The Linguistics Tripos provides the opportunity to concentrate on language as a phenomenon and on the ways languages can be analysed.
The one-year Part I provides a general introduction to all areas of linguistics, while the two-year Part II allows a degree of specialisation in particular areas.
In both IIA and IIB there is a choice of lectures taught within and beyond the Department, the latter including the linguistics of particular languages. Part IIB includes an element of individual research in the form of a dissertation on a chosen topic.
Students may also switch to Part II of the Linguistics Tripos after successful completion of a Part I in another Tripos. The Linguistics Tripos does not require detailed knowledge of a particular language, and so the course is accessible to those who have a general interest in and knowledge of language.
The Tripos is divided into two parts, the examination for Part I normally being taken at the end of the first year, with examinations for Part IIA and IIB at the end of the second and third years. Final degree classification is based on a 0:30:70 weighting across the three years.
Part I
FOUR papers, comprising:
Paper Li.1 - Sounds and words
Paper Li.2 - Structures and meanings
Paper Li.3 - Language, brains and machines
Paper Li.4 - Linguistic variation and change
Part IIA (following Part I of the Linguistics Tripos*)
FOUR papers to be chosen from Section C and Section D
Part IIA (following Part I of another Tripos)
FOUR papers, comprising:
Paper Li.1 - Sounds and words †
Paper Li.2 - Structures and meanings †
TWO papers to be chosen from Section C and Section D
† If this paper has already been taken in another tripos it cannot be taken again and another paper must be chosen from Sections C and D.
Part IIB (following Part IIA of the Linguistics Tripos only)
THREE papers, comprising:
Paper Li.5 - Linguistic Theory