Further research on Linguistic PhD possibilities

[Francophile1]

I have been interested for some time in possibly either getting a PhD in Foreign language linguistics (leaning towards Russian right now) or Linguistics (General).

I received already 1 MA in a foreign language and am currently a teacher who will be completing a second MA (in Russian) focusing on Linguistics of that language.

While I do this I would like to start researching further options down the line.

My linguistic knowledge right now is limited- I have only a minor (undergraduate), so bear with me while I try to explain the answers I'm seeking.

What I would like to find out, is a couple of nuances relating to the two (PhD-foreign language-Linguistics vs. Linguistics).

From, the research that I have done, it seems like that the main differences in seeking a linguistic - foreign language degree vs. Linguistics (through Linguistic department) is that the latter is concerned with exploring Linguistics in a scientific way and is not language specific.

It seems that most of the Faculty research in Linguistic departments is based on a topic ( semantics, syntax et...) and they may use different languages in their research but it is not about exploring a particular language.

When it comes to linguistics in a foreign lang. department, whether it is Slavic, french, spanish..etc- it is about the language and exploring the linguistic aspects of that language.

This is the area that I would like to clarify for myself. If I am more interested in exploring the syntax of 2 particular languages which program would be a better fit?

I am very interested in Syntax, but I want to make sure that I get to explore the syntax of particular languages. Would that be easier to do in a foreign lang. department or if I find a Professor in Linguistics who specializes in this language, that might work too?

Most PhD linguistic professors list their research as syntax in general, while when I look at language departments it's more language specific.

I am also aware of the fact the getting a Linguistics degree is more of an open approach for job prospects, as I have talked to faculty indicating that and indeed sometimes Linguistic PhD's a re cross-listed in both departments while a PhD in a foreign language (linguistic emphasis) would almost always end up only in a foreign lang. department).

What would you all advise job prospect wise?

For the moment I am most interested in Syntax of Russian and Finno ugric languages (i.e Hungarian)

Much appreciated

 

 

[historicallinguist]

I am also in a Master program of the linguistics of a specific language. I would definitely recommend you to do a Ph.D in general linguistics.(This is what I am applying to do now).

Language specific-linguistics Ph.D seems to me less useful, both in terms of job-prospective and academic research in general. First, if you do a language specific, say, Russian, you are kind of stuck to Slavic Studies/Russian Studies programs, which generally have a lot of elements of literature and culture rather than linguistics (bear with me, but I think these programs generally speaking are doing things more like philology than linguistics). In contrast, if you do a Ph.D in theoretical linguistics, potentially you can work in Slavic/Russian studies programs, but not necessarily have to. It is possible that you teach some courses in these programs, but also work primarily in linguistics/computer science/philosophy/cognitive science, etc, programs. So, the prospect for theoretical linguistics seems to me much better in terms of getting a job.

Second, if you want to do a Ph.D in a the linguistics of a specific language or language family, you will have to answer the question why this language/language family merits special attention to study. Or to put it in this way, why do you want to study the syntax of Russian and Hungarian rather than say that of Indonesian? If syntax on itself merits being an object of study, why don't you study syntactical theories rather than the syntax of a certain language? Ph.D in the linguistics of a specific language is rare. These programs, as far as I know, are less theoretically focused. Discourse analysis/pedagogue/functional grammar/structural grammar etc are the main foci of these programs. The dataset under investigation in these language specific programs, needless to say, are less diverse than those examined in general linguistics programs. This means your academic career may be limited due to lack of breadth in terms of empirical data and theoretical foundation, if you are in a language specific Ph.D linguistics. 

All in all, think twice before you are doing language specific linguistics Ph.D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Francophile1]

13 hours ago, historicallinguist said:

I am also in a Master program of the linguistics of a specific language. I would definitely recommend you to do a Ph.D in general linguistics.(This is what I am applying to do now).

Language specific-linguistics Ph.D seems to me less useful, both in terms of job-prospective and academic research in general. First, if you do a language specific, say, Russian, you are kind of stuck to Slavic Studies/Russian Studies programs, which generally have a lot of elements of literature and culture rather than linguistics (bear with me, but I think these programs generally speaking are doing things more like philology than linguistics). In contrast, if you do a Ph.D in theoretical linguistics, potentially you can work in Slavic/Russian studies programs, but not necessarily have to. It is possible that you teach some courses in these programs, but also work primarily in linguistics/computer science/philosophy/cognitive science, etc, programs. So, the prospect for theoretical linguistics seems to me much better in terms of getting a job.

