Linguistics is devoted to the scientific study of language. The central goal of the discipline is to provide a theoretical account of the human cognitive capacity that underlies language production and comprehension. As one of the world's leading programs, the Linguistics department at USC is at the forefront of scientific progress in the study of language. The Linguistics department conducts research in diverse fields—first and second language acquisition, language processing, morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, sociolinguistics, and syntax—in collaboration with diverse programs—Psychology, Philosophy, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Neuroscience.

News

• Congratulations to Maria Luisa Zubizarreta, who has been awarded an "Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant" for the project Second Language Speech: The Acquisition of Phrasal Stress and Rhythm.
• Congratulations to Rachel Walker, who has been selected to receive a USC-Mellon Mentoring Award in the category of Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students.
• Congratulations to Dani Byrd on her promotion to Full Professor!
• Professor Dani Byrd has been elected a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America "For research on the relation of linguistic structures to the temporal realization of speech."
• Congratulations to Michal Temkin Martinez on being selected to receive a University Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award!