"if a linguist corrects your grammar, it's not because he or she is a linguist. Maybe, they're just bring kind of ... obnoxious" HAHAHA thank you :) :)
Glad you enjoyed that. I actually got some flak over that line from people who say, "But... but... sometimes you ARE really just trying to help people when you correct their grammar." To which I say, "Well... as long as you have love in your heart... cool!" LOL :D Thanks for watching! :D
sorry my English isn't good, hope you understand me anyhow... yes I enjoyed it (and the whole video) very much :) Thank you for taking the effort and put up videos like that (so now you can correct my grammar ;) )
I wish you if you were my professor. Very quiet , serious in special kind way. I am about to study linguistics. Thank you for sharing this. Very formative . Thank you again and again.
Thank *you* for watching! I'm glad it cleared some things up. As a linguist myself, I'm very biased, but I think producing language is an awesome human skill! Many aspects of language are very interesting. I hope you find your passion in it. Thanks for stopping by and sharing you passion. Come back for other videos! :D
I’m studying foreign languages and I absolutely love learning new languages, I speak Spanish and English, and I’m currently learning French and German, my goal is to manage at least 5-7 languages.
I love languages myself, too! The only problem with being multilingual is having to keep up with all of them so you don't lose them. #polyglotproblems :D Keep it up! I believe learning languages can open your mind and many doors. -- Marc Franco
First, I like to thank you for developing this channel. I love learning about language. The origins of words and how they've evolved over time and why. One of the things that draws me to certain channels is the host. Are they enjoying what they do and happy that what their interested in, others may be interested as well. You don't dumb down the information but you do make it clear in a way that everyone can understand. I think it's a little too late for me to go in this field but I really enjoy learning from you.
Hi , my name is Alison , I am currently studying Linguistics in South Africa. I have always been intrigued by the various forms of language, phonetics and syntax we all use on a daily basis and it has given me much desire to pursue a career within the field itself. However , I was not sure as to what exactly I should do within this field but after watching your video, You have truly given me some insight as to what I can do with my degree and thereafter. So for that , I thank you Sir. Keep well and God bless.
Alison, it always makes me very happy to know that one of my videos was as helfpul as it seems to have been for you! One way to find out more about the possibility in the field is to reach out to professionals already working in the area. If you have access to someone in the field, give them a call, tell them about your interest in linguistics, and ask questions. (Typically, people are very willing to share their knowledge because we are all proud of what we do.) You might even get to talk to people face-to-face and see some of what they do. If you talk to one person, they may be able to refer you to others working in related areas; people may be even more receptive to talking to you if you have someone else making the introduction. Soon enough, you may be able to find out about things people are doing that you may not even have imagined on your own. A less direct approach is to go to your library and look at all the journals in linguistics they have. Read a lot of abstracts in as many journals as you have available (both in applied linguistics and more "academic" areas). Again, this will give you an indication of the type of work people are doing out there, and you may surprise yourself by being interested in some area that you may not have thought of on your own. Thanks for watching and for the lovely comment! :D
YES LINGUISTICS IN EDUCATION! I’m training to be a teacher and HATE when people tell me my Linguistics minor is useless! Not when you want to be an ESL. Love the video❤️
+Brooke Jonas Good luck with your training! // It’s possible, but... I can’t fathom becoming an ESL teacher without some (really) good understanding of language/linguistics! Do your thing and spread some knowledge to the naysayers! LOL // Thanks for watching and for the positive feedback. :D
Glad you've found it useful! Out of curiosity... did you search for it, or did your instructor direct your fellow students to the video? Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment
Thank you for making it more clear. Most people in my country also think that a linguist knows a lot of languages. We can also specialize in a specific field such as translators, applied linguistics, research, etc.
great video. I always receive some racism mixed with confusion when I tell my friends what I'm studying. Most ask me if I know "the root of all greek words" or "which language is the most rich" and I always have to debunk some things :)
Thanks for the compliment! Hah! We need to educate people... one person at a time. :) Thanks for watching! I have a list of "about language/linguistics" videos on my to-do list. I hope you will enjoy them, too.
In addition to the fields mentioned here in linguistics, I have also heard of political and business advertisers who study linguistics (or who hire linguistic advisors) who counsel companies, politicians and advertising agencies on which words, phrases & terms seem most appropriate for which occasions and for which target audiences. Since the field is very general - study of language, it makes perfect sense that people would study this. Given the needs and inabilities of many public figures and companies, it is completely believable that they would need additional help from time to time.
Cool. Linguists specializing in semantics, more specifically cognitive semantics, can go deep into how we process individual words and messages. Of course, politicians and advertisers seize on that for the sake of creating the most effective messages. (It can quickly get into "manipulation" of the message.) Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel.
Thank you so much. It’s such an interesting video to watch. I hold an MA in English linguistics and I’m currently working as a lecturer of English. I aspire to further my studies and dig deeper into the world of linguistics.
That’s great! There’s always something new to learn in linguistics (but then, I’m biased because I love it). Thanks for watching and leaving a comment:)
I don't understand why is it that grammar suddenly is viewed as something bad or even evil and 'obnoxious'? I mean whether it's prescriptive or descriptive it's still grammar, people that speak non-standard varieties of a language still use certain consistent patterns and adhere to some consistent rules, those rules and patterns may be different from what is regarded as the standard variety of their langauge but their variety still has grammar, otherwise it wouldn't be a langauge. There is no langauge without grammar, grammar is an essential, one might even say an indiscpensible part of any langauge, why shy away from it and sweep it under the rug as if it were not important - it is important, especially for practical purposes, if you want to learn a new langauge you have to somehow learn and eventually interiorise its grammar, there's no way around that. And saying that linguistics is not about grammar is like saying that medicine has nothing to do with anatomy - it makes no sense whatsoever. When a linguist comes across a new language and they need to figure out how it works the main part of their job is discovering the grammar of that language, the patterns that people adhere to when they speak it. no grammar - no language
Hi, Igor. Thanks! That's a great comment, and I understand where you're coming from. As a professor, I correct my students' grammar errors because they are expected to use "standard English grammar" in an academic setting. In that sense, "good grammar" is considered appropriate for the setting. What generally comes across as obnoxious is when people correct others in inappropriate situations. I myself switch to a less formal register when I leave the classroom... Linguistics is about language. Standard and formal grammar are but one facet of language, and it is usually established by scholars rather artificially at some point in the history of many languages. In other words, one day, some dude decided that we should not split infinitives, so "to boldly go where no one has gone before" is supposedly ungrammatical by some even though it makes no sense whatsoever not to be able to split infinitives. (There are many examples of "rules" that came into English for no good reason other than some stuffy guy saying it should be so.) You're right, when linguists come across new languages, they try to figure out the grammar of the language but not necessarily the "standard grammar." They go to speakers (aka informants) and record what they say without any concern whether or not what they say is considered "correct" by a local grammarian. At some point, the linguists may realize that there are grammatical differences when speakers use the language in different situations. These are then recorded as language varieties or registers (not good or bad grammar). It is the speakers of that language themselves who might inform the linguists that one grammar form is considered "correct" or "incorrect." The linguists will then say "cool" and carry on with their work of understanding the language, now knowing that the language has formal and informal varieties. Thanks again for the comment. It got me thinking about a lot of cool stuff :)
Hey, I really liked this video. It was really informative and clear. This is why I wanted to ask if you could make a video about the different branches of linguistics. I am interested in studying linguistics but only in one paticular topic, which is basically how language is percieved. But so far I haven't been able to find reliable information on how something like that is called so that I can actually go ahead and look into studying that. So I think a video on the different branches of linguistics would be really helpful. Would be really thankful I you would do that. :)
That would actually be an interesting follow-up video. I will add it to my list of future videos. In the meantime, take a look at this: www.linguistlist.org/LL/LingSubfields.cfm You could also go to a library (if you have a large one available in your area) and look at their collection of journals. It could give you an idea what is out there. Thanks for the suggestion and question! :D
That is awesome! If you can combine all your passions into your job, you are definitely a fortunate person. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment :D
Thank you for the nice comment, Aaman. Good luck in your studies. I hope you enjoy learning linguistics as much as I do! Thanks for watching! I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel :D
Such a great way of explaining the common misconceptions concerning the prescriptive/descriptive viewpoint. Unfortunately, this perspective is often too pervasive within the academic study of music theory. A linguistic approach to formal music theory and cognition would certainly be enlightening. Thanks for the great video!
I am a linguist from Zimbabwe and I laughed when I watched this video because I recalled the number of times people said to me 'oh so you speak a lot of languages' after I had told them I'm a linguist. At first my colleagues and I used to get angry then we realized we had to raise awareness among the public. Its so sad that linguistics is not given its worth. Language is at the center of all human activities because its what we use to communicate. Because language is everywhere, there are so many language related problems in the world and if linguists all over the world could be given an opportunity to resolve these with their knowledge and expertise the world would become a better place. Thanks for the video.
