Linguistic Diversity and Digital Humanities (LingDig) is an integrated international programme that offers you in-depth training in your chosen study track supplemented with broad multi-disciplinary perspectives. As a student in the programme you will be able to choose among five study tracks: (1) General Linguistics, (2) Phonetics, (3) Language Technology, (4) Cognitive Science and (5) Digital Humanities.*
General Linguistics broadens and deepens your training in a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches to language structure and language in use. Special emphasis is put on linguistic diversity including language typology in a global perspective as well as the documentation and description of endangered and previously undocumented and under-documented forms of speech. Our view encompasses all aspects of linguistic diversity in time and space, including historical linguistics as well as the extralinguistic context of languages: ethnicities, cultures and environments. The areal foci are Eurasia and Africa.
Phonetics will introduce you to the tools for working with the articulatory, acoustic and perceptual aspects of human speech from a multidisciplinary perspective. The discipline deals with all aspects of human speech, including spoken language, emotion, as well as other para- and extra-linguistic factors. Through the courses, you will become acquainted with the methods of experimental phonetics and speech synthesis. Most courses in phonetics are taught jointly with the researchers in the Phonetics and Speech Synthesis research group. The group's research focus is on speech prosody.
Language Technology focuses on the development of models and tools that can process and generate human languages, The field combines linguistics and computer science in an interdisciplinary approach with close links to machine learning and research in artificial intelligence. The study track includes fundamental models of morphology, syntax and semantics and emphasises cross-lingual natural language processing and language technology in the humanities. Our courses are closely related to research in the department integrating students in on-going projects and developments.
Cognitive Science is the multidisciplinary study of the mind. It studies the information-processing that is the basis of all intelligent behaviour, including perception, attention, learning and memory, concepts and language. Most studied is the cognition of adult humans - but cognitive development, animal cognition and the similarities and differences in human and Artificial Intelligence also belong to cognitive science, as do the fundamental philosophical, theoretical and methodological issues in understanding the mind.
Digital humanities (DH) is a scholarly field situated in-between divergent research cultures and approaches. It incorporates both humanities research based on computer-assisted methods, and the humanities-based study of digital cultures. Most typically DH refers to the use of data science within the realm of SSH research.
These five study tracks interact at all levels, starting with an introductory course common to all students, bringing together the perspectives of all five study tracks. Taking courses across study tracks is made easy. The integration of these five disciplines into one programme is unique - no similar programme exists anywhere else.
In the context of humanities, the programme has the closest relationship to natural sciences, and many subfields of the programme involve methods directly linked to laboratory sciences, including digital technology and neurosciences.
The teaching in the programme includes lectures and seminars, practical exercise sessions, reading circles, fieldwork excursions, as well as work practice (internship). The broad spectrum of teaching methods guarantees optimal support for your learning processes.
Every spring, the programme organises a student conference. Information on previous years' conferences.
*Previously the programme was called the Master's Programme in Linguistic diversity in Digital Age. The mentioned fields of specialisations/study tracks are available as of 1 Aug 2020.