The Sounds of English introduces you to the sound systems of English and enables you to gain a basic understanding and knowledge of the description and classification of speech sounds. You will also enhance your knowledge and understanding of the ways in which phonetics and phonology are directly relevant to several fields, such as speech and language therapy, second language learning, education, literary stylistics, forensic phonetics and artificial intelligence.

The Structure of English introduces you to the structure of the English language. You will learn to use grammatical terminology to label words, clauses, sentences and structures.

Studying English Language provides a foundation for the exploration of the English language. The module enables you to acquire and consolidate key skills for degree-level study of the English language, such as locating relevant sources, critical reading, taking and organising notes, constructing an annotated bibliography, collecting and analysing data, reporting results via tables and graphs, summarising and quoting, preparing presentation slides, structuring an essay, and citing and listing sources.

Exploring Variation in English introduces how the English language is used in different ways by varied speakers. The module enables you to explore the diversity of English at the regional, national and global level. You will also focus on the methodology of linguistic research and carry out your own, small-scale sociolinguistic research project.

Language and Meaning explores the different aspects of meaning as expressed through lexis and grammar. The module examines meaning in relation to the world, society, culture and attitude, and looks into how words and their meanings relate to one another. You will also investigate meaning, expressed directly or indirectly, and consider how meaning arises from the combination of lexis and grammatical structures.

Language, Mind and Communication provides you with an overview of the development of language and communication, and how we learn to understand and produce it, with a focus on the English language. The module addresses how language developed during human evolution, outlines how language is processed in the brain, and considers how language affects our minds and our perception of other aspects of our environment. A variety of theories that have been put forward to explain language development will also be discussed.

History and Development of English examines the history and development of the English language from its earliest beginnings to the present-day. The module covers the influence of Chaucer and Shakespeare on the English language, as well as the role of dictionaries and the King James Bible in the making of what English has become today. There are sessions focusing on the rise of standard English, the nature and spread of dialect over time, the effect of linguistic borrowing, recent changes in the language, and the growth of regional standards of English around the world.

Methodology provides an overview of contemporary approaches to working with linguistic data. You will explore current methodological approaches used by linguists according to the kinds of features, and levels of, language being explored.  Different specialists in the English Language team will introduce their approaches to linguistic data during the course of the module and present, critiquing recent research in their field that employs different kinds of methodologies.

Independent Project enables you to research and initiate a work-related project with an external agency. The project entails detailed familiarity with a cultural, public sector or voluntary organisation, a contribution to this organisation, the use of skills developed on the degree programme, and a final reflection and self-evaluation which looks ahead to your immediate and longer-term career plans.

English Language Long Essay provides the opportunity to undertake a small scale project and engage in a fairly long piece of extended writing on a relevant topic of your own choice.

Introduction to Sociolinguistic Variation immerses you in sociolinguistics, the study of language and society. At the heart of the discipline is the knowledge and understanding that there is no one ‘type’ of language used by every speaker within a given community but that it differs between social groups and contexts. Language use may vary based on factors such as age, gender, class, ethnicity and geography and this module will examine the relationship between language and these categories. Variationist sociolinguistics examines how language is used across society and explains why this variation exists. It relies on quantitative methodologies to draw results from large pools of data, and on a broader, interdisciplinary understanding of society and culture to interpret those results.

Language of Shakespeare and His Time enables you to explore distinctive Early Modern English linguistic features (including morphology, syntax and pronunciation) of Shakespeare’s work in great detail, and to compare them with corresponding features in present-day Standard British English. You will identify linguistic distinctions in Shakespeare’s language which are no longer active today, analyse the differences between Early Modern English and contemporary English in terms of vocabulary, grammatical structure and usage, and distinguish between the language of Shakespeare’s time and Shakespeare’s own creative use of the language.

Analysing Discourse takes a linguistic approach to the examination of discourse, both written and spoken. You will explore how discourse is structured and consider how meaning in discourse is created and negotiated between addressors and addressees. Furthermore, the module presents a linguistic approach to the study of the communication, creation, maintenance and contestation of ideologies via discourse.

Early English (600-1500) provides an opportunity to gain greater familiarity with linguistic features of Old and Middle English and to undertake in-depth analysis of the language of writers such as Chaucer and Gower and the writers of Beowulf, Piers Plowman and other major texts of the period. The module will enable you to understand the complexities of describing the English of an age before the rise of standard forms of the language were widely adopted. Your awareness of major literary texts written in English will also be increased.

Phonetics and Phonology provides you with the opportunity to acquire practical and theoretical knowledge and skills in the description and classification of speech sounds. Using English as its focus, the module begins with the study of articulatory phonetics, focusing on segmental and suprasegmental features of accent. You will then use this knowledge as a foundation to begin the study of basic phonology. Concepts, such as phonemes, allophones and the syllable are discussed in some detail.