Hello, fellow linguist! Thanks for the comment. I agree... when someone has no clue what linguistics is about, we should use it as an opportunity to educate. I enjoyed reading your comment... thanks for taking the time :D
Do you think learning linguistics will help people learn foreign languages. I've taken an intro course in linguistics in college and then took a french class. I found I was better at understanding grammatical concepts like direct object vs. indirect object, and I could easily impress my teacher by constructing a quite complicated and grammatically correct sentence using my knowledge of how predicate, nouns, phrase and clause work. But I feels like it helps more at reading and writing, which involve more elaborate mode of thinking. To really speak fluently and proficiently (BTW, you can't really learn a language from any exam-oriented course taught in school), you need to rely on a more automatic/spontaneous mode of thinking, which I feel linguistic knowledge is of little help. However, it might not be necessary to explicitly learn these terminologies for language learning. I guess many polyglots have internalized all these magic rules of language by exposing to many languages. To what extent do you think linguistics is useful for second language acquisition?
Some people are more aware of language itself... you probably are, which is why you decided to take a course in linguistics. Understanding language at a deeper level makes you aware of what's going on in the native and additional language(s). As a result, when you study the grammar and writing portion of a language, you are more aware of how things work. Listening and speaking develop naturally, but reading and writing are artificial activities. People can speak a language perfectly without learning how to read in or write it. That's probably why, as you mentioned, linguistic awareness is not very helpful in listening and speaking, but it does help with reading and writing. Great comment! I hope you are enjoying the channel!
Thank you! I am hoping to go back to school for linguistics and I am so excited! This is a great video to link to my friends and family who don't quite get what and especially WHY I'm doing this. lol
Hah! I'm glad you found it useful. When I decided to follow a career in linguistics, many people scratched their heads. I realized that I could educate them a little so it was a win win for everyone. :) Good luck with your studies! I hope you find it as challenging and exciting as I did. :D
Hi all. Recently been reading about linguistics and in particular, Chomsky. I see his theories and whatnot about universal grammar etc. My reason for creating this post is, what is the actual point of linguistics? Outside of people analysing things, what does it actually do? What useful purpose does it serve for anyone outside of an academic setting? I'll admit i've not been reading about it for a long time but i'm struggling to see what important program, method of learning or anything has come out of (particularly Chomskyist) linguistics? So, let's say Universal Grammar is true - and this is supposed to be one of the greatest pieces of work in known linguistics - what changed? What good did it do for people practically learning languages? As far as i can see, linguistics as a science exists just for other linguists and actually has no useful practical application at all. Ok, people might say 'we understand better how languages are acquired' or whatever, but people have learned languages for as long as we've been able to use them so it's not actually done anything except help people understand it better. What am i missing?
Hi! Thanks for leaving the comment. In addition to studying linguistics as an academic subject per se, there are many applications that people are not even aware of. An easy example is that educators use the knowledge that linguists advance about language and language acquisition to create effective teaching methodologies and instructional materials. Foreign language instructors can certainly teach a language without knowing a lick of linguistics, but those who understand second-language acquisition and language processing are much better equipped as instructors. In artificial intelligence (AI), you must have an in-depth understanding of how language works to program computers and gadgets that can process voice commands and produce intelligible responses. In a way, you could say that, by itself, linguistics is mostly an academic subject; however, it has many applications which require knowledge and expertise in other areas. For example, linguistics can be applied to AI, but you must also have an understanding of AI and all it entails. Thanks for watching and, again, for leaving a detailed comment. :D
Oh yes, Prescriptive.Heard that learning Medicine and that linguistic course. My old textbook contained plenty of 'trees' about English grammar that drove me wild.It's not too late to be the linguist like the one you've described.
If you are applying to a linguistics program, it probably depends on the institution. Being a polyglot shows that you have an academic bent. If they were deciding between two equally qualified applicants, I'm sure some institutions would consider multilingualism a "bonus point." Thanks for watching and good luck with your college/graduate applications! :D
I can only imagine what it would be like to learn linguistics in another language but, if it is something you enjoy doing, it will get easier as you go along. Knowledge is power--in any language! Keep it up! :D
I enjoy sociolinguistics a lot. Studying language on its own is great, but... languages are spoken in a socio-cultural context, so sociolinguistics is... well, awesome :D
I study the British Isles ancient languages as a hobby, but I can't speak even one -- not even English, ha ha. I have always hesitated to call myself a linguist or amateur linguist. Your video clarified the topic. Now I don't feel so hesitant. Thank you.
I guess it is possible to know a language without speaking it or to speak it without "knowing" it. lol Thanks for watching. Glad you found it helpful. :D
The channel was idle for a while, but I have started making videos again. Many are about reading but, now that the reading part is rather complete, there will be more about language and linguistics. -- Enjoy! :D
I first became interested in this when I found a very large book in my public library under the index files (this was long before the internet). This book was about the etymology and origins of words and phrases. I was fascinated!! Unfortunately it was a reference volume so I couldn't check it out and take it home.
I'm not an expert in etymology, but I do find it fascinating, too. Some word origins are quite a trip. Have you seen my video on etymology? ua-cam.com/video/cSAW4FSA8Dg/v-deo.html I enjoyed doing the research for it. I might even do some new ones on interesting word origins. Make sure you click the bell button so you're notified when new videos come out. Cheers! :D
I wish if you were my professor. You are very quiet and a serious in a kind way. I am about to study linguistics . Thank you for sharing this. It is very formative.
Thank you for this video, even if im a few years late thanking you:) University is coming soon and ive been confused for years, but now i think ive found something im interested in!
Thanks for leaving such a cool comment. I hope some of my videos will have a long shelf life, so it's never too late to learn about misconceptions about linguistics or leave a comment. I am always happy to hear that one of our videos had a positive impact on someone. I hope you continue pursuing your interests! Thanks again for the comment! :D
I have always loved reading and writing. Over the years I have realized that whenever I was writing down notes for stories, it wasn't really the stories I was interested in; I just loved making lists of all sorts of words. I haven't been great at writing but I love how certain words are so satisfying to say and I oftentimes catch myself marveling at how everyone around me learned to speak English fluently without having to think about how we did it. Learning a foreign language has also helped me appreciate English grammar and it's my best and favorite subject - I'm actually studying abroad this year in Belgium for an entire school year, hopefully to improve my French. At school, I've befriended people who speak Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Swahili... and I am so fascinated about their language that I've asked them to teach me some basic phrases and I teach them French in return. It's also allowed me to become closer to them and their friends for showing an appreciation for their language and learning about their cultures. I don't know what to do with it, but I'm 99% sure I want to major in something language-related in college. And it's kinda funny because I'm one of the quietest people who is really uncomfortable speaking with others but I think part of it is that when I speak in another language I feel free to make mistakes. Language is beautiful.
Hi, thanks for watching and leaving a comment! It sounds like you are a linguist at heart--or at least an honorary linguist! :D I, too, love languages and learning different ways people communicate ideas in different languages. And it is true that as you learn new languages, your native language improves. That is so because you become more aware of language per se, so you start becoming more aware how your own language works. Good luck with your studies! Belgium is such a lovely country... :D
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into field linguistics (working with documenting, revitalizing, learning and/or teaching endangered languages), but who is middle-aged, already holds two science degrees, and doesn't want to have to go back to school (or into debt) to get yet another degree?
Hi, Jason. Yours is an interesting situation. If I were in your shoes, I would somehow try to contact someone locally who does the type of work you mentioned--or at least something closely related to it. They would be better equipped than anyone to tell you whether or not there are points of entry into that area without necessarily earning a degree in linguistics or related field. Perhaps there are ways you can start doing some work as some sort of an "apprentice" and hopefully get deeper into it due to your experience. It may be a long shot, but... well... we always have to get started somewhere. This sounds like an interesting new adventure... and I wish you the very best. If you have the opportunity, let me know what you find out.
My native language is Thai and my second language is English. And I also studying Thai sign language. I has been looking for a possibility to study sign language in lisguistic way because I also work in a mime company and work with deaf people and have so many things I am curious about. But I was like is it going to work? Because the school here seem to focus more on Asean ethic languages. But you confirm my idea. Thank you so much. When the time is right I'll go back to school for Phd.
Thank you for your brief and clear explanation. I studied Linguistics in general and Applied Linguistics when I was in English Education undergrad program. Now, I am working as a translator for a living and teaching English to younglings sometimes. However, I personally do love the language itself and be fascinated by the the theories around it. So, while looking for available scholarships, I have planned to take a master degree next year. Could you give me some suggestions on what study program in linguistics that I should take? Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm not sure I'd be a good source of information as I've been away from school for a long time. I recommend you talk to professors or students in the programs you're interested in. Many professors will be glad to help you out because you're showing an interest in their field. All the best! :D
Genial. Voy a estudiar lingüística, y de verdad que hay muchos mal entendidos con respecto a esta carrera. Me pasa mucho cuando alguien me pregunta -¿qué quieres estudiar? ¿qué es lingüística? jajaja.
Recuerdo cuando decidí ser lingüista. Recibía la reacción que describeste también! "Qué? Qué hacen los lingüistas? Se puede ganar dinero haciendo eso?" jaja No dejes que eso te moleste. Es una oportunidad para ayudar a los otros a entenderlo. :D Thanks for watching y por darme la oportunidad para practicar mi español roto. :D
Hi! Thank you so much for the compliment. I have stopped for a while, but I am already working on a few more. I hope to post new videos every two weeks or so.
