master's in semiotics in estonia?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I've been looking to apply to some grad school for linguistics. I have a linguistics background. I was considering applying to something related to linguistics, but not entirely linguistics, where my prior linguistic background would come in handy but I would also learn many new things. I have a lot of friends who got bachelor's in linguistics and then a master's and ended up spending half or more of their master's relearning things they already learned. Anyway, so my question is, how related to linguistics would semiotics be? I've never taken a class in it but I've heard it's very relevant. Also, would any of my knowledge of phonology, syntax and semantics come in handy at all? I just want to know if it's worth applying to.

[ladyling]

On the surface, linguistics and semiotics both deal with structure and meaning, but the similarity ends there. Semiotics isn't formalized in the same ways linguistics is and it doesn't involve scientific methodology. Rather, it's about symbolism, metaphor, and analogy. If you've taken a pragmatics class, it's possible you've covered some concepts that might be similar, and it's possible you might have read Saussure, but otherwise the way the two fields are structured is probably too different for there to be much transfer of knowledge/skills. It's worth it if you think you want to pursue an academic career in semiotics or related fields (literary theory, film theory, music theory, etc.), but otherwise an MA in semiotics won't be terribly useful for you. I hope that helps!

[naizan]

Joeyboy, If you're talking about the University of Tartu, their semiotics program is very well known, at least within the world of semiotics. I think semiotics is more prominent in Europe than it is in North America.