Second, if you want to do a Ph.D in a the linguistics of a specific language or language family, you will have to answer the question why this language/language family merits special attention to study. Or to put it in this way, why do you want to study the syntax of Russian and Hungarian rather than say that of Indonesian? If syntax on itself merits being an object of study, why don't you study syntactical theories rather than the syntax of a certain language? Ph.D in the linguistics of a specific language is rare. These programs, as far as I know, are less theoretically focused. Discourse analysis/pedagogue/functional grammar/structural grammar etc are the main foci of these programs. The dataset under investigation in these language specific programs, needless to say, are less diverse than those examined in general linguistics programs. This means your academic career may be limited due to lack of breadth in terms of empirical data and theoretical foundation, if you are in a language specific Ph.D linguistics. 

All in all, think twice before you are doing language specific linguistics Ph.D.

 

Quote

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2015 by Francophile1
wrong spot

[Francophile1]

Thanks! I appreciate your detailed response. It definitely confirms many of my worries/concerns about the different types of paths. Yes, I noticed that in the US most programs in foreign language departments mostly are Literature focused- about 20% have a PhD in foreign language linguistics, and I do see limitations with that.

I also noticed during my past MA that many Professors that are hired need to have a specialization in a century (so literature) rather than linguistics. Language itself is often taught by adjuncts or TA's (in big universities), so yeah I would be somewhat weary of specializing in a Foreign language Linguistics and then not being able to find a job.

I already went through a Literature MA- which was really not my thing, and as I complete now a second MA in language Philology, I really want to make the best decision as far as what PhD to pursue. 

I still have some time, so gathering information- I appreciate your response!

I saw that you were in Oxford. Is this correct? Let me know, because if so I would like to message you about a few England specific questions.

[historicallinguist]

34 minutes ago, Francophile1 said:

 

Thanks! I appreciate your detailed response. It definitely confirms many of my worries/concerns about the different types of paths. Yes, I noticed that in the US most programs in foreign language departments mostly are Literature focused- about 20% have a PhD in foreign language linguistics, and I do see limitations with that.

I also noticed during my past MA that many Professors that are hired need to have a specialization in a century (so literature) rather than linguistics. Language itself is often taught by adjuncts or TA's (in big universities), so yeah I would be somewhat weary of specializing in a Foreign language Linguistics and then not being able to find a job.

I already went through a Literature MA- which was really not my thing, and as I complete now a second MA in language Philology, I really want to make the best decision as far as what PhD to pursue. 

I still have some time, so gathering information- I appreciate your response!

I saw that you were in Oxford. Is this correct? Let me know, because if so I would like to message you about a few England specific questions.

 

Philology looks like not that promising for me. Particularly classical philology, this kind of thing is more like humanities and a big chunk of the learning is about memorization of certain texts/words. It looks like a ridiculous business for me. Think about it. When you do maths problems, do you memorize the numbers in the programs? Or think about the past when you did you Newtonian physics problems in high school. Have you ever memorized any of the numbers/data in the problems you solved for physics? If not, then, what is the point to memorize linguistic data, i.e., texts/words that are under linguistic investigation. Unfortunately, philology as a discipline inherently is pretty much about memorization. So, I seriously doubt whether we could make new linguistic discoveries effectively through laborious memorization such as the one required by philological studies. 

Yes, I can pretty much assure that, if you are not a native speaker of the language for which you got a degree in its linguistics, then it is unlikely you r going to get adjunct position to teach that language, not to say tenured-track position. I am from the U.S. for my undergraduate. I can tell you that, in my undergraduate institution, there are plenty of native speakers who have appropriate pedagogical master degrees ready to teach the languages when called upon. That is, there has been a long line in the waiting list of language instructor. I know some masters students got their masters in language pedagogy, and end up teaching in kindergarten. So, overall, I think the market of teaching foreign language has an over-supplying of teachers and shortage of demands of students. Such asymmetry between supply and demands makes this field not that promising in terms of getting a job.

Okay, let alone the issue of getting a job. Think about academic research. I don't think this field is a promising way to go either. For one thing, the pedagogue degree tends to be pretty much language specific. If it is language specific, that means it has limited application. You are kind of putting all eggs in one basket. The problem is the language you are studying tends to be some politically/culturally dominant languages. So, they tend to be extensively and intensively studied by many people in the past. Thus, it may be difficult for you to make new discoveries (meaning the possible interpretations of the data in question may have been pretty exhausted). Second, I doubt whether you are really study language as an cognitive capacity if you only focus on a particular language rathe than linguistic theory itself. I feel it is hard to justify spending some much time for one particular natural language, if we disregard all of the cultural importance affiliated with the language. So, once again, if you choose the do the linguistics of a particular language, you are tied up with the culture of that language. So, you are not doing linguistics, as a science should not be cultural specific. You are pretty much doing language, but not linguistics.

Yes, I am in Oxford. So, free feel to PM me.

 

 

 

 

 

[Francophile1]

Thanks I will a bit later.

Well for me I am a native speaker and a teacher of several languages- so that is not an issue. I do teach currently at the school level but am interested in linguistics that is why I'm exploring my options.