Studying Languages/Linguistics at Middlebury

parentologist
Mon, 22 Feb 2021 19:09:51 +0000

If her fascination is just with learning lots of languages, but not with linguistics, per se, then I think she’d do very well at Middlebury. But if what she is fascinated by is not only learning languages, but the very structure of language, the interplay between the brain and language, and all the many subsets of linguistics, then she needs to go to a school with a linguistics major, and the larger the department, the better. The presence of a graduate program in linguistics would be a plus, too, since linguistics is such a specialized, small field that even the largest linguistics undergraduate programs only graduate about 40 students a year.

I suggest that she try to take Intro to Linguistics at a nearby college this summer, to see if this is what she is interested in. Another option she should explore: there are a lot of free or inexpensive summer language programs for intelligence-sensitive languages, and high school kids can enroll in some of these.

We were told that child with strong linguistics interest should also take as much comp sci as possible, for future job opportunities. A lot of the future of language will have to do with AI and computer - language interface.

Another possible option. Amherst college is an excellent small LAC, with several language majors, but it’s also only a mile from UMass Amherst, which has an excellent, large linguistics department, both undergrad and grad. One can take classes at any of the 5 college consortium, which means that she could have the small LAC atmosphere, while still having access to a large, excellent linguistics department.

Swarthmore is part of a consortium that includes Penn, which is very strong in both languages and linguistics. But it’s a train ride plus a long walk or short bus/trolley/subway ride to get to Penn from Swarthmore.

Is there a reason that your daughter might not be a good fit for a larger school with a strong linguistics department, plus many excellent language departments?