Linguistics is the scientific study of language, its structure, and its use in human
communities. At the University of South Carolina we approach language from diverse
interdisciplinary perspectives.
Linguistics: our interdisciplinary approach Linguistics at South Carolina provides students with a strong background in linguistic
theory and rich introduction to our subdisciplines. Graduate students are trained
to pursue independent, original research and teach with excellence across the curriculum. The program affords graduates and
undergraduates alike the opportunity to take coursework or pursue specializations in the linguistics of specific languages and language families, historical linguistics,
linguistic anthropology, philosophy of language, phonology, psycholinguistics, second/foreign
language acquisition and teaching, semantics, sociolinguistics and syntax.
Check out our latest program news and events .
Diverse Departmental Collaborations
The Linguistics program collaborates with departments including Anthropology; English
Language and Literature; Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Philosophy; Psychology;
the English Programs for Internationals; Communication Sciences and Disorders; Computer
Science and Engineering; and Education. We are committed to building bridges with
many disciplines and to illuminating the important role of language and the study
of language in all aspects of our lives.
Degree Offerings
The Linguistics Program offers graduate degrees (MA and Ph.D. degrees) in Linguistics, as well as a graduate Certificate in Teaching
English as a Second Language (TESOL). At the undergraduate level , we offer a cognate as well as a minor in Linguistics. We are currently working to
develop a brand new Linguistics Major. Stay tuned for updates!
We are thrilled to announce the hire of two new tenure track faculty members in the Linguistics Program! Lewis Esposito (English) will join us in Fall 2024. His
research examines the social forces that drive patterns of linguistic variation. Brandon Waldon (Philosophy) will join the program in Fall 2025. He specializes in
the ways in which context, linguistic structure, and social cognition jointly enable
linguistic communication.
Two PhD students in the Linguistics Program, Dawson Peterson and Sarah Wilson, have been
awarded SPARC grants for their dissertation research projects from the Office of Research.
Dawson’s funded proposal is titled “The Effects of Linguistic Framing on Anthropomorphism
of AI" and Sarah’s is “Partner-specific Alignment Across Multiple Linguistic Levels
in Interactive Dialogue”. Please congratulate them both!
