This paper discusses the role of the study of general and historical linguistics in Undergraduate Degree Courses in Interpreting. In the discussion the author draws upon her own experience as a researcher-linguist, as a professional interpreter and as a teacher of interpreting. The paper starts with a proposal for a curriculum, referring to historical aspects and theoretical models. The second part of the paper illustrates a specific application of metalinguistic instruments of analysis, starting from the possibility of examining scientifically the note-taking technique used for consecutive interpreting. The analysis, considering the following aspects: signs and values, arbitrariness, one-to-one correspondence, morphological indicators and markedness and bi-dimensionality and linearity, highlights the similarities and differences between the functioning of the note-taking system as a third language and natural languages.