What's this all about?

Language is special because...

... it distinguishes humans from other living beings. At the same time it touches all areas of human life. We often use language without thinking much.

Linguistics looks closely and asks itself:

• What do we say?
• How do we say it?
• How do we produce and hear sounds?
• Why are languages the way they are today?
• Why are other languages so different in the world?
• What makes the BA Linguistics and Phonetics in Cologne so special?

With us, the focus is on the comparison of individual languages. We investigate as many different languages as possible to find out something about human language itself.

The whole range of linguistic research

Through the cooperation of General Linguistics, Historical-Comparative Linguistics and Phonetics, you will become familiar with different ways of looking at language(s).

• In General Linguistics, the focus is on the structure and diversity of languages.
• Historical-Comparative Linguistics focuses on the development and relationship of languages.
• How we can create and perceive linguistic sounds and how speech melody influences the meaning of what we say is the main subject of phonetics.

Is that for me?

• You are interested in languages and want to know more about the 5000-6000 languages that exist worldwide?
• You want to know how the languages we speak today have developed and how it works that German, English, Latin, Greek, Hindi and Persian are related?
• Do you enjoy analysing linguistic structures?
• You could imagine working with voice recordings and describing exactly what is said?
• Would you like to learn how to document languages for which there are no dictionaries or grammars yet?

Then the BA Linguistics and Phonetics is for you.