Yeah, it's hard to think of many things as impactful as that... the wheel perhaps? Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment! -- Cheers
thank you sir for this video..my friends often ask me this questions but i am unable to clear their doubts, but now i can do so...sir please can you make a video on the scope or job offered in linguistics and the exact path to tackle those jobs....
I'm glad you found this helpful. I have had many questions about the scope and job paths in linguistics. It is a very complex topic, but I will see how I can summarize useful information in 10 minutes or less... Thank you for watching and for the suggestion! :D
I live in the Canary Islands where, on a couple of the islands we have languages in which we communicate by whistling. Just adding that to your mention of sign language, because sometimes people come and study this. Recently a couple of films were made which used it too.
My dream job would be working as a linguist, but I have some doubts: how difficult is it to find a job as a linguist? Is the salary of a linguist decent? Where do linguists work (university, office...)? Would it be difficult to be a linguist in Iceland (maybe you don't know, but don't worry, just curious)? Thanks for your help!
I am not sure how to answer these questions. It all depends greatly on where you are and what kind of work you want to do. For example, most people do not even know what linguists do in the United States; however, they are more "respected" in most of Europe. I explained where linguists work in the video. You can do field work (which means you might work in a foreign country, in the middle of a desert or a jungle), or you can work in a university (likely in a book-filled office). You can apply your knowledge of linguistics to education or in industry. It all depends on what you do with it after you earn your degree. As you are interested in it, I would recommend you should try to contact colleges and see if you can actually visit with people that work in the area. They should be able to point you in different directions other than the typical college job. Good luck! :D
Hi, love how this video explains so much so well! What advice do you have for someone who is just starting to learn linguistics, especially about domain oriented things like navigating Ethnologue, figuring out the API table and such things? Could you please make a video about that?
Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying our videos. I'm not sure about design. That's probably something you end up learning through experience. Language is *everywhere*, and we often take it for granted, ignoring how people may interpret what we say or write. You have language awareness on your side as someone interested in language and linguistics. Keep your ears and eyes open, and have fun! :D
@@snaplanguage Hello! Thanks for replying to my comment. Any recommendations on finding good TEFL employers? Could you post a video on entering the TEFL, and wider applied linguistics field? Many thanks again. 😄
Historical linguistics sounds fascinating, but I'm worried that if I get the minor (my university doesn't offer a major) that the only available jobs would involve translation or interpretation snd I don't want to go into a legal field. what are some more job opportunities for linguists? I will slso have a German major if that helps.
Hi, thanks for the comment. There are several links under this video that you may find helpful. One of them, is "Why major in linguistics" by the Linguistic Society of America. It may cover some of the information you need. Of course, everything looks better on paper, so I recommend you should find linguists that are willing to chat with you about their career paths. They may be able to introduce you to other linguists in other areas as well. Talking to several people who navigated their way through the area of linguistics and found their niches may give you a better idea of career paths than a single source. I'd love to hear back from you and learn what you found out, if you'd like to share it. All the best!.. and thanks for watching :D
Hey great video , really loved the editing and your very friendly manner and attitude. I do have a question though, so I'm a younger person (15) and I want to start trying to head in the direction of a career .. and I as a person love language, I love foreign languages (I'm learning French and Japanese and I'm fluent in English and Spanish) and my councilor at school said that if I like language I should be a linguist.. but I'm not quite sure your field has exactly what a want to do. I for one would love to have a career that involves knowing a lot about many languages and cultures, and I'm having trouble finding what field that would exactly be in. Any idea? Thanks
Flare Fights I'm going through the same situation now! Although I haven't found anything about knowing many different languages and cultures, if you chose to major in a foreign language you will have to learn the history and culture of those that speak their language, as well as read some literature. But that's just focusing on one language or two. With foreign language though there's a lot you can still do, I was handed a list and some of those things included teaching English as a second language, being a tour guide, being a translator, and, of course, freelance work. If you figure anything else out pertaining to studying multiple languages please let me know, since, as I said, I'm in the same situation now! Im sorry I realize wasn't as helpful as I tried to be.
Hi! Thanks for the feedback. Deciding on a career is difficult at any age. Try to see what you picture yourself doing. For example, do you see yourself traveling a lot or sitting in an office, or working outside or inside, or using your hands or your mostly mind? and so on... Then think of careers that would give you the opportunity to do what you like. Linguistics is generally an academic discipline. You also have applied linguistics, though, where you need the knowledge of linguistics to do something related--for example, to teach English to speakers of other languages. Translators and interpreters can be very brainy, and they have to read a lot in the area they specialize in (such as translating for science, the humanities, or what)... Or you can do something that has nothing to do with linguistics per se but where you can use other languages as part of your job (such as in commerce). I'm not sure I'm being very helpful... but I hope you can find your ***passion!*** :D Keep me posted!
There are many shades of gray when it comes to that. It certainly helps to *know* about many languages because it gives you a broader perspective on what is possible in natural languages. It comes with the territory, too, because, as a linguist, you will end up learning how other languages works. Yet, *speaking* or *acquiring* them, especially at a high level of proficiency is not necessary unless your area of specialization requires you to do so. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you're enjoying the channel.
Great video! If i may ask, at 2:56 are you referring to computational linguistics? And if so, is that a possible field of study for someone who starts off as a linguist? I was led to believe you have to be a computer scientist.
I'm not 100% sure. There are undergraduate courses and master's programs in computational linguistics. I'm sure if you apply for a job and already have a computational linguistics degree, you'd be better off. However, it's quite possible that some employers would also look at other qualifications (that is, if you have relevant experience). I searched online and found this information (I don't know how reliable these web sites are): • study.com/articles/Become_a_Computational_Linguist_Career_Roadmap.html • medium.com/@emilymenonbender/is-it-worth-it-to-go-to-grad-school-in-computational-linguistics-7234f0bd4981 Thanks for watching and leaving a comment/question! :D
Very informative video, thank you! I am considering studying linguistics but because I am blind I am concerned about resource formats and accessibility barriers. Do you know of any visually impaired linguists and what tools they use for study?
Me, too! Formal grammar is useful to create a standard that everyone can follow (e.g., in publications and businesses) that everyone understands. The problem sometimes is that some of the "grammar" rules stop making much sense to hold on to when language evolves. "Never end a sentence with a preposition" is another rule I absolutely do not follow anymore LOL Some linguists do study formal grammar-why the rules came to be and how rules are evolving. That can be an interesting area if that's what someone is interested in. (See? I just finished a sentence with a preposition! ) :D Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other language- and linguistics-related videos on the channel.
Thank you very much. This was really helpful. I have one more question, though. Will linguists have a role to play in the Artificial Intelligence field in the future? Secondly, do I need to have technical expertise besides a linguistics degree to land such a job?
This is a very interesting question, and I'm not sure we have all the information to really understand what we will need to develop AI full because it is a relatively new field. From your comment, I surmise that you are thinking about AI that could interact with humans in a natural way (i.e., a machine that talks to humans naturally). If that's what you mean, I would definitely say that linguists will play an important role in the development of AI. As for the type of training required to develop intelligent machines capable of language, I have no idea. I would think that linguists and engineers would have to work closely together and that they would have to understand each other's field so they can collaborate intelligently. I'm sure someone who has training in both linguistics AND technology would be a rare commodity... Thanks for watching and leaving such an intriguing comment/question! :D
People tend to not hear about linguistics ever or have misconceptions about it; which is so weird for me. As personally, the first time I knew about linguistics I already had a concept of what people would study within that major. Later on, when I got serious with it, it was the same so I didn’t get shocked or surprised at all. That’s also why I really want to study linguistics at college but my country doesn’t appreciate or know anything about this major enough, simply it’s not the best place to study linguistics. I’m thinking about studying abroad but…I don’t know, will I make it or not? Since studying abroad is expensive and I want no money from my parents to go to waste.
Thanks for the comment. Sorry to hear about your predicament. You can still learn a lot on your own but, of course, having a degree with it is even better. All the best!
Not yet. I do have a list of topics that I would like to cover in future videos, and second-language acquisition is there somewhere. I do a lot of research on each video, so the production phase takes time. I'll get to it sometime (soon I hope!:)
that would be great! Because second language acquisition is a difficult task for a lot of people (including me 😟), and I'm sure you as a linguist have SO MUCH helpful advice to offer!!!
Considering you are learning English, I'd say you are doing VERY well! Sometimes I make a video that I think people will be interested in, but it only gets a handful of views. I think language acquisition would be a topic of interest for the channel, though. I will move it to the top of the list. Thanks for the suggestion!
Speech pathology is an awesome field, which involves more than just linguistics. Good luck! And thanks for watching! Stay tuned for more language-related videos coming up soon... :D
I like to describe linguistics as "the study of language as a science". I like to throw the names of some of my favorite analysis tools at the uninformed to see what kind of reactions I get with terms like: articulatory phonetics, phonology, morphology, generative grammar, tagmemics, and acoustics of speech.
People are confused enough about linguistics as it is! LOL Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you're enjoying the other videos on the channel.
