未分類A more objective approach to the question.
"Language makes us uniquely human... language provides us with a unique window through which we can investigate a fundamental aspect of what it is to be human." (Language Files)
If only we can speak languages, then by inspecting it, we are sure to find out something interesting about our society.
And further more...
We use language everyday. We can't live without communication.
Language will never disappear from our society.
So it's gotta do some good to study it, right?
We all speak a language, but all languages are variable. Even within one language, each of its speakers has his own identity. No one possesses the same speaking style.
By studying language, we can communicate better. We can understand better.
Some practical usages of language studies:
- developing better teaching tools for language instruction
- artificial intelligence and communication
- treating speech and language disorders
- application of linguistic analysis in judicial settings
- advertising
- translation / interpretation
- language preservation
I took a Speech Pathology seminar my first semester in college, because I saw it as a practical application of Linguistics. It was a nice little seminar... I learned much. I did my final research project on bilingualism and language disorders.
Did you know that every year, many kids developing with bilingualism are wrongly diagnosed with language disorders? Elementary school teachers confuse, for example, bilingual overextension/underextension of vocabulary or code-switching as a sign of a communication disorder.
Increasing education in Lingusitics can potentially prevent such errors.
And did you know that language is one of the fields that are least affected by technology advancement?
Our language instinct is something extremely hard to replicate by technology.
A single word, tone, or sound can change the meaning of a statement. Artificial intelligence can't catch all that (yet*).
*I kinda doubt that we'll ever communicate fluently with computers, though. Ever try to translate crap on "online translators?"
A factory worker can be replaced by a machine, but a translator/interpreter can't be.
So, we always need a human being, in flesh, inspecting language. That's pretty much guaranteed.
I don't think I'll go into any"applied" career like Speech Pathology or ESL instruction in the future, because I like the actual field of Linguistics too much.
But surely my studies will contribute to those fields, and much more.
"Language makes us uniquely human... language provides us with a unique window through which we can investigate a fundamental aspect of what it is to be human." (Language Files)
If only we can speak languages, then by inspecting it, we are sure to find out something interesting about our society.
And further more...
We use language everyday. We can't live without communication.
Language will never disappear from our society.
So it's gotta do some good to study it, right?
We all speak a language, but all languages are variable. Even within one language, each of its speakers has his own identity. No one possesses the same speaking style.
By studying language, we can communicate better. We can understand better.
Some practical usages of language studies:
- developing better teaching tools for language instruction
- artificial intelligence and communication
- treating speech and language disorders
- application of linguistic analysis in judicial settings
- advertising
- translation / interpretation
- language preservation
I took a Speech Pathology seminar my first semester in college, because I saw it as a practical application of Linguistics. It was a nice little seminar... I learned much. I did my final research project on bilingualism and language disorders.
Did you know that every year, many kids developing with bilingualism are wrongly diagnosed with language disorders? Elementary school teachers confuse, for example, bilingual overextension/underextension of vocabulary or code-switching as a sign of a communication disorder.
Increasing education in Lingusitics can potentially prevent such errors.
And did you know that language is one of the fields that are least affected by technology advancement?
Our language instinct is something extremely hard to replicate by technology.
A single word, tone, or sound can change the meaning of a statement. Artificial intelligence can't catch all that (yet*).
*I kinda doubt that we'll ever communicate fluently with computers, though. Ever try to translate crap on "online translators?"
A factory worker can be replaced by a machine, but a translator/interpreter can't be.
So, we always need a human being, in flesh, inspecting language. That's pretty much guaranteed.
I don't think I'll go into any"applied" career like Speech Pathology or ESL instruction in the future, because I like the actual field of Linguistics too much.
But surely my studies will contribute to those fields, and much more.
0
0