Linguistics as a Science

How do we define what qualifies as a science? Does linguistics fit the definition? In this week's episode, we look at linguistics as a science: whether it fits the scientific method, how scientifically sound different parts of the field are, and why studying linguistics is a great tool for introducing people to how science works.
This is Topic #33! Our first one back from our second hiatus. We're glad to be back!
This week's tag language: German!
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Our website also has extra content about this week's topic at www.thelingspace.com/episode-33/
We also have forums to discuss this episode, and linguistics more generally.
Sources:
The two papers we refer to for checking out syntactic judgments are:
Jon Sprouse and Diogo Almeida. 2012. Assessing the reliability of textbook data in syntax: Adger's Core Syntax. Journal of Linguistics 48: 609-652.
Jon Sprouse, Carson T. Schütze, & Diogo Almeida. 2013. A comparison of informal and formal acceptability judgments using a random sample from Linguistic Inquiry 2001-2010. Lingua 134: 219-248.
You can find links to both papers on Jon Sprouse's website at sprouse.uconn.edu/
Looking forward to next week!

Thanks for your videos. They're awesome. I'm learning so many things. And it was real kind of you to put subtitles in this video. A hug as huge as big Brazil!

[@thelingspace]

+L. Érick Glad you're getting a lot out of it! And we think subtitling is definitely important. Have a Canada-sized hug in return. ^_^

[@thelingspace]

+Andy Ding Thanks for the question, but I'm already taken. It's flattering, though. ^_^

[@teacherdkennedy]

Hey--awesome as always. Just thought you should know that I couldn't click on this from your web site, either from the by number or from the by topic part.

[@nonom8341]

Is linguistics a formal science or social/empirical science? Do a video on this.

[@GPS509]

Love and huge respect from Haiti

[@thelingspace]

Thanks for watching! ^_^

[@walrusblu8133]

a great project, keep it up!

[@thelingspace]

Walrus Blu Thanks! We'll keep doing our best. ^_^

[@oussamabahri]

you are speaking very fast ... sometimes I lose track of the meaning. Yet, the content is excellent !!

[@crystalpardo6041]

You can listen at a slower speed

[@oussamabahri]

@@crystalpardo6041 yeah... already done it. Thanks again for reaching over.

[@andrewfavia9233]

Keep up the great work! I may pass phonology 1 thanks to your vids lol

[@thelingspace]

Andrew Favia Thanks for the kind words! We hope Phonology 1 goes well for you. ^_^

[@eveblossomed]

The IPA on your ‘I love phonetics’ card should be wrapped in slashes, not brackets, since it’s more of a phonemic transcription than a phonetic one.

[@andyxyz01]

Moti, can we get married?

[@monikayelmar9287]

Very fast sir

[@frankharr9466]

Ich kenne ,,Bis Bald"!

[@amirraniaamira1325]

Very fast 😥😥😥

[@verdakorako4599]

linguistics is one of the few sciences where it is OK to experiment on humans without permission. Don't ever try that with virology.

[@thelingspace]

True, although even in linguistics, we generally do ask for permission anyway. But yeah, the results are less dire than with viruses. ^_^

[@verdakorako4599]

The Ling Space I suppose the worst that could happen is the human test subject feeling a bit awkward or confused at the end of the experiment.

[@theywalkinguptoyouand4060]

Fulmduko Maĥiac the experiment is more based in psychology isnt it? Not linguistics. Because it isn't a real science.

[@krzysztofmaksyminko8657]

@@theywalkinguptoyouand4060 A lot of universities offer Bachelor of Science degrees in linguistics (especially in Phonetics and phonology, and Neurolinguistics and sometimes Psycholinguistics). The experiments are done in linguistics not psychology. The enquiries are different and done in a different way. Linguistics is quantitiative and qualitative as is every other science.

[@theywalkinguptoyouand4060]

Those examples you gave are experiments done in fields of psychology and neurology and are applied in linguistics. But linguistics itself is so insulting to be called a science.