There are a couple other career options that people seem to always forget. The first one is working at a police station as a forensic linguist. You basically help to distinguish what's an actual threat and what is not based on the use of language. You can also work at schools in different ways than just a teacher. A lot of people have language disorders like dyslexia for example. You can help them as a linguist by giving them extra exercises and rules that'll help them. There are also a lot of linguists working in hospitals with people with aphasia and other neurological disorders that affect speech or the processing of language. Linguistics are honestly so broad, you'll find us fucking anywhere.
Thanks for the awesome comment! Language is *everywhere!* It's no wonder linguistics has so many applications. It's too bad more people do not have more language awareness (metacognitive awareness)... Thanks for watching and leaving a well thought out comment!
@@snaplanguage No problem! I'm currently studying linguistics and the amount of people I've had to explain what it is that I'm studying honestly surprised me. So yeah.
Hi Marc, i do like linguistics so much and i am studing pure Maths, i am attempting to do some work in which linguistics is involved into math and vicecersa. Do you have any information about such tematics? Thanks Marc :)
Funny you ask that because I will start working with math this summer... I have not done it before, but I will have people in the math department at a local college helping me bridge the gap. I'm sure I'll learn a lot of new things... exciting...
Abece Eleme, Maths and linguistics is a very interesting combination. I know researchers who have degrees in maths and physics, and are now involved in fields, such as neurolinguistics and language and genetics. Their mathematical background is really useful when statistically analysing data. There was also this one researcher (can't remember what he'd majored in), who was working in historical and evolutionary linguistics, and worked a lot with Bayesian models to analyse and predict linguistic relationships between modern languages. Then there's the field of computational linguistics, which deals with topics such as speech recognition, speech synthesis, automated translation etc. In short, plenty of fields where a mathematical background is really useful.
Neurolinguistics sounds like an interesting field. Language cuts across so many areas that it is always possible to imagine how someone could marry linguistics to other interests.
Hi, Jennifer. Thanks for watching and for the interesting question. To answer your question, I believe it is a matter of who is asking. In a very strict sense, a linguist is someone who studies linguistics and has a college degree in linguistics. A university or company would probably require formal training for someone to be consider for a job in linguistics. However, you could also argue that someone who studies linguistics (without the "formal training") could be an excellent linguist and contribute to the field just as much. As you yourself seemed to point out, studying languages per se does not make you a linguist, but if you study the formal concepts in linguistics as they apply to language acquisition, I would argue you are indeed a linguist. I am sure there are "purists" out there who would disagree and say that you must have formal training to be a linguist. I would simply say that you can be a chef in your own kitchen (and a darn good chef) without going to culinary school or working in a restaurant. Again, thanks for the question. I hope you are enjoying the rest of the channel. :D
Snap Language Thanks for your answer. I am really into linguistics but I studied languages and many times people tell me you are not a linguistic because your diploma does not say it. I will be following you from now on.
Well, as I mentioned before, "technically," you cannot say you are a *trained linguist* unless you have the appropriate degree in it. "Backyard astronomers" do not have degrees in astronomy but often make important discoveries using their makeshift observatories. There's no harm in that. Thank you very much for subscribing! :D
Thank you for your informative video. I'm back to school after a forty-year break to pursue a major that I have had passion for, for years; which is Linguistics. May I ask if you have a degree in Linguistics?
Hi, Sam! Yes, I have a bachelor's degree in linguistics and a doctoral degree in human development (with an emphasis on socio-linguistics). I think it's great you're back in school! "Never stop learning" is a great motto, right? Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! -- Marc Franco
Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Make sure you clicked the bell when you subscribed to receive all notifications. This way, you won't miss any of our new videos. Cheers! :D
I consider myself a linguist, even though I don't actually have a degree. I admit, I question whether or not I have the right to call myself a linguist when I've never taken one linguistic course and never will (primarly because I've never been able to find one, I've actually to explain to people at colleges what linguistics is, its shocking how so few people have heard of it). I've also thought about buying actual linguistic books, but oh my god those things are expensive! I mean, 'the world's writing systems' goes for over $100! And for a linguistics book, that's cheap! But I have read up as much as I can online. I specialize in phonology, if it matters. I've been doing this for a decade now, so I would assume I know something by this point. I originally got into it because of my fascination with Esperanto. I tried to push it to a bunch of people on a linguistics board (well, more a conlanging board than anything else) and they kept bashing on all its flaws and refused to acknowledge it had any value. Finally, I just said 'well, if you think Esperanto is so flawed, then why don't you make an ideal auxlang yourself?' They insisted over and over again that it couldn't be done, so I decided that I would learn linguistics and do it myself! As for how that idea went, I agree with them now, it is futile -.- Luckily linguistics still holds appeal to me, even if I don't really have a use for it.
Thanks for watching and the comment! As for considering yourself a linguist, why not? I wouldn't put it in a resume under "Educational Background" , but if it *is* a special interest you know a lot about, you should take pride in it. I think one of the main problem facing Esperanto is bad PR. I've heard all the "problems" people point out and, in my opinion, they are all pretty silly. It was never meant to be "the perfect language," so why should its imperfections be a problem? Esperanto speakers often advertise it as "a perfectly regular language" that "has no ambiguities." Then, of course, when people dig into it and find imperfections and ambiguities, they go "Aha! Esperanto sucks!" lol Also, most people associate a language with a culture that developed over a long time. Because Esperanto lacks that "naturally occurring" history and culture, many people think it is not worth learning. People will always have their own opinions why you should or shouldn't learn one language or another. Perhaps people should just learn whatever language *they* please. :D
Thank you so much, (YOUR LINGUIST YOU HAVE TO ELABORATE THIS POINT ...) this is what i heard daily it is makes me somehow worried ,even they makes me feel like go and study more and more because (I AM LINGUISTS)
Thanks for the comment! As an educator, I do not mind hearing people's misunderstandings about linguistics because it gives me an opportunity to clarify them. We can educate people one person at a time. Thanks for watching! :D
Interesting... this is similar to -logy (meaning "study"), which combines with other ancient words like "biology" (study of living things) or "phonology" (study of language sounds). Unfortunately, in English, the pattern breaks down with "linguistics" -- why not "linguology", right? lol These irregularities is what makes languages difficult but really interesting :) Thanks for leaving the comment! :D
"if a linguist corrects your grammar, it's not because he or she is a linguist. Maybe, they're just bring kind of ... obnoxious"
HAHAHA thank you :) :)
Glad you enjoyed that.
I actually got some flak over that line from people who say, "But... but... sometimes you ARE really just trying to help people when you correct their grammar." To which I say, "Well... as long as you have love in your heart... cool!" LOL :D
Thanks for watching! :D
sorry my English isn't good, hope you understand me anyhow... yes I enjoyed it (and the whole video) very much :) Thank you for taking the effort and put up videos like that (so now you can correct my grammar ;) )
I have no problem understanding you... Your grammar is excellent, so I won't be obnoxious and correct every minute detail LOL xD
@Michael Sheen Sorry I missed your comment from way back. (Thanks, UA-cam!) I hope you're still enjoying learning and languages. Never stop learning!
I wish you if you were my professor.
Very quiet , serious in special kind way.
I am about to study linguistics.
Thank you for sharing this.
Very formative . Thank you again and again.
Thank you so much! You just cleared up some things for me, and you reassured me that linguistics is truly the career path for me. I LOVE LANGUAGES!
Thank *you* for watching! I'm glad it cleared some things up. As a linguist myself, I'm very biased, but I think producing language is an awesome human skill! Many aspects of language are very interesting. I hope you find your passion in it.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing you passion. Come back for other videos! :D
I’m studying foreign languages and I absolutely love learning new languages, I speak Spanish and English, and I’m currently learning French and German, my goal is to manage at least 5-7 languages.
I love languages myself, too! The only problem with being multilingual is having to keep up with all of them so you don't lose them. #polyglotproblems :D
Keep it up! I believe learning languages can open your mind and many doors. -- Marc Franco
hello sir
i just want to inform you that your video is curntly used by a teacher from algerai as a homework for the students
great video .
First, I like to thank you for developing this channel. I love learning about language. The origins of words and how they've evolved over time and why. One of the things that draws me to certain channels is the host. Are they enjoying what they do and happy that what their interested in, others may be interested as well. You don't dumb down the information but you do make it clear in a way that everyone can understand. I think it's a little too late for me to go in this field but I really enjoy learning from you.
Hi , my name is Alison , I am currently studying Linguistics in South Africa. I have always been intrigued by the various forms of language, phonetics and syntax we all use on a daily basis and it has given me much desire to pursue a career within the field itself. However , I was not sure as to what exactly I should do within this field but after watching your video, You have truly given me some insight as to what I can do with my degree and thereafter. So for that , I thank you Sir. Keep well and God bless.
Alison, it always makes me very happy to know that one of my videos was as helfpul as it seems to have been for you! One way to find out more about the possibility in the field is to reach out to professionals already working in the area. If you have access to someone in the field, give them a call, tell them about your interest in linguistics, and ask questions. (Typically, people are very willing to share their knowledge because we are all proud of what we do.) You might even get to talk to people face-to-face and see some of what they do.
If you talk to one person, they may be able to refer you to others working in related areas; people may be even more receptive to talking to you if you have someone else making the introduction. Soon enough, you may be able to find out about things people are doing that you may not even have imagined on your own.
