Department of General Linguistics
The Department offers several postgraduate programmes in General Linguistics, Second Language Studies and Intercultural Communication. The programmes can be completed by full-time students as well as people who are already employed. Residence in Stellenbosch is not a requirement. With the exception of the PhD, all the programmes have a minimum duration of one year.
The minimum formal qualification required for admission to any of the MA programmes is an Honours degree or Postgraduate Diploma in General or Applied Linguistics, or an Honours degree or Postgraduate Diploma in a language, a language-related discipline or Speech Therapy (Logopaedics), or another postgraduate qualification accepted by the Senate as equivalent to one of the aforementioned.
areas of specialisation include -
General Linguistics
The
BAHons and MA programmes provide language teachers, lecturers and other educators, speech-language therapists, translators, interpreters, language advisors, editors and other media specialists with the opportunity to benefit intellectually and professionally from the scientific study of language and language-related phenomena. Students can choose from several specialisation areas, including:
- The structure of language
- The use of language
- Critical discourse analysis
- Sociolinguistics
- Intercultural communication
- Second language acquisition
- Child language acquisition and language impairment
- Sign language linguistics
Both programmes contain a compulsory research component: a research assignment in the case of the Honours, and a full-length thesis in the case of the MA. The programmes can be taken in English or in Afrikaans. Students in the Honours programme are required to attend regular lectures and seminars on the Stellenbosch campus.
The PhD comprises of a dissertation which is the result of independent and original research within the framework of one or more theories in general or applied linguistics.
Intercultural Communication
The
Postgraduate Diploma and MA programmes have a specifically
linguistic focus. They are designed for professionals who routinely communicate across cultural boundaries or who are responsible for training and managing others who engage in intercultural communication, and for students and academics with a special interest in the phenomenon of intercultural communication.
Students in the
MA programme have to write a full-length thesis, the result of independent research. The
Postgraduate Diploma does not contain a research component. All programme material is in English. Where the language proficiency of lecturers and supervisors allows for it, assignments and theses may be submitted in either English or Afrikaans.
Second-Language Studies
The Postgraduate Diploma and MA programmes are designed for language teachers, lecturers and other educators, speech-language therapists, translators, interpreters, language advisors and media specialists who wish to engage in the scientific study of the nature, knowledge, acquisition and use of second languages.
The
Postgraduate Diploma provides a general linguistic and a psycholinguistic and/or cross-cultural perspective on the properties and acquisition of second languages. It does not contain a research component.
The
MA focuses on sociolinguistic and cross-cultural aspects of second languages and (second) language use; students with a background in speech and language therapy can choose between the cross-cultural perspective and a module on language impairment in second language learners. The programme requires that the student write a full-length thesis, the result of independent research. All programme material is in English. Written work may be submitted in either English or Afrikaans.
POSTGRADUATE QUALIFICATIONS
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMAS
MASTER'S DEGREES
