Jessica LaBrie ’09
Linguistics major, Anthropology minor
F08-S09 D-plan: R-O-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing about the department is the enthusiasm of the professors. They’re very excited about the field and teaching their students. They’re eager to help you out if you just go and ask. My least favorite thing about the department is its small size, coupled with the D-Plan and the small size of Dartmouth. It makes it very difficult for me to take the courses I want/need to take at times that fit in with the rest of my D-Plan – and sometimes it makes it impossible to take them at all.

Important info for potential majors: Scheduling courses into your D-Plan in an effective manner is difficult, so when you start thinking you want to major in Linguistics, plan out your “plan of attack.” Look at the major requirements, look at prerequisites for courses you want to take, try to map it out a little bit. You may even want to go talk to the chair about what classes you want/need to take and how they can be fit in.

Talk to me if: you’re interested in Historical Linguistics or are struggling with that course.

Most valuable academic information learned: Visit your profs during office hours – that’s why they have office hours. When I first came to Dartmouth, I didn’t visit my profs’ office hours because it seemed intimidating, and also I wasn’t really sure what to talk about with them. Even if you can only think of a tiny question, go ask it. It might even end up sparking a discussion from which you’ll learn more than just the answer of the question itself.

Favorite class and professor: Historical Linguistics (Ling 15) with Prof. Pulju was amazing. The subject interested me to the point that even the exams were fun, and Prof. Pulju is entertaining and teaches very effectively. If you haven’t taken a course with Prof. Pulju yet, I recommend that you do so – I’ve never heard anyone say anything negative about him or his teaching style.

Major classes taken: LING 1, 10, 11, 15, 18, 22, 26, 35, 50 (Discourse, Culture, and Identity in Asian and Middle Eastern Languages), 50 (The Brazilian Amazon and Multilingualism)

Major journey: I took Ling 1, not really knowing what Linguistics was but thinking that I might enjoy it. I did – a ton – and since then, there has been no question as to what I would major in. You know a major is the right one for you when you look forward to doing the homework and the exams are actually fun!

Major specific activities: Research topics presented include: “Language in the Former Soviet Republics of Central Asia,” Cornell Undergraduate Linguistics Colloquium, Mar. 2007; “Numeral Classifiers in the Mru Language,” McGill’s Canadian Conference for Linguistics Undergraduates, Mar. 2008

Other activities: Dartmouth College Marching Band – President, General Manager, Social Chair; Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority – Recruitment Chair, Formal Chair; The Dartmouth – Senior Copy Editor; Ceili Irish Dancers

Off Campus Program: Linguistics FSP in Auckland, New Zealand, 09W

Brian Howe ’09
Classics, Linguistics Double Major; Pre-law
F08-S09 D-plan: L-O-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing about the department would be the great interaction with faculty members. Every Linguistics class after Ling 1 that I have had has been really small to the point where every student really gets great individual attention from the professor. The professors in the department care so much about their teaching and wanting to form relationships with students, which is really amazing. My least favorite thing would be the size of the department. Even though the small department allows students to get to know faculty members really well, the schedule is often limited in terms of what courses you can take and when, so you really need to plan your major schedule in advance.

Important info for potential majors: I think an important thing for potential majors to consider is what you would like to do with the major and get out of it after Dartmouth. A lot of people don’t want to major in Linguistics because it doesn’t have a directly obvious practical use outside of academics, but in reality there are tons of valuable skills and assets you can get out of the Linguistics major if you are really passionate about it and take courses in this department that you truly enjoy.

Talk to me if: You are interested in Historical Linguistics or Indo-European Linguistics. Also feel free to talk to me with questions about the FSP in New Zealand.

Most valuable academic information learned: My most valuable academic information learned would be to go to professor’s office hours. A lot of students can be really intimidated about going to speak to their professors outside of class, but the professors truly care about their teaching and are really eager to get to know their students and help them with any problems. Forming great relationships with my professors has been so helpful for me academically.

Favorite class and professor: My favorite class was probably Ling 80, a senior seminar on Indo-European Linguistics taught by Professor Pulju. Even though I took this seminar my freshman spring, the challenge was definitely worth it. Professor Pulju is so passionate about what teaches and has an amazing sense of humor all the time. Learning to re-examine the ancient languages I had learned through historical linguistics was really incredible, and having a small class and getting so much interaction with an enthusiastic professor was a great experience.

Major classes taken: LING 1, 18, 27, 80

Major journey: When I came to Dartmouth, I had never taken a Linguistics class before, but I had taken both Latin and Spanish in high school, and was really interested to see how language works on a broader scale. I took Ling 1 freshman fall with Professor Pulju and loved the class immediately. From there I ended up taking a Linguistics class every term, and I eventually realized that I had found the right major for myself.

Major specific activities: Presidential Scholars Research Project with Prof. Margaret Graver on Seneca; Latin/Greek Study Center Director/TA

Thesis status: I intend to do a thesis, but I am not sure what exactly I will focus on. Most likely I will choose a topic on Indo-European Linguistics, either focusing on Latin or Greek.