A less direct approach is to go to your library and look at all the journals in linguistics they have. Read a lot of abstracts in as many journals as you have available (both in applied linguistics and more "academic" areas). Again, this will give you an indication of the type of work people are doing out there, and you may surprise yourself by being interested in some area that you may not have thought of on your own.
Thanks for watching and for the lovely comment! :D
thank you for the perspective! I always think of my linguistics professors when I smell old books :)
Haha! That's some way to be remembered... but at least they *are* remembered. :D
I hope you are enjoying the channel. Thanks for watching! :D
YES LINGUISTICS IN EDUCATION! I’m training to be a teacher and HATE when people tell me my Linguistics minor is useless! Not when you want to be an ESL. Love the video❤️
+Brooke Jonas Good luck with your training! // It’s possible, but... I can’t fathom becoming an ESL teacher without some (really) good understanding of language/linguistics! Do your thing and spread some knowledge to the naysayers! LOL // Thanks for watching and for the positive feedback. :D
Just started an Introduction to Applied Linguistics Course and was brought to this video. Thank you, it is very informative.
Glad you've found it useful! Out of curiosity... did you search for it, or did your instructor direct your fellow students to the video?
Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment
@@snaplanguage Hi,
Future Learn (online learning) provided a link in the introduction of the course..
Thank you for making it more clear. Most people in my country also think that a linguist knows a lot of languages. We can also specialize in a specific field such as translators, applied linguistics, research, etc.
You bet. The area is very broad, and there are many things you can do in it.
Thanks for watching and leaving the comment! :D
great video. I always receive some racism mixed with confusion when I tell my friends what I'm studying.
Most ask me if I know "the root of all greek words" or "which language is the most rich" and I always have to debunk some things :)
Thanks for the compliment!
Hah! We need to educate people... one person at a time. :)
Thanks for watching! I have a list of "about language/linguistics" videos on my to-do list. I hope you will enjoy them, too.
In addition to the fields mentioned here in linguistics, I have also heard of political and business advertisers who study linguistics (or who hire linguistic advisors) who counsel companies, politicians and advertising agencies on which words, phrases & terms seem most appropriate for which occasions and for which target audiences. Since the field is very general - study of language, it makes perfect sense that people would study this. Given the needs and inabilities of many public figures and companies, it is completely believable that they would need additional help from time to time.
Cool. Linguists specializing in semantics, more specifically cognitive semantics, can go deep into how we process individual words and messages. Of course, politicians and advertisers seize on that for the sake of creating the most effective messages. (It can quickly get into "manipulation" of the message.)
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel.
Thank you so much. It’s such an interesting video to watch. I hold an MA in English linguistics and I’m currently working as a lecturer of English. I aspire to further my studies and dig deeper into the world of linguistics.
That’s great! There’s always something new to learn in linguistics (but then, I’m biased because I love it).
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment:)
I don't understand why is it that grammar suddenly is viewed as something bad or even evil and 'obnoxious'? I mean whether it's prescriptive or descriptive it's still grammar, people that speak non-standard varieties of a language still use certain consistent patterns and adhere to some consistent rules, those rules and patterns may be different from what is regarded as the standard variety of their langauge but their variety still has grammar, otherwise it wouldn't be a langauge. There is no langauge without grammar, grammar is an essential, one might even say an indiscpensible part of any langauge, why shy away from it and sweep it under the rug as if it were not important - it is important, especially for practical purposes, if you want to learn a new langauge you have to somehow learn and eventually interiorise its grammar, there's no way around that.
And saying that linguistics is not about grammar is like saying that medicine has nothing to do with anatomy - it makes no sense whatsoever. When a linguist comes across a new language and they need to figure out how it works the main part of their job is discovering the grammar of that language, the patterns that people adhere to when they speak it. no grammar - no language
Hi, Igor. Thanks! That's a great comment, and I understand where you're coming from.
As a professor, I correct my students' grammar errors because they are expected to use "standard English grammar" in an academic setting. In that sense, "good grammar" is considered appropriate for the setting. What generally comes across as obnoxious is when people correct others in inappropriate situations. I myself switch to a less formal register when I leave the classroom...
Linguistics is about language. Standard and formal grammar are but one facet of language, and it is usually established by scholars rather artificially at some point in the history of many languages. In other words, one day, some dude decided that we should not split infinitives, so "to boldly go where no one has gone before" is supposedly ungrammatical by some even though it makes no sense whatsoever not to be able to split infinitives. (There are many examples of "rules" that came into English for no good reason other than some stuffy guy saying it should be so.)
You're right, when linguists come across new languages, they try to figure out the grammar of the language but not necessarily the "standard grammar." They go to speakers (aka informants) and record what they say without any concern whether or not what they say is considered "correct" by a local grammarian. At some point, the linguists may realize that there are grammatical differences when speakers use the language in different situations. These are then recorded as language varieties or registers (not good or bad grammar).
It is the speakers of that language themselves who might inform the linguists that one grammar form is considered "correct" or "incorrect." The linguists will then say "cool" and carry on with their work of understanding the language, now knowing that the language has formal and informal varieties.
Thanks again for the comment. It got me thinking about a lot of cool stuff :)
Hey, I really liked this video. It was really informative and clear. This is why I wanted to ask if you could make a video about the different branches of linguistics. I am interested in studying linguistics but only in one paticular topic, which is basically how language is percieved. But so far I haven't been able to find reliable information on how something like that is called so that I can actually go ahead and look into studying that. So I think a video on the different branches of linguistics would be really helpful. Would be really thankful I you would do that. :)
That would actually be an interesting follow-up video. I will add it to my list of future videos.
In the meantime, take a look at this: www.linguistlist.org/LL/LingSubfields.cfm
You could also go to a library (if you have a large one available in your area) and look at their collection of journals. It could give you an idea what is out there.
Thanks for the suggestion and question! :D
3:22 working as a linguist in the film industry combinates these two disciplines which I love!
That is awesome! If you can combine all your passions into your job, you are definitely a fortunate person.
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment :D
A lot of this stuff I try to clear up to people when I tell them I'm a linguist haha glad to know we all share a lot of the same thoughts!
Carrying the torch for big brother🔥 Alex Trebec would be so proud 👍🏾
R.I.P., Alex 👍
I was thinking of studying linguistics. I will, I think. Great video. Nice execution.
Thank you for the nice comment, Aaman. Good luck in your studies. I hope you enjoy learning linguistics as much as I do!
Thanks for watching! I hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel :D
Very good information and expect more from you on the topic semantics.
Thank you!
Semantics... Thanks for the suggestion. It is actually an interesting topic to think about.
Thanks so much for the video. I'm studying linguistics in Ghana and I really love it.
You are very welcome. Glad it was helpful!
Good luck with your studies!
Thanks for taking the time to say "hello."
Such a great way of explaining the common misconceptions concerning the prescriptive/descriptive viewpoint. Unfortunately, this perspective is often too pervasive within the academic study of music theory. A linguistic approach to formal music theory and cognition would certainly be enlightening. Thanks for the great video!
I am a linguist from Zimbabwe and I laughed when I watched this video because I recalled the number of times people said to me 'oh so you speak a lot of languages' after I had told them I'm a linguist. At first my colleagues and I used to get angry then we realized we had to raise awareness among the public. Its so sad that linguistics is not given its worth. Language is at the center of all human activities because its what we use to communicate. Because language is everywhere, there are so many language related problems in the world and if linguists all over the world could be given an opportunity to resolve these with their knowledge and expertise the world would become a better place. Thanks for the video.
Hello, fellow linguist! Thanks for the comment. I agree... when someone has no clue what linguistics is about, we should use it as an opportunity to educate.
I enjoyed reading your comment... thanks for taking the time :D
My major is English language. This video made me even more excited to study language.
Awesome! I'm glad the video inspired you even more! :D
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
Do you think learning linguistics will help people learn foreign languages. I've taken an intro course in linguistics in college and then took a french class. I found I was better at understanding grammatical concepts like direct object vs. indirect object, and I could easily impress my teacher by constructing a quite complicated and grammatically correct sentence using my knowledge of how predicate, nouns, phrase and clause work. But I feels like it helps more at reading and writing, which involve more elaborate mode of thinking. To really speak fluently and proficiently (BTW, you can't really learn a language from any exam-oriented course taught in school), you need to rely on a more automatic/spontaneous mode of thinking, which I feel linguistic knowledge is of little help. However, it might not be necessary to explicitly learn these terminologies for language learning. I guess many polyglots have internalized all these magic rules of language by exposing to many languages. To what extent do you think linguistics is useful for second language acquisition?
Some people are more aware of language itself... you probably are, which is why you decided to take a course in linguistics. Understanding language at a deeper level makes you aware of what's going on in the native and additional language(s). As a result, when you study the grammar and writing portion of a language, you are more aware of how things work.
Listening and speaking develop naturally, but reading and writing are artificial activities. People can speak a language perfectly without learning how to read in or write it. That's probably why, as you mentioned, linguistic awareness is not very helpful in listening and speaking, but it does help with reading and writing.
Great comment! I hope you are enjoying the channel!
