# The perks to being a linguist **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330 "2003-07-23T06:18:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/1 "2003-07-23T06:18:36Z")
As some of you know, I am spending my summer doing reasearch for the linguistics department at My Venerable New England College ™. What I’m doing right now is looking at the behaviour of quantifiers cross-linguistically using Dryer’s 200 language sample. What that actually means is that I’m looking through all sorts of old books about all sorts of languages that I’ve never heard of trying to figure out how words like each, all, and every behave in languages that in some cases are spoken by about twelve people. (Okay, I exaggerate, but isn’t that NEAT?) The fun thing that I’ve discovered- one of them, at any rate- is that one of the perks to being a linguist is that basically nobody else is going to casually pick up, say, that book on Lepcha or Hmong Njua that I need. Go figure. That, and I get to say “Oh, I’m researching Hmong Njua.” I love my major. Pardon me while I have a geekgasm. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/2 "2003-07-23T06:44:34Z")
Also, the first one of you that makes that one joke will face my sweet sweet wrath. It officially became not acceptable to say to me when my _father_ made it. Just so you know. (And yes, that was a horrifying moment in my life.) ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/3 "2003-07-23T07:27:50Z")
I love linguistics. My linguistics professor, however, said I shouldn’t major in it unless I wanted to teach linguistics. Your post implies that he may have been being overly pessimistic! I think I’ll change my major right now. Or whenever I finally go back to school. On second thought, just finishing the damn English major would be a real triumph for me. But it does my heart good to hear linguistics stories. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/4 "2003-07-23T07:33:21Z")
I thought a perk would be like traveling to foreign countries! That would be 🆒 Carry on… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/5 "2003-07-23T07:49:08Z")
Cool! I’d point you to that site that has the numbers 1 to 10 in [over 4000 languages](http://www.zompist.com/numbers.shtml), but you proabably already know about it… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/6 "2003-07-23T15:38:49Z")
I actually do intend to teach linguistics, so I’m not sure if I’m the best example out there. Travel to foreign countries is another perk! I hope to do preservation work at some point and be able to tromp around the world in little-known places. Or maybe well-known places. Either way, tromping will be involved. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/7 "2003-07-23T16:42:36Z")
That is -too- cool! I’d love to do something like that! Here’s a little website that, while completely unhelpful, will likely be at least amusing to you- [www.axeinmyhead.com](http://www.axeinmyhead.com) ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/8 "2003-07-23T17:40:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*Also, the first one of you that makes that one joke will face my sweet sweet wrath. It officially became not acceptable to say to me when my _father_ made it. > > Just so you know. > > (And yes, that was a horrifying moment in my life.) \*\* The one about being cunning? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/9 "2003-07-23T22:15:32Z")
Actually, linguistics is a pretty cool subject. Where is Hmong Njua spoken? You will come out of this a much…sharper linguist. 😉 (Snooooopy, damn you! DAMN YOU! :D) ---
**Author:** ![October](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@October](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/October)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/10 "2003-07-23T22:43:01Z")
What’s the joke? I read Greek, and whenever this comes up in conversation, people think they’re really clever and original to say, well, you can probably figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/11 "2003-07-23T22:54:11Z")
That is so cool! I really wanted to minor in this subject when I was in college, but the relevant courses were only offered on even numbered years when a democrat was in office (or something weird like that.) So, I never got the opportunity ☹ but the classes that I did take, I enjoyed immensely. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/12 "2003-07-24T03:48:26Z")
A fun OP, **andygirl** , and I envy you the fun of that research. Your presence is requested [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=199790), along with **lauramarlane** and others who might be interested. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perks-to-being-a-linguist/190330/13 "2003-07-24T03:53:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Actually, linguistics is a pretty cool subject. Where is Hmong Njua spoken? > > You will come out of this a much…sharper linguist. 😉 > > (Snooooopy, damn you! DAMN YOU! :D) \*\* Just to show off my own geekery, Hmong is the name of the people and the language spoken by the non-ethnic-Vietnamese residents of the Annamese highlands in Vietnam (and IIRC adjacent Laos) – the ones usually referred to by the French term Montagnards. Njua would be one dialect of Hmong, if I’m right.