Linguistics studies the full range of aspects of human language. It investigates the phonetics, grammar and semantics or individual languages, but through this seeks to uncover the features common to all human languages, the 'linguistic universals'. These are equivalent to the set of constraints on what is a possible human language, the so-called universal grammar. Various linguistic theories have been proposed which attempt to characterise this underlying structure of all languages; these theories are then used as a guide for the description of individual languages and revised accordingly. Languages which seem on first view to be very different, may turn out on closer scrutiny, to share many important deeper similarities in terms of their overall structural patterning.

Research students in linguistics study in a range of areas, from describing languages, carrying out research into theories of language (formal and functional), going on field-work, applying linguistic skills to areas such as translation, education, discourse analysis and intercultural communication. There's the opportunity for crossdisciplinary work - students can have supervisory teams with members from many of the language departments.

Linguistics occupies a privileged position in the field of humanities and social sciences in that it touches on many of the central issues that concern a number of disciplines. Because language is concerned with communication between humans, it is relevant for the social sciences like anthropology and sociology; but because it is the central instrument for thinking and other cognitive tasks, it is also important to psychologists. Problems of language also loom large in fields like philosophy and literary criticism. Finally, linguistics has many practical applications in fields like language teaching, general education, and computer science.

The department holds a weekly research seminar. In addition, students are encouraged to take part in the reading groups and master-classes offered at Sydney and at other universities in the area. Staff are keen to support research students, with a structured programme of study as well as assisting in finding field locations and funding for fieldwork.

PARADISEC (Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Archives) is a facility for the digital conservation of endangered materials from the pacific region, defined broadly to include Oceania and East and Southeast Asia. The research group has developed models to ensure that the archive can provide access to interested communities, and conforms with emerging international standards for digital archiving. This offers unparalleled field linguistics resources for students.

For more information about current research topics and supervisions, go to this page.