Thank you! I am hoping to go back to school for linguistics and I am so excited! This is a great video to link to my friends and family who don't quite get what and especially WHY I'm doing this. lol
Hah! I'm glad you found it useful. When I decided to follow a career in linguistics, many people scratched their heads. I realized that I could educate them a little so it was a win win for everyone. :)
Good luck with your studies! I hope you find it as challenging and exciting as I did. :D
Wonderful! Thanks for the clarification!!
Hi all.
Recently been reading about linguistics and in particular, Chomsky.
I see his theories and whatnot about universal grammar etc.
My reason for creating this post is, what is the actual point of linguistics? Outside of people analysing things, what does it actually do? What useful purpose does it serve for anyone outside of an academic setting?
I'll admit i've not been reading about it for a long time but i'm struggling to see what important program, method of learning or anything has come out of (particularly Chomskyist) linguistics?
So, let's say Universal Grammar is true - and this is supposed to be one of the greatest pieces of work in known linguistics - what changed? What good did it do for people practically learning languages?
As far as i can see, linguistics as a science exists just for other linguists and actually has no useful practical application at all.
Ok, people might say 'we understand better how languages are acquired' or whatever, but people have learned languages for as long as we've been able to use them so it's not actually done anything except help people understand it better.
What am i missing?
Hi! Thanks for leaving the comment. In addition to studying linguistics as an academic subject per se, there are many applications that people are not even aware of. An easy example is that educators use the knowledge that linguists advance about language and language acquisition to create effective teaching methodologies and instructional materials. Foreign language instructors can certainly teach a language without knowing a lick of linguistics, but those who understand second-language acquisition and language processing are much better equipped as instructors. In artificial intelligence (AI), you must have an in-depth understanding of how language works to program computers and gadgets that can process voice commands and produce intelligible responses.
In a way, you could say that, by itself, linguistics is mostly an academic subject; however, it has many applications which require knowledge and expertise in other areas. For example, linguistics can be applied to AI, but you must also have an understanding of AI and all it entails.
Thanks for watching and, again, for leaving a detailed comment. :D
Oh yes, Prescriptive.Heard that learning Medicine and that linguistic course. My old textbook contained plenty of 'trees' about English grammar that drove me wild.It's not too late to be the linguist like the one you've described.
Thank you this.Now i understand what linguistics is and what it is not!
Congratulations! Very well explained and with clear practical examples! Very useful if I myself am asked. Thanks
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D
will being a polyglot count as a bonus point when applying to a linguistics course at university?
If you are applying to a linguistics program, it probably depends on the institution. Being a polyglot shows that you have an academic bent. If they were deciding between two equally qualified applicants, I'm sure some institutions would consider multilingualism a "bonus point."
Thanks for watching and good luck with your college/graduate applications! :D
Hlw
Being a polyglot is a bonus point in life, in general.
As an Indonesian, learning English linguistics is really really hard but i do enjoy it :)
I can only imagine what it would be like to learn linguistics in another language but, if it is something you enjoy doing, it will get easier as you go along. Knowledge is power--in any language! Keep it up! :D
Thank you so much. I've decided to study my Master in Socio-Linguistics.
I enjoy sociolinguistics a lot. Studying language on its own is great, but... languages are spoken in a socio-cultural context, so sociolinguistics is... well, awesome :D
I study the British Isles ancient languages as a hobby, but I can't speak even one -- not even English, ha ha. I have always hesitated to call myself a linguist or amateur linguist. Your video clarified the topic. Now I don't feel so hesitant. Thank you.
I guess it is possible to know a language without speaking it or to speak it without "knowing" it. lol
Thanks for watching. Glad you found it helpful. :D
Nice and good video which explains very well what linguistics is.
thank you so much for correcting some of my misconception .
Always welcome! Glad you found the video useful.
Enjoy the channel
What an awesome video, thanks and greetings from Colombia.
Saludos +Lorena Devia Leguizamòn Thank you for the kind comment and for watching the video. I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel :D
I'm going to view everything, so I'm sure that I'm going to like it. I love to learn new things. I love linguistics.
The channel was idle for a while, but I have started making videos again. Many are about reading but, now that the reading part is rather complete, there will be more about language and linguistics. -- Enjoy! :D
This video is a godsend! Thanks so much!
That's great! I always love to hear that these videos are helpful in some way. I hope you enjoy the other videos as well! :D
I first became interested in this when I found a very large book in my public library under the index files (this was long before the internet). This book was about the etymology and origins of words and phrases. I was fascinated!! Unfortunately it was a reference volume so I couldn't check it out and take it home.
I'm not an expert in etymology, but I do find it fascinating, too. Some word origins are quite a trip.
Have you seen my video on etymology? ua-cam.com/video/cSAW4FSA8Dg/v-deo.html
I enjoyed doing the research for it. I might even do some new ones on interesting word origins.
Make sure you click the bell button so you're notified when new videos come out.
Cheers! :D
I wish if you were my professor.
You are very quiet and a serious in a kind way.
I am about to study linguistics .
Thank you for sharing this.
It is very formative.
Thank you! In a way, I *am* your professor because you're watching my videos lol
Best of luck with your studies!
Thank you for this video, even if im a few years late thanking you:)
University is coming soon and ive been confused for years, but now i think ive found something im interested in!
Thanks for leaving such a cool comment. I hope some of my videos will have a long shelf life, so it's never too late to learn about misconceptions about linguistics or leave a comment. I am always happy to hear that one of our videos had a positive impact on someone. I hope you continue pursuing your interests! Thanks again for the comment! :D
I have always loved reading and writing. Over the years I have realized that whenever I was writing down notes for stories, it wasn't really the stories I was interested in; I just loved making lists of all sorts of words. I haven't been great at writing but I love how certain words are so satisfying to say and I oftentimes catch myself marveling at how everyone around me learned to speak English fluently without having to think about how we did it. Learning a foreign language has also helped me appreciate English grammar and it's my best and favorite subject - I'm actually studying abroad this year in Belgium for an entire school year, hopefully to improve my French. At school, I've befriended people who speak Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Swahili... and I am so fascinated about their language that I've asked them to teach me some basic phrases and I teach them French in return. It's also allowed me to become closer to them and their friends for showing an appreciation for their language and learning about their cultures. I don't know what to do with it, but I'm 99% sure I want to major in something language-related in college. And it's kinda funny because I'm one of the quietest people who is really uncomfortable speaking with others but I think part of it is that when I speak in another language I feel free to make mistakes. Language is beautiful.
Hi, thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
It sounds like you are a linguist at heart--or at least an honorary linguist! :D
I, too, love languages and learning different ways people communicate ideas in different languages. And it is true that as you learn new languages, your native language improves. That is so because you become more aware of language per se, so you start becoming more aware how your own language works.
Good luck with your studies! Belgium is such a lovely country... :D
Great information. Thank you for sharing this knowledge.
My pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed the content! :D
What do LINGUISTS DO? 4:00
Hi... I'm not sure if you have a question there...
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into field linguistics (working with documenting, revitalizing, learning and/or teaching endangered languages), but who is middle-aged, already holds two science degrees, and doesn't want to have to go back to school (or into debt) to get yet another degree?
Hi, Jason. Yours is an interesting situation. If I were in your shoes, I would somehow try to contact someone locally who does the type of work you mentioned--or at least something closely related to it. They would be better equipped than anyone to tell you whether or not there are points of entry into that area without necessarily earning a degree in linguistics or related field. Perhaps there are ways you can start doing some work as some sort of an "apprentice" and hopefully get deeper into it due to your experience. It may be a long shot, but... well... we always have to get started somewhere.
This sounds like an interesting new adventure... and I wish you the very best. If you have the opportunity, let me know what you find out.
What degrees do you already have? did you start doing something with linguistics?
My native language is Thai and my second language is English. And I also studying Thai sign language. I has been looking for a possibility to study sign language in lisguistic way because I also work in a mime company and work with deaf people and have so many things I am curious about.
But I was like is it going to work? Because the school here seem to focus more on Asean ethic languages.
But you confirm my idea. Thank you so much.
When the time is right I'll go back to school for Phd.
I love it, thank you so much, Sir 😊
Most welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the content :D
@@snaplanguage 😊❤️
That was really interesting clarifying, thank you!
Thank you for your brief and clear explanation.
I studied Linguistics in general and Applied Linguistics when I was in English Education undergrad program. Now, I am working as a translator for a living and teaching English to younglings sometimes.
However, I personally do love the language itself and be fascinated by the the theories around it. So, while looking for available scholarships, I have planned to take a master degree next year. Could you give me some suggestions on what study program in linguistics that I should take?
Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words!
I'm not sure I'd be a good source of information as I've been away from school for a long time. I recommend you talk to professors or students in the programs you're interested in. Many professors will be glad to help you out because you're showing an interest in their field.
All the best! :D
thank you so much...... I'm linguist too
Fami Gojaev That's awesome! I hope you'll enjoy the language-related videos. New ones will be posted soon.
Thanks for watching! :)
I look forward to watching
Interesting video, thanks. Love the animated "air quotes" :-D
Genial. Voy a estudiar lingüística, y de verdad que hay muchos mal entendidos con respecto a esta carrera. Me pasa mucho cuando alguien me pregunta -¿qué quieres estudiar? ¿qué es lingüística? jajaja.
