WHAT IS LINGUISTICS? What can you do with a degree in linguistics? Linguistics is the study of language--not only individual languages, but language as a human activity. Linguists look at the sounds of language (phonetics and phonology), how words are built (morphology), how sentences are constructed (syntax), and what words and sentences mean (semantics). We also look at how language is learned and processed in our minds and brains (psycholinguistics) and how it is used in differing social and cultural settings (sociolinguistics). We study how it changes through time (historical linguistics). Here at SIUC we also specialize in studying ways in which second languages can be taught more effectively (especially English). Linguistics, while not well known to the general public, has had an enormous influence on other disciplines including anthropology, psychology, philosophy, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. MORE