The Global Village Context and Linguistics: The Interconnectivity Between Language and Power

 

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, encompassing the analysis of language structure, use, development and variation, rather than just the mastery of learning multiple languages. It investigates both the formal properties of language, how sounds, words, and sentences are structured and the social, cognitive and historical contexts in which they are used. At the same time it must be noted that in the present globalized world, learning only one foreign language is not at all sufficient to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.

Core Areas of Linguistic Study

Linguistics is broken down into several foundational subfields that examine different components of language:

Phonetics: The study of the physical production, acoustic properties, and perception of speech sounds.

Phonology: The study of sound systems and patterns within a particular language.

Morphology: The study of word formation and structure, including roots and affixes.

Syntax: The study of sentence structure and the rules governing word order.

Semantics: The study of meaning in language, including words and sentences.

Pragmatics: The study of how context contributes to meaning and how language is used in social interactions.

Key Branches and Interdisciplinary Fields

Linguistics intersects with various other fields, creating specialized subfields:

Sociolinguistics: Investigates the relationship between language and society, including how identity, gender, race, and class influence language use.

Psycholinguistics: Examines how the brain acquires, produces, and processes language.

Computational Linguistics: Focuses on modeling language for computer applications, such as artificial intelligence, speech recognition, and machine translation.

Historical Linguistics: Studies how languages change over time, including the reconstruction of ancestral languages.

Applied Linguistics: Applies linguistic theories to solve real-world problems, such as language teaching (TESOL), forensics, and clinical speech pathology.

Anthropological Linguistics: Explores the relationship between language and culture.

We can change the world with Linguistics. This field is bustling with potentialities. Linguists are needed in various disciplines and jobs, because language is powerful. Whether that’s instating inclusive language policies or advising on interculturally competent communication, Linguistics gives you various transferrable skills and a new way of looking at the world.

Another common misconception about Linguistics is that it isn’t very important and might not be a helpful qualification or knowledge base for getting a job. Neither of these perceptions could be further from the truth.

If you study Linguistics, you will gain remarkable communication skills. And although anyone can say they have communication skills, linguists can explain what we mean by that. We learn about miscommunication across cultures or in workplaces, and how this can be best dealt with. We learn about how language and power are interconnected, and how to read meaning in other people’s language right from basic word choice down to the way in which people produce certain sounds. Our communication skills are very tangible.

You will also likely gain experience in research, if you study Linguistics. You will develop the ability to think critically and laterally, because analysis is a major part of studying language. You will develop patience and the ability to pay attention to tiny details, because we know that it’s often the details of communication that are the most important. You develop cross-cultural awareness because studying language comes with studying culture. You gain experience in a range of fields because Linguistics is inherently interdisciplinary, including Psychology to Politics to Computer Science.

What that means is that Linguistics is a fantastic stepping stone for a load of jobs, and it’s a degree that stands out from the crowd. Linguistics majors might go into research, public relations, journalism, politics, AI, writing, or various other fields.

And it’s important to note that, if you want to study Linguistics, you don’t have to study a degree in it. You can just read around the topic or take online courses — and I’d really advocate for that too, if you don’t have the time or money to do more. Linguistics is worth studying for the sake of studying it.

 Learning about language is helpful whether you get a qualification in it or not

Studies in linguistics can lead to diverse career paths, particularly in a multilingual country like Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Morocco and some Caribbean islands. Along with providing a foundation for future research and graduate studies in linguistics or related fields, the specific knowledge and skills acquired in linguistics courses are particularly relevant for areas including: 

Teaching and pedagogy (language teaching, teacher education, educational research)
Clinical applications (speech therapy, audiology)
Language documentation and revitalization
Communications (publishing, advertising, marketing/branding)
Language technology (speech recognition, natural language processing, computer mediated language learning)

On the other hand, Cognitive Linguistic Studies is an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary journal of cognitive linguistics, cognitive science, and cognitive neuroscience. It explores implications from and for psycholinguistic, computational, neuroscientific, cross-cultural and cross-linguistic research.

Cognitive Linguistic Studies provides a forum for high-quality linguistic research on topics which investigate the interaction between language and human cognition. It offers new insights not only into linguistic phenomena but also into a wide variety of social, psychological, and cultural phenomena. The journal welcomes authoritative, innovative cognitive scholarship from all viewpoints and practices.

Understanding that language is a powerful force—and gaining the intellectual tools to go beneath the surface of daily observation—might well build better international friendships and help communities and individuals understand and respect one another more profusely.

Finally, linguistics is fun and will make you a more rounded person with interesting things to say. Have you ever wondered why sentences such as, "the friend I came to the party with" are incorrect according to your high school English teacher, at least? Are you confused by the subjunctive of Spanish or French or by the use of the dative or accusative in German? Do you wonder why so many people learn English, but why so few English speakers learn other languages? All of these are questions that make linguists' hearts stir and, although we might not always have the answers, we definitely enjoy trying to find them.

Undisputed African leader Nelson Mandela once said "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart."

Malala Yousafzai affirmed the necessity of learning foreign languages in the following words “There are so many things that motivate me to continue learning foreign words and phrases. One is my own desire to learn new things and really expand my horizon and my knowledge and information about the world.”

During my visits to some universities in Russia, Finland, Thailand and Belgium, I saw that it is an academic obligation in these countries for students to learn at least two foreign languages. This is most credibly one of the principal reasons why these countries are far more prosperous than our society and academia.


Mahfuz Ul Hasib Chowdhury
is a contributor to different
English newspapers
and magazines.