Linguistics Personal Statement Examples

My most memorable Christmas came with a parcel of Harry Potter audio books and this was where my quest to understanding language began. The moment Stephen Fry started to narrate chapter one, I fell in love with words and all they could achieve...
Language is common to all people. By its nature, it is something that links us all together, yet our use of language is a major factor in defining us all as individuals. For something that comes so naturally to all of us, language can hold great power and influence...
It was whilst in the linguistically diverse culture of South Africa, that my wish to study English Language and Linguistics was confirmed. In a country with eleven national languages, I was able to see Krashen's theories on second language acquisition in practice, learn about the 'clicking' sounds of Xhosa and meet people, who are deemed "uneducated", yet are fluent in two or more languages...
I am currently a student of English Language, English Literature and Media at West Herts. College in Hertfordshire, and I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. Whereas in secondary school nothing was really required as teachers were more inclined to help their pupils, teachers of A Level subjects expect more independent research and study...
English has long since endured an inappropriate reputation of being boring, lack-luster. However, it is not until you've become engrossed in the language that the true power is revealed, how a single word can bend someone's mind to a cause, take them to a world they can only dream off, or create an atmosphere so tense you can not stop reading...
I imagine that many other applicants will talk about how English Language is all they've ever wanted to study since they mastered the subordinate clause at the age of four. However, I'm a bit different...
I feel the reason I have such an affinity for linguistics is because I am bilingual. I often find myself compelled by the relationship between English and Lithuanian, the two languages I speak fluently...
When I decided to take English Language for A Level, I did not realise that it would soon become an obsession of mine; I have found myself analysing posters, advertisements and even conversations I hear...
My love of languages was formed and nurtured in a classroom but it was developed into a true passion in the real world. A trip to Ecuador with World Challenge has made me realise I could never be content with knowing a language simply in a classroom context, because the true beauty of a language is in communication and the education that communication brings...
My decision to study languages at University stems from a fascination of the complexity of language and the changes which languages go through. As I am Scottish, I often speak in a regional dialect and I find myself engrossed as to why people speak in dialects and why speakers of the same language can have difficulties understanding each other...
My interest in linguistics was gradually shaped throughout my life by all the different ways in which I have experienced languages: as a learner, translator, and as a teacher. However, it was the times spent living in Russia and later in the UK that made me fully understand that language can be a means of conveying much more than just our thoughts...
Have you ever heard the Tuvan throat singing technique? Beautiful and intriguing at the same time. The question that's bound to accompany a throat singing performance is how the human voice could possibly produce such a sound...
Each language has its own particular charm, whether it is my mother tongue Kannada's comforting rhythm or German's compound words. I fell in love with something about each language I learned, and wanting to further explore human communication, I dipped into linguistics by reading J...
I am writing to express my great interest in applying for the Doctoral Research Fellowship and in becoming a member of the team at the Linguistic Eye-tracking Laboratory at the University of XXX. It would be an honor for me to undertake a PhD in Psycholinguistics at the University of XXX, benefiting from highly professional academic staff, resources, and the multinational environment...
It was not until part-way through my GCSE courses that I first heard the term: ‘linguistics’ – but it was much earlier that I encountered linguistics itself. During my first year of primary school, I found myself fascinated by the manipulation of language, and the sheer vastness of potential meaning therein...
Why people do what they do and the nature of the human condition is something that has long-since challenged and intrigued me. This existential exploration has led to my deep interest in psychology, which has allowed me to discover a multitude of ideas that endeavour to explain our most illogical behaviours...
I was eleven years old when, during a Russian lesson in my native St. Petersburg, our teacher revealed to the class as a curious fact that the Russian and the English words for ‘tree’ were cognates...
I have recently become greatly interested in linguistics and exploring how communication between human beings is constructed and developed. Achieving a grade 9 in French and Spanish at GCSE, and continuing Spanish to A level, I feel I am gaining a solid understanding of how these two languages are structured and formed, as well as thoroughly enjoying being able to hold a conversation using both...
Unlike most people who are indifferent towards language, I am fascinated by it. Though still uncertain of what exactly it is, a tool, an instinct, or phenomenon, I recognise its power to persuade, manipulate, disgust, bewilder, excite, and create observable change in people and the world around them...

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