It’s safe to say that Linguists are scientists of language. Don’t believe us? Keep reading to find out what linguist jobs entail and how their job impacts our everyday life.
Let’s not waste any more time and get right to it, shall we?
What is Linguistics?
The first thing you need to understand before we even get to understand more about what linguists do is to know what their profession, linguistics, is. Linguistics is the study or science of human languages. This field of study takes into account all aspects of a language, including comprehensive and systematic analyses along with the nature and structure of languages.
Linguistics also considers the cognitive and social aspects of language, which is why it is considered a science and an academic discipline. Linguistics plays an important role in our everyday life because, without language, communication probably wouldn’t exist.
What Do Linguist Jobs Entail?
Naturally, the very next question you’d want an answer to is what linguists do. As language professionals, linguists can work in a number of fields, including Academia, Government/ Public Sector, the Computer or Tech Industry, Language Education, Marketing, and even within the judicial system.
Linguists’ jobs focus on the language systems that keep the communication going. Within this field, one must be knowledgeable of phonetics and phonology ( language sounds), how words are formed (morphology), Syntax, also known as grammar, and the meanings of words, also known as semantics.
In a nutshell, Linguists apply their knowledge of languages and their structure to analyze and understand how languages have evolved in humans as well as why and how languages of all types change and vary over time. They also pay close attention to how languages come together to affect cultures and societies as well as how they come into existence (are acquired) in the first place.
Linguist Jobs: Opportunities and Possibilities
As mentioned before, linguists play an important role within society because their expertise is necessary for so many fields. Apart from the academic field, linguists and linguistics go far beyond teaching and research. They get the opportunity to use their knowledge of how language works right across the board to include, but are not limited to, the following careers:
Tech
These days, pursuing a career in tech is all the craze. A linguist can apply their knowledge by working on metadata and programming for language, conducting data mining, working on speech recognition applications, doing speech syntheses, and even artificial intelligence, also known as AI. So the development of voice recognition on our smartphones was made possible by the input of a linguist.
Applied Sciences
Have you ever heard of speech pathology? If you have, then linguists can transition into becoming speech pathologists. As long as they have expertise in anatomy, physiology, or neuroscience (or the other way around), working with people who have speech disorders is definitely a career path they can consider.
A linguist’s knowledge is applicable because they would have had experience in assessing speech problems, making diagnoses, and providing treatments for a broad range of problems their clients may have.
Arts and Entertainment
If a linguist has an interest in the Arts and Entertainment sector, they can enter this career field by becoming a dialect coach for film actors. They can also transition into becoming the voice and accent coaches for those parts of the field of public speaking.
Conlangs or Constructed Language development is also a great path for linguists. Conlangs are artificial languages created for films, games, and other fantasy worlds. A great example is Klingon from Star Trek.
Public Service & Education
Did you know that linguists can serve the public’s interest by assisting in preserving, documenting, or reviving endangered/unpopular languages and dialects? They also play a role in the education sector by developing learning materials and curriculums as well as training other teachers in the field.
A linguist may also give their service to their government by analyzing codes, texts, documents, and even tapes for the sake of national security. They also give their input in making public messages clear and inclusive.
Communication and Marketing
Linguists can devolve into technical writing and editing as long as they have the expertise. They are also a great asset to any marketing team because of their research and localization skills. Their familiarity with languages’ cultural and psychosocial aspects makes them the perfect fit in any part of this industry.
Law
In the field of law, there are forensic linguists. They are part of investigations for hate crimes and threats. They also get involved when there is a need for voice identification and author identification.
In the courtroom, linguists can contribute by helping to make the legal process fair. They do this by examining how juries, judges, and witnesses communicate and understand each other. They seek to understand how language is used and understood in the courtroom.
Translation
Of course, we couldn’t talk about what linguists do and not mention translation. A linguist’s role in translation has to do with their skills in deciphering and decoding all aspects of the original/ source language as it’s translated to the new/ target language. They take into account the use of grammar, syntax, morphology, phonology, and all the other functions linguists perform.
A linguist who wishes to go into translation must be fluent in another language to perform their tasks effectively. This is an important factor because accuracy and relevance are key in translation.
Final Thoughts
Linguist jobs sure entail a lot. Their skills make it possible for them to work in just about any field. Plus, they’re able to build on their knowledge and broaden their professional horizons.
Day Translations is always looking for professionals who are crazy about languages to be part of our team. If you’re a linguist with a passion for languages, then there might be an opportunity here.