Linguistics and Multilingual Studies

As one of the best-known examples of a modern, vibrant and successful multilingual society, Singapore is uniquely positioned to promote academic studies of language and multilingualism. As no other tertiary institution in Singapore offers such an undergraduate programme, the Linguistics and Multilingual Studies (LMS) Programme at NTU is well placed to take on this challenge.

The LMS curriculum allows students to explore the many interesting facets of language and communication, from the properties of speech sounds to grammatical and discourse structure, from children's language development to communication in bilingual and multilingual societies.

​It encompasses a very wide range of topics: how a finite inventory of basic linguistic units is deployed to express an infinite variety of meanings, how we create meaning in interaction with others, how the bilingual and multilingual mind is structured, and how technology impacts upon people's everyday use of language, to mention just a few.

A. MAJOR REQUIREMENTS (69 AUs)

The Major Requirements for Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Major consists of 3 components:

A1. Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Core Courses (21 AUs)
A2. Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Prescribed Electives (40 AUs)
A3. Graduation Project (FYP) (8 AUs) - Check your eligibility here
     (The two HG4000 level courses are for those who are not eligible to do FYP.)

A1. Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Core (Compulsory) Courses

The 7 core courses (21 AUs) equip students with a firm foundation in Linguistics. Each course (unless otherwise stated) is equivalent to 3 AUs.

• HG1001 Mind and Meaning
• HG2001 Morphology and Syntax
• HG2002 Semantics and Pragmatics
• HG2003 Phonetics and Phonology
• HG2010 Bilingualism and Multilingualism
• HG2020 Language in Society
• HG2034 Structure of Modern English
• HG4099 Graduation Project/Essay (8 AUs)

Students are strongly advised to complete all the LMS core courses by the end of their second year.

A2. Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Prescribed Electives

Students must choose 12 electives (with a minimum of 40 AUs) from the wide range of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies Prescribed Electives. At least 4 of the 12 electives must be from level-4000 courses, and one elective must be from level-3000 courses. These courses are offered in five concentrations. These are:

Language, Mind and Multilingualism

• HG2012 Cognitive Linguistics
• HG2013 Child Language
• HG2014 Second Language Acquisition
• HG2015 Investigating Literacy as Social and Textual Practice
• HG2016 Language and Music
• HG2030 Reading Development and Disorders
• HG3005 Research Methods in Linguistics II - Statistical Analysis
• HG3010 Language and Communication Disorders
• HG3012 Deaf Culture and Sign Language
• HG3016 Language and Cognition in Bilingualism and Multilingualism
• HG3017 Advanced Study of Language and Literacy in Infancy
• HG4011 Language and the Brain(4 AUs)
• HG4013 Multilingualism Across the Lifespan (4 AUs)
• HG4015 Psycholinguistics (4 AUs)
• HG4047 Pragmatic Theory (4 AUs)

Multilingual Societies and Multiculturalism

• HG2021 Intercultural Communication
• HG2023 Language and Gender
• HG2024 X-rated Linguistics: Language, Sexuality and Desire
• HG2032 Globalisation and World Englishes
• HG3021 Language Change
• HG3022 Sociolinguistics of a Region
• HG3025 Language Variation​
• HG3031 Methods in Sociolinguistics
• HG4020 Languages in Contact (4 AUs)
• HG4021 Language Shift and Maintenance (4 AUs)
• HG4023 Language Planning and Policy​ (4 AUs)
• HG4024 Social Theories and Language (4 AUs)
• HG4028 A Wor(l)d in Motion: The Sociolinguistics of Globalization (4 AUs)
• HG4031 Multimodality in Situated Contexts (4 AUs)

Language Structure

• HG2017 Father-and-Mother tongues: Languages of SE Asia
  
• HG3043 Malay Linguistics 1 - History and Structure​
• HG3047 Experimenting with Spoken Language
• HG4012 Structure of Sign Language (4 AUs)
• HG4040 Phonological Theory (4 AUs)
• HG4041 Theories of Grammar (4 AUs)
• HG4042 How and Why Languages Differ (4 AUs)
• HG4043 Language Universals and Language Types (4 AUs)
• HG4046 Malay Linguistics 2 - Dialectology and Language Contact (4 AUs)
• HG4049 Semantic Analysis (4 AUs)
• HG4070 Experimental Phonetics (4 AUs)
• HG4071 The Meat of Speech: The Anatomy and Physiology of Speaking and Hearing (4 AUs)

Language and Technology

• HG2051 Language and the Computer
• HG2052 Language, Technology and the Internet
• HG4051 Corpus Linguistics
• HG​4052 Speech Synthesis and Recognition (4AUs)

Special Topics

• HG2025 Delectable Tongues: Language and Food
• HG2027 Ecolinguistics: Language and the Environment
• HG2031 The History of English
• HG2033 Introduction to Conversation Analysis​
• HG2092 Analysing Spoken Discourse
• HG2093 Discovering Unwritten Stories: A General Introduction to Toponymy and Toponomastics​
• HG2094 Word of Mouth: Transmission of Oral Culture
• HG2095 Codes from the Past: A General Introduction to the History of Cryptography
• HG2096 What's in a text? - Analysing Written Discourse
• HG2097 What's in a Name? - A General Introduction to Etymology
• HG2099 Languages of the World
• HG3023 Anthropological Linguistics
  
• HG4022 Forensic Linguistics (4 AUs)
• HG4024 Social Theories and Language (4 AUs)
• HG4025 Linguistic Ethnography (4AUs)
• HG4030 Conversation Analysis (4 AUs)
• HG4033 Advanced Conversation Analysis (4 AUs)
• HG4044 Language Evolution (4 AUs)
• HG4048 Comparative Chinese Dialectology (4 AUs)
• HG4062 Language, Culture and Society in Southeast Asia (4 AUs)
• HG4063 Advanced World Englishes (4 AUs)

1. The Programme recommends students to take an average of 3 LMS courses every semester.
2. We strongly encourage students to complete their Core Courses (2000-level courses) first before attempting the prescribed electives (3000- and 4000-level courses).

B. OTHER REQUIREMENTS (59 AUs)

• ICC-Common Core (17 AUs)

• ICC-Foundational Core (10 AUs)

• Broadening & Deepening Electives (32 AUs)

There are no restrictions on the selection of courses to make up broadening & deepening electives. Students can choose any of the following:

- Complete a 2nd Major.
- Complete a Minor in another discipline.
- Earn AUs under an International Exchange programme.
- Any course offered by any School as long as the pre-requisites are satisfied​.