Source: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/freyav/copley.htm#1

 

Top Ten Responses to "I'm a linguistics major."

10. How many languages do you speak?

9. Isn't it sad, the state of grammar today? City kids can't even speak English!

8. I didn't know there was a department in linguistics.

7. In fact, I thought linguistics was a part of anthropology.

6. Oh, so you'll write dictionaries when you get out of school.

5. My cousin wrote his dissertation on Icelandic grammar, but he can't find a job in Icelandic.

4. Logistics? What's that?

3. Oh, a linguistics major! Now, how is that different from majoring in English?

2. I've read Noam Chomsky -- I used to use his books to teach grammar to my third-graders. (!)

1. Oh, like William Safire?