Linguist

In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.

The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used. Here is how this occupation has been classified over time:

• 2006 NOC: Linguists (4169.5) 
• 2006 NOC-S: Other Professional Occupations in Social Science (E038) 
• 2011 NOC: Other professional occupations in social science, n.e.c. (4169) 
• 2016 NOC: Other professional occupations in social science, n.e.c. (4169) 
• 2021 NOC: Other professional occupations in social science (41409) 

Linguists study language by analyzing:

• Word meanings and the meaning of phrases and sentences
• The structure of words, phrases, and sentences
• Sound systems, sounds, and their properties and structure
• The production and perception of speech
• How speech is processed and produced in the brain
• How children and adults learn language
• Language development, use, and change
• Speech errors
• Discourse structure
• The forms and functions of language
• Language preservation
• Elements shared by human languages
• The ways in which languages differ around the world
• The function and role of language in various cultures
• The ways in which languages change over time and how this helps us understand our human history

Linguists apply their knowledge in various areas.

In the health sciences, linguists study:

• Language disorders
• The relationship between language and brain function

In the cultural field, linguists:

• Develop language preservation material for First Nations people
• Teach language instructors
• Develop guidelines, technical methodologies, and instructional materials for language instructors
• Do translation and word processing
• Develop dictionaries
• Write speeches and edit text

In law enforcement or security services, they identify speakers or writers for forensic purposes.

In finance or insurance, they identify patterns in fraud such as false insurance claims.

In computational linguistics, they model natural languages. They also study linguistics using computational methods. They develop software and databases for:

• Document retrieval
• Grammar checking
• Information extraction from written text
• Machine language simulation
• Machine translation
• Natural language interfaces

Linguists often work standard hours in an office setting. Some linguists conduct field work for data collection.

Teachers and researchers may work long hours. For more information about linguists who work in post-secondary schools, see the University Professor occupational profile.

Linguists work for:

• The federal government
• Security organizations
• Commercial organizations such as software development companies and localization companies
• Finance, insurance, or other organizations that need specialists to analyze complex data sets
• Telecommunication or social media companies
• Private or public schools
• Post-secondary institutions
• Overseas organizations in the field of educational development and literacy programs

Linguists at the graduate level get training on data analysis skills. Most earn programming certifications as well. Many students enter other fields after graduation.

Advancement generally takes the form of being assigned more complex projects. Opportunities to advance to supervisory or management positions are limited.

Industry Concentration

This section shows the industries where the majority of people in this occupation work. The data is based on the 2016 Census.

In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups.

In the 4169: Other professional occupations in social science, n.e.c. occupational group, 80.2% of people work in:

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Public Administration
• Health Care and Social Services

Employment Outlook

Employment outlook is influenced by a wide variety of factors including:

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Employment Outlook

Employment outlook is influenced by a wide variety of factors. Learn how these factors can affect your career decisions.

• Time of year (for seasonal jobs)
• Location in Alberta
• Employment turnover (when people leave existing positions)
• Occupational growth (when new positions are created)
• Size of the occupation
• Trends and events that affect overall employment, especially in the industry or industries from the previous list

In Alberta, the 4169: Other professional occupations in social science, n.e.c. occupational group is expected to have a below-average annual growth of 0% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 0 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.

Note
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For example, only some of the new positions to be created will be for this occupation. It also applies to other data for the NOC group such as number of people employed.

Source: 2019-2023 Alberta Regional Occupational Demand Outlook

Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.

Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics website: www.aclacaal.org

Canadian Linguistic Association website: cla-acl.ca

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