Since 1974 professors from several disciplines at Pomona and Pitzer have been teaching and granting majors in linguistics through an intercollegiate program. However, this year Pomona created an independent department dedicated solely to the study of linguistics.

The department, though currently lacking facilities, will be staffed and operated by three Pomona professors from separate disciplines. They are Professor of German and Russian Karen Kossuth, Professor of French Rene Coppieters, and Professor of Philosophy Jay Atlas.

Professor Karen Kossuth

Kossuth, who specializes in bilinguistics, said that the intercollegiate linguistics program has been graduating four to five students a year with linguistics majors, but she expects that number to increase to as many as 40 within a few years.

"[The Linguistics Department] could change drastically and wonderfully in a couple of years," said Kossuth. "We’ve been trying for a long time to get this to happen."

Kossuth believes that a Linguistics Department fits naturally within the liberal arts environment of Pomona, and can also provide a valuable and relevant education.

"It is a perfect liberal arts major," said Kossuth, "You can do anything with it." Kossuth said the fields accessible to linguistics majors include computer linguistics, artificial intelligence, law, and speech therapy.

President Peter Stanley agreed, expressing keen interest in the new department. "It’s a fascinating field, full of career opportunities."

Stanley acknowledged that it was through the efforts of the faculty that the independent department was formed, and Kossuth added that it is rare that a new department is created.

"It was [the professors’] idea and we supported them," said Stanley. "The creation of this department was really a faculty initiative."

Although Kossuth says she is very pleased with the consolidation of the new department, she admits that their resources are limited. "We are a virtual department. We have no secretary, no office, no place where we are together," she said.

Professor Jay Atlas

Laura Staum ’02, who came to Pomona expecting to be a linguistics major, recognizes the benefits of converting the intercollegiate program into a full department.

"One of the big things about having a department instead of just the program is money," she said "You can get a secretary and even get all the offices into the same building. When you don’t have a department you realize all the ways in which you lose out."

"Making linguistics a department is a general acknowledgement by the college that linguistics is a legitimate field of study, and that is important over and above even the practical concern," said Staum, remarking that having departmental status simplifies recruiting students and professors.

Even though they don’t have new offices to move to, the professors will leave vacancies at the departments they are leaving. Stanley assured that by dedicating three faculty members solely to linguistics the school will not suffer in other areas.

The French and German departments, explained Stanley, were previously over-staffed, and consequently will not feel the effects of losing one professor each. Stanley said the philosophy department is already hiring a new full-time professor in order to fill in for Professor Fred Sontag, who will continue to work part-time.

As part of its new programming made possible by increased funds the Linguistics Department will be hosting a conference entitled "Methods in Social Linguistics" in November.

The conference will honor Pitzer Professor Ronald Macauly, who has been teaching linguistics in Claremont for 35 years, and was the co-founder of the Intercollegiate Linguistics Program.