BA in Spanish and Linguistics in Boston United States | Boston University

The Spanish & Linguistics program allows students to merge the examination of human language from multiple viewpoints with Spanish language, literature, and cultural studies.

In linguistics classes, students investigate language structures (sound systems, word formation, sentence organization, and meaning representation) along with language universals, cross-linguistic variations, sociolinguistic aspects, and historical evolution. Spanish courses teach fundamental grammar rules, pronunciation principles, and enhance reading, listening, speaking, and writing abilities. Students also explore Spanish cultural heritage and literary traditions while developing skills to critically evaluate significant works. The interdisciplinary approach includes Spanish linguistics courses that examine the language's historical progression, global variations, and distinctive features compared to other languages. Collaborative projects and faculty mentorship foster connections between both disciplines.

This combined major develops linguistic abilities and cultural awareness valuable for diverse careers such as language teaching, assessment, translation, international commerce, speech pathology, voice training, tech industries, legal fields, healthcare, child services, and social work. It also provides strong preparation for graduate studies in linguistics, literature, regional studies (Latin American/European), and cognitive science.

Learning Outcomes
Grasp of core linguistic research questions regarding structure, universals, acquisition, change, variation, and social usage, with foundational knowledge in linguistic theory.
Skill in recognizing and precisely describing language patterns, plus developing analytical approaches through hypothesis formulation and testing.
Expertise in specific aspects of contemporary Spanish (phonetics, variation, etc.) or its historical development.
Advanced Spanish proficiency across reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension.
Critical analysis of Hispanic cultural and literary traditions, practices, genres, and major works.