MTSU Linguistics Club

What is Linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language in all of its forms. It is highly interdisciplinary and includes many diverse academic and professional sub-fields. 

Linguistics is NOT only about written language, nor is it a tool for judging the way someone speaks. Grammar snobs are welcome, but prepare to have your minds blown.


Why should I learn about Linguistics?
Linguistics is about the ultimate human characteristic, something we take for granted but is the most uniquely human skill in all of nature: language. Understanding language unlocks the doors to social, professional, and personal development.

Ask yourself the following:

• How am I reading this right now?
• If I didn't have language, how would I formulate a thought?
• Do other people make assumptions/judgements about the way I speak? Have I been guilty of doing the same?
• What dialect do I speak and where did it come from? Is it more or less "correct" than other dialects? Does it affect my opportunities in life?
• How did I learn a language in the first place?

Although most of us don't give it much thought as we go about our day, language is one of the most important resources at our disposal. It is the primary vehicle of all human communication and of complex, higher reasoning. Therefore, Linguistics concerns every aspect of humanity; it involves everything we think, say, interpret, write, and do.

Understanding language and its nature, uses, history, and current developments gives us access to the very foundations of civilization and what it means to be human.  

Sub-fields of Linguistics include (but are not limited to):
Forensic/Legal Linguistics
Linguistic Anthropology
Applied Linguistics (including first- and second-language acquisition, dialectology, literacy, and discourse analysis)
Cognitive/Psycho-Linguistics
Historical Linguistics
Socio-linguistics (the roles of language in politics, education, and social groups) 
 

The MTSU Linguistics Club

Academic Purpose: To promote the study of Linguistics and build awareness of its many diverse subfields and to encourage enrollment in related courses offered at MTSU.

Promoting language diversity and understanding: Language discrimination is a pervasive, complex problem. Linguistics reveals that, although they may have different uses, all language varieties are inherently equal. A person's native linguistic patterns (language and dialect variety) have nothing to do with their intelligence, and judgements about their language are arbitrary social constructs. As an organizaiton, we work to spread this knowledge and to end discrimination based on a person's native language/dialect/speech pattern.

Social Purpose: The Linguistics Club is a place for Linguistics fans to have fun, learn, meet new people, and exchange ideas while educating ourselves and others about the nature of language and how it influences our lives.

• Students and their guests are welcome at Club Meetings.
• Membership is currently contingent upon attendance of 1 club meeting or activity per semester. We currently do not require any dues or fees.
• To become a member and receive news of our events, send us a membership request on MyMT. (From our homepage, click the button at the top that says "Join Organization")
• Also join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MTSUlc/
  Share interesting linguistics-related links, meems, and news.
  Anyone who is not an MTSU student/faculty member are welcome to join our Facebook group.