and the Americas 10
Experimental Phonetics 10
Field Methods 5
Individual Project (FGW) 10
Indo-European Linguistics I 5
Language and Communication in Africa 5
Language, Culture and Cognition 10
Language Documentation 5
Methodology of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics 5
Methods in Experimental Linguistics 10
Methods in Speech Processing 5
Pragmatics 10
Qualitative Methods in Linguistics 5
Second Language Acquisition 10
Sociolinguistics 10
Statistics in Linguistics 5
Vedic Sanskrit: Linguistic Structure and Prehistory 5

Second semester

Anatolian Historical Linguistics 5
Advanced Topics in Indo-European Phonology 10
Advanced Morphology 2 5
Advanced Phonology 2 5
Argumentative and Rhetorical Practices: strategic maneuvering with truth 10
Bilingual Acquisition 10
Comparative Syntax 10
Fieldwork (Internship/Practicum) 5/10
Forensic Speech Science 10
Individual Project (FGW) 10
Indo-European linguistics II 10
Internship Linguistics 10
Isseus Language Endangerment and Documentation 5
Oral Traditions 10

Career Preparation

Career Preparation in Linguistics

The programme

The curriculum of Linguistics offers a wide range of perspectives on the history, structure and use of language. The programme has three specialisations.
How can you use this knowledge and the skills that you acquire? Which specialisation should you choose within your study programme and why? What skills do you already have, and what further skills do you still want to learn? How do you translate the courses that you choose into something that you’d like to do after graduation?
These questions and more will be discussed at various times during your study programme. You may already have spoken about them with your study coordinator, the Humanities Career Service or other students, or made use of the Leiden University Career Zone. Many different activities are organised to help you reflect on your own wishes and options, and give you the chance to explore the job market. All these activities are focused on the questions: ‘What can I do?’, ‘What do I want?’ and ‘How do I achieve my goals?’.

Activities

You will be notified via the Faculty website, your study programme website and email about further activities in the area of job market preparation. The following activities will help you to thoroughly explore your options, so we advise you to take careful note of them:

Transferable skills

Future employers are interested not only in the subject-related knowledge that you acquired during your study programme, but also in the ‘transferable skills’. These include cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, reasoning and argumentation and innovation; intrapersonal skills, such as flexibility, initiative, appreciating diversity and metacognition; and interpersonal skills, such as communication, accountability and conflict resolution. In short, they are skills that all professionals need in order to perform well.
It is therefore important that during your study programme you not only acquire as much knowledge as possible about your subject, but also are aware of the skills you have gained and the further skills you still want to learn. The course descriptions in the e-Prospectus of [Linguistics] include, in addition to the courses’ learning objectives, a list of the skills that they aim to develop.
The skills you may encounter in the various courses are:

  • Collaboration

  • Persuasion

  • Research

  • Self-directed learning

  • Creative thinking

  • Analytical skills

Internships

During your studies you have ample opportunity to gain experience studying, working, or conducting research at an organisation or institution. This experience is highly valued within international organisations. Many of our students choose to do an internship during their study. Internships are a great way to gain invaluable first-hand experience in your area of interest before you decide on making it a career. More information about finding and arranging an internship can be found on this website.

In recent years, students from Linguistics (specialisation) have participated in internships at:

  • Leiden University Centre for Linguistics

  • Koninklijke Brill NV

  • Transnational Consulting S.L.

  • Taalmuseum Leiden

  • Meertens Instituut

  • Ambassade van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden Rome

  • Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken

  • KERN B.V. Vertaal- en Tolkservice

  • LiBC Babylab voor taalverwerving

  • Europees Parlement

  • Pro Comunidades Indigenas

  • Instituut voor Gebaren, Taal & Dovenstudies

Contact

If you have any questions about career choices, whether in your studies or on the job market, you are welcome to make an appointment with the career adviser of the the Humanities Career Service 071-5272235, or with your coordinator of studies, Else van Dijk.