What is Linguistic Anthropology?
Linguistic anthropology is the study of human communication across the globe, attempting to understand how language and linguistic practices intersect with cultural processes, worldviews, ideologies and identities. It is one of the four traditional subfields of anthropology.
Are you interested in communication, marketing, journalism, professional writing, culture, or health? Consider a focus in Linguistic Anthropology at UTM.
Career areas include:
- Publishing and Advertising
- Technical writing
- Journalism
- Consulting
- Government agencies (foreign affairs, justice, Immigration)
- Health (speech pathology, audiology)
- Computational linguistics (e.g. computer-assisted linguistic analysis, speech recognition)
- Market research
- Academia
“As an independent writer, editor, and journalist, I'm often struck by how much my current work mirrors the skills and methods emphasized by...anthropology: structuring interviews, observing individual or group behaviour, paying attention to people's narratives/stories, etc." - Steven Zhou: Senior Online Writer for CBC News
Undergraduate programs
UTM undergraduate students who focus in linguistic anthropology normally enrol in one of the following programs:
- Specialist Program in Anthropology (Arts) ERSPE1775
- Major Program in Anthropology (Arts) ERMAJ1775
Learn about Anthropology programs at UTM
Undergraduate courses
Most of our recommended upper-level courses for a focus in linguistic anthropology are anthropology social science credits.
Teaching and Research Specialties
At UTM, our faculty teaching and research specialties in linguistic anthropology include:
- Language and youth culture
- Language and gender
- Sociolinguistics, conversation analysis
- Body language and yoga
Regions of interest include:
- Eastern Africa
- East Asia
- South Asia