Here are some testimonials about why some of our students chose to study linguistics with us:
"I decided to choose the Linguistics Track because I came to the Institute of English and American Studies to learn about the English language and languages in general. The linguistics classes are interesting for those who are interested in how languages work and are used by speakers but you also have the opportunity to bring your own ideas to the class and discuss them with your teachers and fellow students. In this way, I believe that studying linguistics promotes free thinking and not just learning all the theories and principles governing language, even though they are equally important." - Viktória Barabás (B.A. student in English Studies, Class of 2022)
"I had fun studying linguistics at the University of Debrecen and I really appreciate everything I gained here, both personally and academically. I chose my major because I was always passionate about languages and found the Institute of English and American Studies to be a perfect place to gain a degree. Throughout the studying process, I have deepened my knowledge of language. What was very important in the process is that the students in every class are multilingual and multicultural and you learn about the languages of your groupmates while sharing and discussing yours. I personally enjoyed every class and found interest in doing research, reading articles and writing essays for my seminars even though it was challenging sometimes to meet the course requirements." - Sevara Butaeva (M.A. student in English Linguistics, Class of 2022)
"I was always more preoccupied with literature, since I love thinking critically, analyzing texts, so I can build arguments for a certain claim. Putting it this way, that sounds an awful lot like what you need in linguistics as well. The course Challenging Grammar is to be blamed for turning me into an enthusiast. From the beginning of the semester, I was hooked on the way the classes were forcing me to think in a systematic, logical way and to a contemplative analysis-junkie, who is otherwise a scatterbrain, it was both heaven and fittingly a challenge from the first moment. It is quite hard, yet fun to get used to the type of thinking linguistics requires, which is an invaluable asset, both in university and beyond, as it teaches you how to summarize, pull together the information you learn and use it in a proactive way, which has proved to be the most reliable and useful skill I acquired in university so far." - Zsófia Balogh (B.A. student in English Studies, Class of 2023)
"I love linguistics because it is a very complex field of humanities. It helps us to understand human nature and thinking better, it shows how the different forms of verbal and written communication are structured and it captures how linguistic knowledge is developed. It easily combines with other fields, like psychology, computer science, history, or biology. Language is one of the most essential parts of human nature, and I think it is fascinating to gain a deeper understanding of it." - Rebeka Karajos (teacher trainee in English and History, Class of 2024)
"I have always loved literature. The beauty of it is that the same text has as many interpretations as readers. Everyone makes something different out of it. Literary pieces have different meanings to everyone. After this approach, linguistics feels like a breath of fresh air with its certainty, the complex rules and systems. However, the thrill of discovering something new is the same in both disciplines. I love how you can learn everything that was said before, then you can come up with your own theories and hypotheses. It is exciting to experiment and also to see how researchers' ideas changed throughout the decades. To my mind, it is fascinating that we still cannot answer every question: there is more to be discovered." - Darinka Végh (teacher trainee in English and Hungarian, class of 2025)