The scientific discipline of linguistics emerged in the twentieth century. It is distinguished from earlier approaches to language chiefly by its focus on spoken and signed language as well as written, and by its emphasis on describing actual language as it is used rather than prescribing what is correct and proper. In pursuing these aims a set of rigorous methods and an extensive technical vocabulary have been devised. Spoken language is a complex system of organized sound, and any adequate analysis requires precision and detail at several levels.
Students may earn a minor in LING and use Linguistics as an area of focus for the Bachelor of General Studies degree completing 12 hours of upper-division credit in Linguistics.