Modern English Structure and Usage teaches aspects of modern English grammar (morphology and syntax) or structure, and examines their interaction with variational aspects of modern English usage. You will acquire an extensive basis of expertise in the key area of grammatical description, becoming familiar with an appropriate level of grammatical terminology and developing important practical skills in detailed grammatical analysis.

Child Language Development offers an overview of the processes involved in first language development. The module considers how children develop language in terms of perception and comprehension, phonetics and phonology, lexis and grammar. You will also be introduced to, and examine, theoretical accounts of how we acquire our first language. This will include consideration of themes around nativism and evidence-based approaches.

Psycholinguistics explores the ways that we understand and produce language, from a cognitive perspective. With a primary focus on the English language, the module questions whether there is evidence for a developmental trajectory of child language comprehension and production and considers whether we can distinguish between linguistic competence and performance in either oral or written communication. You will also discover a variety of psycholinguistic methodologies, analyse how we teach and evaluate particular linguistic skills and abilities, and examine whether we can identify individuals early in life who are at risk of a slower rate of language development and give them appropriate support.

An Introduction to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) examines the principles and practice of good English language teaching. Issues dealt with during the module include the history of language teaching and learning, individual learner differences, grammatical terminology, materials development and planning English for Speakers of Other Languages’ programmes and lessons.

Historical Linguistics centres around the questions of how and why language changes. This will be a platform through which to explore not only language and its structure, but also human (pre)history, society, cognition and psychology. Historical linguistics is one of the most dynamic fields in linguistics. It deals with many of the same issues and questions as other areas of the field, such as sociolinguistics, but takes a diachronic approach to them, looking at change over time. In order to understand how language works in the present day, it is crucial to achieve an understanding of how it has worked in the past and what the continuities are between past and present.

Language, Gender and Sexuality enables you to analyse and account for the ways in which gender and sexuality are constructed and represented through language use. Butler’s influential theory that gender is performative and that it emerges through discourse is key to the approach taken in this module. You will explore the diverse linguistic means by which gender and sexual identities are linguistically constructed and performed. The module will also encourage you to examine a variety of discourse types, such as spontaneous conversation, magazines, children’s literature, and film, in order to interrogate the ways in which gender and sexual identities are linguistically represented, regulated and constrained. In addition to this, the intersectionality of language, gender and sexuality with other aspects of social identity, such as ethnicity, age, and social class, will be explored.

Bilingualism investigates bilingualism as a socially and culturally contextualised phenomenon. The module begins by identifying processes involved in the acquisition of more than one language in different contexts, such as within the family and community and within various formal educational settings. At the level of individual language use, you will examine conversational code-switching in the light of current research findings. At the level of communities and societies, you will explore different models for the functional distribution of languages and attempts for language planning. The focus of the module is on bilingualism as a worldwide phenomenon but attention is given to language diversity and the use of languages other than English in the UK.

Beyond English takes a typological approach to language. The module enables you to understand the major features of the structure of English at a more universal level, in terms of the ways in which the features of English phonetics, phonology, morphosyntax, semantics and its writing system compare with the same features in other numerically significant or otherwise relevant languages.

Language and Identity explores a variety of past and present approaches to the study of language and identity. You will examine how different identities are constructed and look at their intrinsic relationship to language and other socio-cultural phenomena. Placing a strong emphasis on the symbolic social value of language differentiation, the aim of the module is to make you aware of the importance of promoting more tolerant attitudes to language variation in society and reducing linguistic prejudices, a perspective that will be essential for those intending to develop a career in educational contexts.

Language Dissertation involves the completion of an 8,000-9000 word independent (but supervised) study of an area of language of interest to you. You will learn how to research and write about a topic agreed with your supervisor, and produce a well organised and well-structured piece of research. Potential topics which could be explored in a dissertation include, for example, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, child language acquisition, spoken discourse analysis, psycholinguistics, language in relation to gender and sexuality, language pathology, language and pedagogy, dialectology, language contact, creolisation, place-name studies, bilingualism, or contrastive grammar.

Forensic Linguistics recognises that the law is overwhelmingly a linguistic institution. Laws are coded in language and the concepts that are used to construct law are accessible only through language.  Legal processes, such as court cases, police investigations, and the management of prisoners take place almost exclusively though language. Forensic linguistics concerns the application of linguistics to describe and analyse language and discourse in the legal process.  This module takes a broad view of the subject in order to examine a wide interface between language and the law.

112-120 UCAS Tariff points are required to join this programme with effect from September 2020 entry.