Greetings

Welcome to the Department of Linguistics website

Chair, Department of Linguistics Shin Hyopil

Humans(=people): Animals that think, utilize language, make and use tools while living in a society. (Source: Standard Korean Dictionary)
The term “language” is unique to the above definition “human”. Therefore, the linguistic question “what is language?” belongs to the humanities question “what is a human?”. However, unlike other traditional studies in humanities, linguistics pursues a scientific approach that involves precise and explicit natural science methods in line with the definition of “scientific research in language.”

Globally, linguistic theory has been pioneered by academic scholars such as Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky who have also contributed to the development of many other fields of study. The Department of Linguistics at Seoul National University focuses on nurturing linguists while conducting research on the universality and uniqueness of languages from all around the world. The department’s curriculum is based on the following four main linguistic subfields.

 

Phonetics·Phonology·Synatx·Semantics· Historical-Comparative Linguistics·Computational Linguistics

The department faculty consists of professors who have received Ph.D.’s from leading domestic and international universities. Our professors conduct and teach various subjects in linguistics.
Courses are not limited to traditional core areas of linguistics such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, historical and comparative linguistics, but also covers linguistic subfields such as computational linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics. Furthermore, the department provides language courses such as Italian, Swahili, and Mongolian.
Since the establishment of the Department of Linguistics in 1946 at Gyeongseong University, the department has produced many scholars with bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.degrees and who have graduated in various fields of expertise including domestic and international academic institutions.
Since the establishment of the Department of Linguistics in 1946 at Gyeongseong University, the department has produced many scholars with bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.degrees and who have graduated in various fields of expertise including domestic and international academic institutions.
This website briefly introduces information regarding the department of linguistics at Seoul National University. However, if anything is missing or if you have more questions, please contact the department office via email or phone.
Thank you for visiting Seoul National University’s Department of Linguistics website and we hope you have a better understanding of “linguistics” and “linguistics at SNU”.