波士顿大学

The Spanish & Linguistics major enables students to combine the study of human language from a variety of perspectives with the study of Spanish 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. In their Spanish courses, they learn about the essential grammatical structures and principles governing pronunciation of the language, improve their reading and listening skills, and develop proficiency in speaking and writing. They also gain an understanding of Spanish cultural and literary traditions and learn to analyze and appreciate great literary and cultural works. Integrating the two components of the joint major, coursework in Spanish linguistics focuses on the historical development of Spanish, on variation in the uses of Spanish in different parts of the world, or on the distinguishing characteristics of Spanish in relation to other languages. Class projects and interactions with faculty provide frequent opportunities for making connections between the major’s two primary areas of study.

The joint major equips students with language skills and cultural competence for employment across all economic sectors 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 Latin American or European regional studies and cognitive science.

Learning Outcomes: 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 Spanish (phonetics, phonology, variation, e.g.) or of the historical development of the language; Proficiency in the Spanish language at an advanced level, with respect to reading, writing, speaking, and understanding of spoken Spanish; Critical and analytical engagement with Hispanic cultural and literary traditions, practices, genres, and great works.