Linguistics

Overview

The Linguistics program offered by The University of the West Indies aims to prepare students to demonstrate an understanding of the principles involved in the study of the Caribbean lexicon across the three major official languages of the region, English, Spanish and French by creating linguistic glossaries and display an in-depth knowledge of the contributions of researchers such as Gumperz, Hymes, and Labov to developments in sociolinguistic theory by applying their ideas in carrying out research projects in Caribbean societies. 

Graduates with M.A. in Linguistics from The University of the West Indies be able to:

• Demonstrate an insight into and understanding of the development of linguistic theory from Socrates to the present by writing critical analyses of the process; 

• Analyse the theories of several personalities who have made a contribution to modern linguistics in order to apply their theories to contemporary language issues;

• Formulate and practice the fundamentals of linguistics through exposure to modern syntactic, morphological, semantic and phonological theories; 

• Analyse linguistic theories in order to discover new ideas and acquire knowledge of the interrelations between the various modules of grammar; 

• Use the knowledge gained in the study of the fundamentals to pursue research in any of these frameworks. three major official languages of the region.