Linguistics is devoted to the scientific study of language. The central goal of the discipline is to provide a theoretical account of the human cognitive capacity that underlies language production and comprehension. As one of the world's leading programs, the Linguistics department at USC is at the forefront of scientific progress in the study of language. The Linguistics department conducts research in diverse fields—first and second language acquisition, language processing, morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, sociolinguistics, and syntax—in collaboration with diverse programs—Psychology, Philosophy, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Neuroscience.

News

• National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" interviewed Toben Mintz, professor of psychology and linguistics, about a new study which suggests that newborns may imitate the prevailing intonation patterns of the language they heard while still in the womb. Click here.
• Congratulations to Elena Guerzoni on her promotion to Associate Professor!
• Congratulations to Rebeka Campos-Astorkiza (USC Ph.D. 2007; now Assistant Professor at Ohio State University) on the publication of her book! See it here.
• Sacred Language, Spoken Language, a Visions and Voices event organized by Professor Hagit Borer. Click for more information.
• WCCFL XXVIII Click for more information.
• The schedule for the Syntax+ discussion is online here!
• Cristian Iscrulescu's USC dissertation research has now led to a book publication! See it here.
• Congratulation to our Recent Graduates
  
  Fuyun Wu
  Associate Professor
  Institute of Linguistics Studies, SISU
• Nominated for Best Student Paper:

  E. Nava, J. Tepperman, L. Goldstein, M.L. Zubizarreta, & S. Narayanan,
  "Connecting Rhythm and Prominence in Automatic ESL Pronunciation Scoring", Interspeech 2009,
  10th Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association.
  Brighton, UK (September 6-10, 2009)