Recuerdo cuando decidí ser lingüista. Recibía la reacción que describeste también! "Qué? Qué hacen los lingüistas? Se puede ganar dinero haciendo eso?" jaja No dejes que eso te moleste. Es una oportunidad para ayudar a los otros a entenderlo. :D
Thanks for watching y por darme la oportunidad para practicar mi español roto. :D
Man I love these videos. Have you stopped making new videos?
Hi! Thank you so much for the compliment.
I have stopped for a while, but I am already working on a few more. I hope to post new videos every two weeks or so.
That would be awesome
Explained clearly. Thank you.
Thank you for the lovely comment, Lee. Glad you're enjoying the channel. :D
Great video!!! Thank you!
+Ach Carmis It was a fun video to put together, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching! :)
amazing!!! some Mauritian english teachers should definitely watch this video to open up their little bird's minds.
Everybody should watch these videos! \:D/ lol
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
The greatest invention ever written language
Yeah, it's hard to think of many things as impactful as that... the wheel perhaps?
Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment! -- Cheers
thank you sir for this video..my friends often ask me this questions but i am unable to clear their doubts, but now i can do so...sir please can you make a video on the scope or job offered in linguistics and the exact path to tackle those jobs....
I'm glad you found this helpful. I have had many questions about the scope and job paths in linguistics. It is a very complex topic, but I will see how I can summarize useful information in 10 minutes or less...
Thank you for watching and for the suggestion! :D
I live in the Canary Islands where, on a couple of the islands we have languages in which we communicate by whistling. Just adding that to your mention of sign language, because sometimes people come and study this. Recently a couple of films were made which used it too.
Thanks for the clarification!
My dream job would be working as a linguist, but I have some doubts: how difficult is it to find a job as a linguist? Is the salary of a linguist decent? Where do linguists work (university, office...)? Would it be difficult to be a linguist in Iceland (maybe you don't know, but don't worry, just curious)?
Thanks for your help!
I am not sure how to answer these questions. It all depends greatly on where you are and what kind of work you want to do. For example, most people do not even know what linguists do in the United States; however, they are more "respected" in most of Europe.
I explained where linguists work in the video. You can do field work (which means you might work in a foreign country, in the middle of a desert or a jungle), or you can work in a university (likely in a book-filled office). You can apply your knowledge of linguistics to education or in industry. It all depends on what you do with it after you earn your degree.
As you are interested in it, I would recommend you should try to contact colleges and see if you can actually visit with people that work in the area. They should be able to point you in different directions other than the typical college job.
Good luck! :D
Love it!!!
:D Thank you!
Hi, love how this video explains so much so well! What advice do you have for someone who is just starting to learn linguistics, especially about domain oriented things like navigating Ethnologue, figuring out the API table and such things? Could you please make a video about that?
Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying our videos.
I'm not sure about design. That's probably something you end up learning through experience. Language is *everywhere*, and we often take it for granted, ignoring how people may interpret what we say or write. You have language awareness on your side as someone interested in language and linguistics. Keep your ears and eyes open, and have fun! :D
Great video! I should've entered the linguistic field years ago! ( I'm dabbling with TEFL at the moment....) :)
TEFL is a great field (but I'm biased, of course). You'll run into a lot of topics in applied linguistics.
Best wishes on your TEFL adventures :D
@@snaplanguage Hello! Thanks for replying to my comment. Any recommendations on finding good TEFL employers? Could you post a video on entering the TEFL, and wider applied linguistics field? Many thanks again. 😄
Historical linguistics sounds fascinating, but I'm worried that if I get the minor (my university doesn't offer a major) that the only available jobs would involve translation or interpretation snd I don't want to go into a legal field. what are some more job opportunities for linguists? I will slso have a German major if that helps.
Hi, thanks for the comment. There are several links under this video that you may find helpful. One of them, is "Why major in linguistics" by the Linguistic Society of America. It may cover some of the information you need. Of course, everything looks better on paper, so I recommend you should find linguists that are willing to chat with you about their career paths. They may be able to introduce you to other linguists in other areas as well.
Talking to several people who navigated their way through the area of linguistics and found their niches may give you a better idea of career paths than a single source. I'd love to hear back from you and learn what you found out, if you'd like to share it.
All the best!.. and thanks for watching :D
You just got a subscriber from Brazil (who is a linguist)
Great ! I am going to follow you.
Welcome to Snap Language! I hope you enjoy our videos and materials.
Cheers! :D
Hey great video , really loved the editing and your very friendly manner and attitude.
I do have a question though, so I'm a younger person (15) and I want to start trying to head in the direction of a career .. and I as a person love language, I love foreign languages (I'm learning French and Japanese and I'm fluent in English and Spanish) and my councilor at school said that if I like language I should be a linguist.. but I'm not quite sure your field has exactly what a want to do. I for one would love to have a career that involves knowing a lot about many languages and cultures, and I'm having trouble finding what field that would exactly be in. Any idea? Thanks
Flare Fights I'm going through the same situation now! Although I haven't found anything about knowing many different languages and cultures, if you chose to major in a foreign language you will have to learn the history and culture of those that speak their language, as well as read some literature. But that's just focusing on one language or two. With foreign language though there's a lot you can still do, I was handed a list and some of those things included teaching English as a second language, being a tour guide, being a translator, and, of course, freelance work. If you figure anything else out pertaining to studying multiple languages please let me know, since, as I said, I'm in the same situation now! Im sorry I realize wasn't as helpful as I tried to be.
Hi! Thanks for the feedback.
Deciding on a career is difficult at any age. Try to see what you picture yourself doing. For example, do you see yourself traveling a lot or sitting in an office, or working outside or inside, or using your hands or your mostly mind? and so on... Then think of careers that would give you the opportunity to do what you like.
Linguistics is generally an academic discipline. You also have applied linguistics, though, where you need the knowledge of linguistics to do something related--for example, to teach English to speakers of other languages. Translators and interpreters can be very brainy, and they have to read a lot in the area they specialize in (such as translating for science, the humanities, or what)...
Or you can do something that has nothing to do with linguistics per se but where you can use other languages as part of your job (such as in commerce).
I'm not sure I'm being very helpful... but I hope you can find your ***passion!*** :D
Keep me posted!
As a linguist, it is important to speak different languages to be able to better understand how the languages work.
There are many shades of gray when it comes to that. It certainly helps to *know* about many languages because it gives you a broader perspective on what is possible in natural languages. It comes with the territory, too, because, as a linguist, you will end up learning how other languages works. Yet, *speaking* or *acquiring* them, especially at a high level of proficiency is not necessary unless your area of specialization requires you to do so.
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you're enjoying the channel.
Great video! If i may ask, at 2:56 are you referring to computational linguistics? And if so, is that a possible field of study for someone who starts off as a linguist? I was led to believe you have to be a computer scientist.
I'm not 100% sure. There are undergraduate courses and master's programs in computational linguistics. I'm sure if you apply for a job and already have a computational linguistics degree, you'd be better off. However, it's quite possible that some employers would also look at other qualifications (that is, if you have relevant experience).
I searched online and found this information (I don't know how reliable these web sites are):
• study.com/articles/Become_a_Computational_Linguist_Career_Roadmap.html
• medium.com/@emilymenonbender/is-it-worth-it-to-go-to-grad-school-in-computational-linguistics-7234f0bd4981
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment/question! :D
Very informative video, thank you! I am considering studying linguistics but because I am blind I am concerned about resource formats and accessibility barriers. Do you know of any visually impaired linguists and what tools they use for study?
Well i do love formal grammar too
Me, too! Formal grammar is useful to create a standard that everyone can follow (e.g., in publications and businesses) that everyone understands. The problem sometimes is that some of the "grammar" rules stop making much sense to hold on to when language evolves. "Never end a sentence with a preposition" is another rule I absolutely do not follow anymore LOL
Some linguists do study formal grammar-why the rules came to be and how rules are evolving. That can be an interesting area if that's what someone is interested in. (See? I just finished a sentence with a preposition! ) :D
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you enjoy the other language- and linguistics-related videos on the channel.
Thank you very much. This was really helpful. I have one more question, though. Will linguists have a role to play in the Artificial Intelligence field in the future? Secondly, do I need to have technical expertise besides a linguistics degree to land such a job?
This is a very interesting question, and I'm not sure we have all the information to really understand what we will need to develop AI full because it is a relatively new field. From your comment, I surmise that you are thinking about AI that could interact with humans in a natural way (i.e., a machine that talks to humans naturally). If that's what you mean, I would definitely say that linguists will play an important role in the development of AI.
As for the type of training required to develop intelligent machines capable of language, I have no idea. I would think that linguists and engineers would have to work closely together and that they would have to understand each other's field so they can collaborate intelligently. I'm sure someone who has training in both linguistics AND technology would be a rare commodity...
Thanks for watching and leaving such an intriguing comment/question! :D
People tend to not hear about linguistics ever or have misconceptions about it; which is so weird for me. As personally, the first time I knew about linguistics I already had a concept of what people would study within that major. Later on, when I got serious with it, it was the same so I didn’t get shocked or surprised at all. That’s also why I really want to study linguistics at college but my country doesn’t appreciate or know anything about this major enough, simply it’s not the best place to study linguistics. I’m thinking about studying abroad but…I don’t know, will I make it or not? Since studying abroad is expensive and I want no money from my parents to go to waste.
