<p>I have known for a few years now that I want to apply to Ph.D. programs in Romance Languages (specifically Spanish), study languages and literatures, and go on to teach both. </p>
<p>I have prepared myself accordingly... and I have one year of undergraduate work left. Now comes the much-dreaded application process. Unfortunately, I am experiencing somewhat of a crisis. I can't decide which aspect of studying languages I like most. Essentially, I am trying to figure out whether to study linguistics or the languages (and appropriate cultures) themselves.</p>
<p>I love learning languages (of no particular origin), I find grammar structure and other such concepts fascinating, and I have a knack for explaining these concepts to other people. At the same time, I do extremely well with interpreting/analyzing literature, not to mention... I <em>love</em> studying literature and other forms of art/communication. I simply don't have sufficient information from which I can make a decision. </p>
<p>Any advice? Can I study both simultaneously in a Ph.D. program? Btw, I have absolutely no linguistics background.</p>
<p>You have no background in linguistics, therefore you have very, very little chance of admission to a graduate program in linguistics.</p>
<p>Your conception of linguistics is also (quite understandably) limited. There is an incredible number of types of linguistics, some of which are done under the auspices of psychology, others under anthropology, still others under biology, computer science, geography, speech pathology, etc. (Of course there are many freestanding graduate programs in Linguistics, but one must still specialize in one of the aforementioned subfields.)</p>
<p>Most grad programs in Romance Languages will allow (or often require) a course or two in, say, cultural linguistics, sociolinguistics or historical linguistics, but one's real focus in such grad programs is normally literature and textual analysis.</p>
<p>And incidentally, all RL grad programs require demonstrated ability to translate at least two romance languages. It is highly desirable to acquire this skill while still an undergrad.</p>
<p>Thanks, Professor X. I have been reading up on linguistics, actually, so I am a little more familiar with the types. I would be most interested in applied linguistics, especially in second language acquisition. I was hoping to combine a tutoring method I learned this summer with SLA (as far as research goes), but I think you're right; I would be way in over my head if I jumped into linguistics (assuming I was even accepted) after graduating. </p>
<p>I have been studying Spanish and French for several years (and I've studied a couple of other languages which aren't related). I don't know that I could translate research to/from French, but I am continuing my French education, of course. From what I understand there will be time during a Ph.D. program to fine-tune my second foreign language, perhaps rather quickly at the beginning. I have concluded, as well, that I will most probably have to learn Portuguese (which I don't mind, of course!). In any case... I still have my backup research ideas for Spanish. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the advice. I always find yours to be helpful.</p>
<p>Many ppl in my program had little to no experience in linguistics. Given that you have a background in langauges, your lack of linguistics should not hinder your acceptence. Especially since you are interested in applied linguistics, which deals with teaching languages anyway. I am also interested in the teaching aspect of Romance languages (though not so much the literature)......good luck with everything.</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you - It turns out that pretty much all the programs to which I am applying for Romance Languages / Spanish & Portuguese / etc. allow for an interdisciplinary focus in linguistics... so hooray! </p>
<p>I can't believe it's actually time to apply to graduate schools... ah!</p>
<p>Be cautious of departments and programs that claims to be focusing on applied linguistics. They may in fact be 'applied' in part to differentiate themselves from formal and generative linguistics, in which case, they may be focusing on functional domains such as psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis, conversation analysis etc. These, of course, also require a substantial amount of background in linguistics at the undergrad level.</p>