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Empirical Linguistics

Major

Important information at a glance

Degree: Bachelor of ArtsLanguage of Instruction: GermanStart of studies: Winter semesterAdmission: Unrestricted admissionCombined subjects: Combined bachelor's degree (major)Standard period of study: 8 semestersSemester abroad: Optional

Empirical Linguistics – What is it?

Language is everywhere. Whether we’re chatting with friends, laughing at jokes, or getting annoyed by a delayed train announcement, language surrounds us in every aspect of life. Many things can only be done through language (including gestures). Across the globe, roughly 7,000 different languages are spoken (for now, as many of them are endangered).

We speak our native language(s) fairly well and can tell when something is right or completely wrong. However, it’s not always easy for us to explain why that is. Linguistics (or language science) tackles exactly this challenge. Languages themselves become the focus of investigation. How do different languages vary? What do they have in common? What structures underlie them, and how do we learn to speak and understand? These are just a few of the questions explored in linguistics.

The research priorities of the four professorships at the Institute for Empirical Linguistics align closely with the academic focus areas taught at the institute: General Comparative Linguistics, Indo-European Linguistics, Caucasian Linguistics, Baltic Linguistics, as well as Phonetics and Phonology. What unites all the professorships is their emphasis on empirical research. Whether spoken or written, whether living or extinct languages, the research draws on a wide variety of linguistic sources. Language documentation is also a key area of focus at our institute.

The Empirical Linguistics degree program (as a major or minor, in the bachelor's or master's degree program) at Goethe University offers many advantages:

  • Direct connection between research and teaching  
  • Choice of 11 focus areas
  •  Linguistic diversity (around 30 living and 20 historical languages)  
  • Historical diversity
  •  Practical focus (field research; language documentation)
  •   Excellent supervision

Structure and Content

Empirical Linguistics can be studied as a major subject or as a minor subject.

Major Subject
Minor Subject

The bachelor's program in Empirical Linguistics provides fundamental subject knowledge and methods necessary to explore and analyze human languages. It focuses on both contemporary and historical languages with the aim of describing specific and general aspects of language and speech, classifying them typologically and historically-genetically, and explaining them.

The research into languages includes their use as "spoken languages" in everyday communication processes as well as the written forms of natural languages in all their varieties. By selecting a minor subject, students can broaden their perspective to include a wider range of languages, the traditions associated with different languages, the historical and societal conditions under which various languages are used, or other phenomena linked to the use of human languages.

To this end, the course combines a solid, integrated education in various European and non-European foreign languages with the theoretical fundamentals and techniques of linguistic analysis and description of languages and linguistic expressions. These methods are connected to related fields of scientific research.

For more information about the major in Empirical Linguistics, please visit the department's webpage..

 

 

Study Regulations

The study regulations define the structure, organization, and substance of the degree program as well as the examination system. They serve as the foundation for your studies at Goethe University.

Study Regulations