Abstract:

The crisis experienced by foreign language majors in higher education stems from the misalignment between academic development and social needs. For instance, with approximately 1,000 universities and colleges having English majors focusing on linguistics, literature, translation, cross-cultural studies, and country-and-area studies within the Foreign Languages and Literature discipline, undergraduate and graduate students annually and inevitably face intense competition in the job market. The “Four New Constructions” initiative by the Ministry of Education advocates interdisciplinary approaches and major adjustments to meet societal demands. This study finds that language service is the major direction of adjustment for the Foreign Languages and Literature discipline. Foreign language graduates engaged in language services can better fulfill societal needs by applying linguistic theories to explore how knowledge of various disciplines, particularly in natural and technical sciences, is constructed and disseminated. Furthermore, this research demonstrates the necessity and feasibility of interdisciplinary integration in foreign language programs and proposes the establishment of a new sub-discipline, “Linguistics for Specific Purposes”, under the first-level discipline of Foreign Language and Literature to address the demands of language services.

Keywords: major adjustment; societal needs; Foreign Language and Literature; sub-discipline; Linguistics for Specific Purposes; language services

摘要：

我国高校外语专业的危机是学科发展和社会需求的矛盾造成的。全国近千所高校的外语专业都是进行外国语言、文学、翻译、文化和国别区域方向的研究，这必然会导致外语专业毕业生面临巨大的就业竞争压力。教育部提出的“四新”建设倡导推动学科交叉和专业调整，以满足社会需求。本研究发现，语言服务是外国语言文学调整专业的主要方向。从事语言服务的外语专业毕业生如果能够用语言学理论研究各学科尤其是自然技术学科的各种体裁的外语表达方式，就可以最大限度地满足社会的需求。此外，本研究还论证了外语专业进行学科交叉的必要性和可行性，最后提出了在外国语言文学一级学科下新设二级学科“专门用途语言学”的建议，以满足语言服务需求。

关键词: 专业调整, 社会需求, 外国语言文学, 二级学科, 专门用途语言学, 语言服务