FAQ

Linguistics Minor

  • Can the linguistics courses also count for English Major requirements?
    No courses counting toward the student's major may be counted toward satisfying the minor requirement.
  • Do you have to be an English major to take a linguistic minor?
    No. The linguistics minor is open to students from any major. Its interdisciplinary nature draws students from a wide range of disciplines ranging from philosophy, speech science, psychology, and human development, among others.
  • Do you have to be a native speaker of English to have a linguistics minor?
    No.
  • Are there prerequisites?
    Yes, those who take the minor in linguistics must complete the freshman composition series before taking any of the linguistics courses.
  • How many languages do I need to know to be a linguistics minor?
    The linguistics minor does not require mastery of a foreign language to graduate, but ETSU students wishing to earn a bachelor or arts (BA) degree through the College of Arts & Sciences must who are native English speakers must complete a 2020 or above foreign language class with a grade of C- or better. International students whose native language is not English, and whose admission to ETSU requires them to take a standardized test of English as a foreign language (e.g., TOEFL), may substitute scores that meet the admission requirements for the foreign language requirement.
  • Can a linguistics course substitute for the general education literature survey requirement?
    No.
  • Who can benefit from the minor?
    Anyone interested in the minor and has met the prerequisites is welcome to declare this minor.
  • What doors does the minor open for students ?
    The following summarizes a list of career opportunities provided by the Linguistic Society of America available to linguists:
    • Work in the computer industry
    • Teach at the university level
    • Work in education (develop curricula and materials, train teachers, and design tests and other methods of assessment, especially for language arts and second language learning)
    • Teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in the United States or abroad
    • Work as a translator or interpreter
    • Work on language documentation or do fieldwork
    • Teach a foreign language
    • Work in the publishing industry, as a technical writer, or a journalist
    • Work for a testing agency
    • Work with dictionaries (lexicography)
    • Become a consultant on language in professions such as law or medicine
    • Work for a product-naming company
    • Work for the government
    • Become an actor or train actors

    While the explicit purpose of the list is to suggest opportunities for linguistics majors, the nature of the items on the list clearly indicates the number of fields outside linguistics itself where the skills and knowledge relevant to the field are required or highly desirable.