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Our History

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Michigan is one of the very few departments in the United States that captures the inherent breadth of the discipline by exploring the cognitive, social, cultural,and developmental aspects of language. Faculty and students investigate language structure, history, knowledge, behavior, and use. Faculty research aims to integrate these diverse approaches to language in ways that engender new modes of linguistic inquiry and new research domains. 

Learn more about the Early Years of the Linguistics Department and how we have progressed throughout the years from the last decades of the 20th century to the 21st century.

From its humble beginnings with a single professor to its current status as a nationally respected program, a departmental history of Linguistics at the University of Michigan from 1893 to current day. 

View a list of historical facts and our Department Timeline