波士顿大学

The Japanese & Linguistics major enables students to combine the study of human language from a variety of perspectives with the study of Japanese language, literature, and culture. In their linguistics courses, students explore the formal structures of language (sound system, internal structure of words, syntactic organization, and representations of meaning) as well as language universals, variability across languages, social dimensions of language use, and historical language change. At the same time, students achieve proficiency in Japanese (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) and gain an appreciation and critical understanding of Japanese cultural and literary traditions, practices, genres, and great works. Integrating the two components of the joint major, coursework in Japanese linguistics focuses on the historical development of the Japanese language or on its distinguishing characteristics in relation to other languages.

The major equips students for work in or related to Japan, and provides excellent background for a range of careers including language education, testing and assessment, translation and interpretation, international business, speech therapy, voice coaching, information technology, law, nursing and medicine, child development, and social work. It also prepares students for graduate study in the areas of language, literature, linguistics, and related areas such as Asian regional studies and cognitive science.

Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a joint major in Japanese & Linguistics are expected to attain:

An understanding of the fundamental questions that drive modern linguistic research concerning formal structure, universals, acquisition, historical change, variation, and social dimensions of use, along with foundational knowledge in the core areas of linguistic theory.

The ability to identify and describe with precision the empirical patterns found in sets of language data, and to construct well-reasoned linguistic analyses by formulating, testing, and refining hypotheses about these patterns.

Linguistic mastery of some aspect of modern-day Japanese (phonetics, phonology, or syntax, e.g.) or of the historical development of the language.

A high level of proficiency in the Japanese language, with respect to reading, writing, speaking, and understanding of spoken Japanese, including oral proficiency at a minimum of Intermediate High and knowledge of at least 800 kanji characters.

An understanding and appreciation of Japanese cultural and literary traditions, practices, genres, and great works