Thanks for the comment. Sorry to hear about your predicament. You can still learn a lot on your own but, of course, having a degree with it is even better.
All the best!
Thanks I hope this helps me a lot
Linguistics
--> language acquisiton
.. that's what I'd love to learn :)
Language acquisition (namely, second-language acquisition) is something I'm very interested in, too.
So much to learn... :D
do you have videos on that topic then? That would be great!!
Not yet. I do have a list of topics that I would like to cover in future videos, and second-language acquisition is there somewhere. I do a lot of research on each video, so the production phase takes time. I'll get to it sometime (soon I hope!:)
that would be great! Because second language acquisition is a difficult task for a lot of people (including me 😟), and I'm sure you as a linguist have SO MUCH helpful advice to offer!!!
Considering you are learning English, I'd say you are doing VERY well!
Sometimes I make a video that I think people will be interested in, but it only gets a handful of views. I think language acquisition would be a topic of interest for the channel, though. I will move it to the top of the list.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I want to become a linguist for speech pathology💛
Speech pathology is an awesome field, which involves more than just linguistics. Good luck!
And thanks for watching! Stay tuned for more language-related videos coming up soon... :D
I like to describe linguistics as "the study of language as a science". I like to throw the names of some of my favorite analysis tools at the uninformed to see what kind of reactions I get with terms like: articulatory phonetics, phonology, morphology, generative grammar, tagmemics, and acoustics of speech.
People are confused enough about linguistics as it is! LOL
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I hope you're enjoying the other videos on the channel.
thank you so much
There are a couple other career options that people seem to always forget. The first one is working at a police station as a forensic linguist. You basically help to distinguish what's an actual threat and what is not based on the use of language. You can also work at schools in different ways than just a teacher. A lot of people have language disorders like dyslexia for example. You can help them as a linguist by giving them extra exercises and rules that'll help them. There are also a lot of linguists working in hospitals with people with aphasia and other neurological disorders that affect speech or the processing of language.
Linguistics are honestly so broad, you'll find us fucking anywhere.
Thanks for the awesome comment! Language is *everywhere!* It's no wonder linguistics has so many applications. It's too bad more people do not have more language awareness (metacognitive awareness)...
Thanks for watching and leaving a well thought out comment!
@@snaplanguage No problem! I'm currently studying linguistics and the amount of people I've had to explain what it is that I'm studying honestly surprised me. So yeah.
I'm not linguistic but I agree on all you say.
Thank you. I now know what ligustic entails.
Language is the most amazing thing that human beings can do.
Well, I'm a linguist, so I must agree! -- Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! :D
A person who studies language/languages in depth is a linguist but not one who speaks more languages. good idea.
Sound right :D
Thanks for watching!
Everyone should watch this video.
Bock Saga - 8 Powers, part 1 (by Jim Chesnar)
Thank u sir
You are very welcome! Thanks for supporting the channel 😄
Hi Marc, i do like linguistics so much and i am studing pure Maths, i am attempting to do some work in which linguistics is involved into math and vicecersa. Do you have any information about such tematics? Thanks Marc :)
Funny you ask that because I will start working with math this summer... I have not done it before, but I will have people in the math department at a local college helping me bridge the gap. I'm sure I'll learn a lot of new things... exciting...
It will be interesting find some videos in your channel about what you could learn at your investigation :D
Abece Eleme, Maths and linguistics is a very interesting combination. I know researchers who have degrees in maths and physics, and are now involved in fields, such as neurolinguistics and language and genetics. Their mathematical background is really useful when statistically analysing data. There was also this one researcher (can't remember what he'd majored in), who was working in historical and evolutionary linguistics, and worked a lot with Bayesian models to analyse and predict linguistic relationships between modern languages. Then there's the field of computational linguistics, which deals with topics such as speech recognition, speech synthesis, automated translation etc. In short, plenty of fields where a mathematical background is really useful.
Neurolinguistics sounds like an interesting field. Language cuts across so many areas that it is always possible to imagine how someone could marry linguistics to other interests.
Hi, great video. Question: can a person who studied languages (with formal conceptions related to linguistic) be considered a linguist?
Hi, Jennifer. Thanks for watching and for the interesting question.
To answer your question, I believe it is a matter of who is asking. In a very strict sense, a linguist is someone who studies linguistics and has a college degree in linguistics. A university or company would probably require formal training for someone to be consider for a job in linguistics. However, you could also argue that someone who studies linguistics (without the "formal training") could be an excellent linguist and contribute to the field just as much.
As you yourself seemed to point out, studying languages per se does not make you a linguist, but if you study the formal concepts in linguistics as they apply to language acquisition, I would argue you are indeed a linguist.
I am sure there are "purists" out there who would disagree and say that you must have formal training to be a linguist. I would simply say that you can be a chef in your own kitchen (and a darn good chef) without going to culinary school or working in a restaurant.
Again, thanks for the question. I hope you are enjoying the rest of the channel. :D
Snap Language Thanks for your answer. I am really into linguistics but I studied languages and many times people tell me you are not a linguistic because your diploma does not say it. I will be following you from now on.
Well, as I mentioned before, "technically," you cannot say you are a *trained linguist* unless you have the appropriate degree in it. "Backyard astronomers" do not have degrees in astronomy but often make important discoveries using their makeshift observatories. There's no harm in that.
Thank you very much for subscribing! :D
I found this clip informative
What's your advice for a high schooler who would want to pursue a career path in linguistics? Great video btw.
Translation of languages belongs to Applied Linguistics, so translators are also linguists.
+opus88888 Exactly. Translators are linguists, but not all linguists are translators. :)
Thank you for your informative video. I'm back to school after a forty-year break to pursue a major that I have had passion for, for years; which is Linguistics. May I ask if you have a degree in Linguistics?
Hi, Sam!
Yes, I have a bachelor's degree in linguistics and a doctoral degree in human development (with an emphasis on socio-linguistics).
I think it's great you're back in school! "Never stop learning" is a great motto, right?
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment! -- Marc Franco
l loved it!
Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Make sure you clicked the bell when you subscribed to receive all notifications. This way, you won't miss any of our new videos.
Cheers! :D
I consider myself a linguist, even though I don't actually have a degree. I admit, I question whether or not I have the right to call myself a linguist when I've never taken one linguistic course and never will (primarly because I've never been able to find one, I've actually to explain to people at colleges what linguistics is, its shocking how so few people have heard of it). I've also thought about buying actual linguistic books, but oh my god those things are expensive! I mean, 'the world's writing systems' goes for over $100! And for a linguistics book, that's cheap!
But I have read up as much as I can online. I specialize in phonology, if it matters. I've been doing this for a decade now, so I would assume I know something by this point.
I originally got into it because of my fascination with Esperanto. I tried to push it to a bunch of people on a linguistics board (well, more a conlanging board than anything else) and they kept bashing on all its flaws and refused to acknowledge it had any value. Finally, I just said 'well, if you think Esperanto is so flawed, then why don't you make an ideal auxlang yourself?' They insisted over and over again that it couldn't be done, so I decided that I would learn linguistics and do it myself! As for how that idea went, I agree with them now, it is futile -.- Luckily linguistics still holds appeal to me, even if I don't really have a use for it.
Thanks for watching and the comment! As for considering yourself a linguist, why not? I wouldn't put it in a resume under "Educational Background" , but if it *is* a special interest you know a lot about, you should take pride in it.
I think one of the main problem facing Esperanto is bad PR. I've heard all the "problems" people point out and, in my opinion, they are all pretty silly. It was never meant to be "the perfect language," so why should its imperfections be a problem? Esperanto speakers often advertise it as "a perfectly regular language" that "has no ambiguities." Then, of course, when people dig into it and find imperfections and ambiguities, they go "Aha! Esperanto sucks!" lol
Also, most people associate a language with a culture that developed over a long time. Because Esperanto lacks that "naturally occurring" history and culture, many people think it is not worth learning.
People will always have their own opinions why you should or shouldn't learn one language or another. Perhaps people should just learn whatever language *they* please. :D
Thank you so much, (YOUR LINGUIST YOU HAVE TO ELABORATE THIS POINT ...) this is what i heard daily it is makes me somehow worried ,even they makes me feel like go and study more and more because (I AM LINGUISTS)
Thanks for the comment! As an educator, I do not mind hearing people's misunderstandings about linguistics because it gives me an opportunity to clarify them. We can educate people one person at a time.
Thanks for watching! :D
In our language, the word "linguistics" is simply the word "language" followed by "study" so few of us would have these mist.
Interesting... this is similar to -logy (meaning "study"), which combines with other ancient words like "biology" (study of living things) or "phonology" (study of language sounds). Unfortunately, in English, the pattern breaks down with "linguistics" -- why not "linguology", right? lol
These irregularities is what makes languages difficult but really interesting :)
Thanks for leaving the comment! :D
Being a wannabe linguist I imagined myself in the future in a vintage office with a bunch of books that I don't read :P
Thanks a lot.
Thank you for watching! I hope you enjoy my other existing and future videos :D
Yeah, of course. Thanks again.
He said all of it🤗