Other activities: Undergraduate Advisor; Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, Dartmouth Law Journal-Senior Editor, Tucker Foundation-Early College Awareness Chair, Katrina Help Biloxi-Trip Leader, DOC Directorate, Dartmouth Model United Nations

Off Campus Program: German LSA in Berlin 08S; Linguistics FSP in New Zealand, 09W

Internship experience: Temple and Temple, L.L.P.-Legal Intern, 07S, Syracuse, NY In this internship I got to work first-hand in a law office in Syracuse, working in a wide variety of legal cases that included family court, real estate, adoption law, wills, etc. I did the majority of research on the Westlaw legal database for several cases that the law office was working on, and I also had the opportunity to both go to court and also meet and consult with different clients.

Jacky de la Torre’09
Linguistics modified with English; French minor
F08-S09 D-plan: L-O-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing about the Linguistics department is the people. The professors are brilliant and always have something interesting to talk about, academic or otherwise. You’ll probably have them more than once, so you really get to know them. And getting to know students in an academic light is something that doesn’t happen in overcrowded departments. One thing that’s unfortunate about the department is its inflexibility; being such a small department, the steering committee is forced to offer some courses only once or twice during a student’s time here. I’m not very acquainted with the French department since my professors have been either in France or visiting, but I have no complaints so far. The English department has turned out less student-oriented than I expected, but it provides an intellectually stimulating atmosphere.

Important info for potential majors: If you plan carefully enough, you can do the major without taking more than one Ling class in any one term. Some people don’t mind as much as I do, but I find that if you avoid doubling up, you’re much less likely to get burned out, especially toward the middle of your Dartmouth career when you may be on campus for five or six terms in a row.

Talk to me if: Your academic interests don’t fit in a box. Modifying is a great option if you want to incorporate more than one discipline into your major, or just do more than one FSP.

Most valuable academic information learned: Don’t distrib-kill freshman year. I’ve inadvertently gotten rid of more distribs just taking what I’m interested in than consciously trying to get them over with. Following your interests can also introduce you to departments you never thought you’d be interested in; I never thought I’d be studying linguistics in addition to French and English, but it has turned out really well and I am seldom bored.

Favorite class and professor: English 22, Medieval English Literature, while not in the Ling department, had many linguistic elements to it. We often read the texts in Old English, and George Edmondson even knew how to pronounce it. George is fantastic; if you’re at all interested in medieval-era languages, I highly recommend a class with him. Medieval languages are of great interest to me (French 22, Middle Ages and the Renaissance, is another favorite), and having an interdisciplinary major allows me to pursue this interest.

Major classes taken: LING 1, 11, 20, 24; ENGL 22, 38, 41; FREN 8, 10, 12, 22

Major journey: I came to Dartmouth thinking I’d be an English major and also considering teacher certification, but I took Ling 1 with Professor Pulju freshman fall since it sounded like an interesting QDS and ended up loving it. I didn’t completely drop English either, and after my term abroad in France I decided I wanted to keep going with French as well, so I decided to do a minor in French and modify Linguistics with English.

Major specific activities:Research in the works for F08

Other activities: The Dartmouth – Copy Editor; Epsilon Kappa Theta; Ushering at the Hop – House Manager; Financial Aid Office Assistant; Let’s Get Ready tutoring – Math Coach

Off Campus Program: French LSA+ in Toulouse, France, W08; Linguistics FSP in Auckland, New Zealand, W09

Christina Castedo ’09
Linguistics major; German minor
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: I love how accommodating the department is. The professors are really there as a resource for their students and, since there aren’t that many of us, we get a lot of personal attention. Three other students and I told one professor that we were interested in studying Sanskrit from a comparative linguistics perspective, so, even though there is no official class, he’s teaching it to the four of us for independent study credit, without getting paid for it. However, a small department does have its negatives – there are only so many subjects that can be offered each term, so scheduling everything you want to take can be difficult.

Important info for potential majors: Try to plan out your schedule as much as possible ahead of time – some courses are only offered occasionally, so take them while you can. Also, don’t be intimidated by high numbers – I took a senior seminar my freshman spring because the topic was one that interested me, and it wasn’t going to be offered again before I graduated. It’s been one of my favorite classes so far.

Talk to me if: you have questions about Morphology or Indo-European linguistics.

Most valuable academic information learned: Don’t worry about the fact that linguistics may not seem like the most “practical” major – if you study what you love, you’ll do well, and that will be the most important thing to potential employers.

Favorite class and professor: The History of English (Ling 18) with Professor Pulju. He’s an amazing lecturer, knows an incredible amount about the subject, and takes pains to get the entire class involved. It was one of the harder classes I took my freshman year, but the only one in which I actually had fun taking exams.

Major classes taken:LING 1, 17, 18, 20, 26, 28, 35, 80, 85; PHIL 6

Major journey: I’ve always loved languages, and I took a great etymology & semantics course in high school, so I came to Dartmouth planning on majoring in linguistics. Each ling class that I’ve taken since then has only confirmed that this was the right choice.

Major specific activities: Spanish drill instructor, independent research (this summer) for my thesis.

Thesis status: Planned with Professor Jim Stanford, comparing naming trends in three Connecticut towns over the past thirty years.

Other activities: Epsilon Kappa Theta – pledge sisterhood chair, historian; Aquinas House – sophomore year secretary, currently running for senior year Tucker representative; La Alianza Latina; Kaplan SAT/ACT tutor.

Off Campus Program: German LSA in Berlin, 07S; Germany 07F

Internship experience: Labyrinth Kindermuseum Berlin, Praktikantin (intern), 07F, Berlin, Germany; Scholastic Corporation, marketing intern, 08X, New York City, New York