What to Expect

Linguistics students study something we use every day -- language. From word origins to speech sounds, they learn all about how we communicate.

Chai Miller has always loved linguistics.

Unlike most linguistics students, she was hooked on linguistics while in high school. While most students discover the program only after taking an elective in first-year university, Miller discovered her passion for linguistics early.

"I took Spanish and Latin in high school and continued Spanish when I arrived at [university]. A lot of my educational background I would actually attribute to not only an amazing high school, but also amazing teachers all along the way. Foreign language and culture has always been my biggest passion in life, so now I want to funnel that energy into helping internationals coming into North America adjust to the culture."

She knows she made the right choice. "I absolutely love the work that I am given and the atmosphere that the students and professors bring to the classes. I like meticulous, analytical work -- so classes like phonology or morphology are definitely my favourites. As far as atmosphere goes, linguists are generally curious, friendly people -- it's just a lot of fun."

John Pate also studied linguistics. He completed both his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Ohio and has had exciting opportunities to connect with several different faculties and programs. Now he's studying computational models of language acquisition at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh.

"I took a research assistantship in a language development lab that was technically in the psychology department. I also have had a lot of interaction with students and faculty from the computer science and engineering departments. I feel that this provided me with a much fuller understanding of the different ways that people try to understand language."