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Degree Thread (pg. 7)
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| Jackson |
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| Meat187 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jackson
[IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/2nhkkud.jpg[IMG] |
:stongue: Pretty accurate. The only thing that's missing is trolldad as the adviser who s up your work with annoying requests and stupid ideas. |
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| tachobg |
| quote: | Originally posted by Tasty Onions
Because it doesn't get you the big bucks.
Exciting career = $200,000+ a year. |
False. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
Philology, philosophy... what's the difference? :conf: |
Philology is to linguistics what astrology is to astronomy. It's even possible to be a linguist and somewhat hostile to philosophy (my former advisor seems to be that way), because whereas linguistics is the science of language (so there's not just linguistics, but also sociolinguistics (the relationship between society and language), neurolinguistics (how neural networks process language) and discourse analysis (how people organise ideas in language)), philosophy is the science of nitpicking :p
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
OK, I know, but it's kind of harder to make fun of you when sticking to the facts. :D
And I must admit that the usefulness of linguistic research is not immediately obvious to me. |
Here's what we do and why it can be useful:- Language description: We try to understand how speakers organise a given language. This means that not only do we need to write a grammar, we can't get away with things like "This is the way proper German is spoken" - we need to see how exactly Germans from a given region actually speak and see why that is the case.
Language comparison: Good, let's say we know what German is like (and why it is the way it is). We then try to understand what it has in common with other languages (and what is special about it, if anything). People probably think languages are incredibly different and they have little in common. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This is the common core. Of course, there's far more depending on what your field is.
Edit: Forgot the useful bit out, but I gotta go. Just a moment... |
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| Joss Weatherby |
| quote: | Originally posted by Tasty Onions
Because it doesn't get you the big bucks.
Exciting career = $200,000+ a year. |
Yea, they don't realize that they can make some incredibly big bucks in research, especially if you are involved in development as well. I know there are a couple TAs that can attest to that if they want to. ;) |
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| Meat187 |
| I'm not that clueless Lira. The part about analyzing and comparing languages was roughly clear to me, what I'm missing is what useful things can be done with he results. Cause if the results are obtained solely for the love of wisdom then it's... well, philosophy. :p |
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| The17sss |
| 2 bachelors, 2 masters here.... yet I feel substantially inferior to Lira's intellect. Something about being able to master linguistics seems infinitely impossible for a single language speaker like myself, and I have always envied those who can seamlessly switch between 3+ languages in both speaking and writing. I know it's ridiculous, but I feel like learning another language at my age is just too large of a mountain to scale. |
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| VDub |
I'm an operating engineer...
Lol... |
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| Lira |
Kevin, you can learn a new language and even master it at your age if you're diligent enough. I only have two questions for you: What language would you like to know and do you have anyone you can practise it with? If you've got a native Russian (?) speaker in your house, I can help you begin your studies.
And there's no point in comparing us - I know very little outside humanities/social sciences... and even then my knowledge is limited to a couple of fields. My maths skills are ridiculous and I can't run a business even if you hold me at gunpoint ;)
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
I'm not that clueless Lira. The part about analyzing and comparing languages was roughly clear to me, what I'm missing is what useful things can be done with he results. Cause if the results are obtained solely for the love of wisdom then it's... well, philosophy. :p |
The useful things that can be done with linguistics:- Online translators and bots: Granted, we're ages away from being able to build C3PO, but computational linguists have been part of this along with mathematicians and programmers since the beginning.
- Applied linguistics: The knowledge base we build helps applied linguists do the stuff that you're probably most acquainted with. They contribute with language education, translation theory and the like. Much like mathematicians and physicists help engineers.
- CSI-like stuff: Yeah, we help solve crimes too!
These are the 3 first things that came to mind :) |
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| Vivid Boy |
| bachelor seeking sluts |
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| Sushipunk |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
haha, you're showing your age. psych hasn't been part of arts for ages!
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I remember you telling me that a while back :p I graduated back in 2004 after I got back from travelling. |
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| woscar |
I'm getting a BA in Philosophy right now and plan to apply for a PhD in Philosophy and Cognitive Science when I'm done.
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
philosophy is the science of nitpicking :p |
I like this. :D |
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