Undergraduate Language and Linguistics 2025-2026

How do we get from Beowulf to ‘bae’? From Chaucer to ‘sashay away’? This course will look at the development of English over the last millennium and beyond, examining language changes in sound, structure and meaning. You will also be introduced to present-day study of English, its spread as a truly global language, and how all of this can add to our understanding of language in the modern world and in the past. 

In this course, students critically examine a broad range of commonly held beliefs about language and the relation of language to the brain and cognition, learning, society, change and evolution. Students read a series of short scholarly articles in order to understand language myths, the purpose for their existence, and their validity (or not). We use science and common sense as tools in our process of “myth-busting”, both on a set range of language myths in class and on individually chosen myths in independent projects.

This course opens up new ways for students to think about language by introducing them to the fundamentals of English linguistics. Students will learn how to identify and analyse the major "building blocks" of language in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Examples for illustration and discussion will be drawn from varieties of English spoken in the British Isles and worldwide, with lectures and tutorials geared to providing students with an active vocabulary with which to discuss language, and essential tools with which to analyse its structure and function.

Language is central to our humanity. Language and society are inextricably linked. Language unites; language divides. This course will develop your understanding of the social nature of language, providing insight into, among other things, the relationship between gender and language, language death and the issue of language policy and planning.

We perceive language as an integrated whole, but in fact it exists on many levels. This course investigates these layers of structure through examination of speech sounds, word formation, and sentence construction. We will consider the theory behind these areas of phonology, morphology, and syntax, looking at how they function independently and interact. Students will gain skills to undertake analysis of language structure and think critically about structural elements fundamental to English.

This course enables students to apply skills of close linguistic analysis to a range of literary texts and genres. Students will explore the ways that different aspects of linguistic structure shape and contribute to readers' interpretations. The core structural elements of phonology, morphology and syntax will be covered; each week, students will discuss a particular text, putting into practice skills of stylistic analysis. We will cover both canonical ‘Literary’ texts and other forms of writing.

In professional discourse, language is used not only to communicate, but to gatekeep, to enact, to form and preserve identities, and to negotiate, challenge, and wield power. In this course we will look at language use within the legal, educational, and medical professions, as well as from the so-called ‘blue-collar’ professions of domestic and factory work and investigate the ways in which language is used and to what effect.

We all string words together without thinking, but how does this process actually work? What makes the difference between a meaningful phrase and word salad? In this course we will explore sentence structure through the study of syntax. Students will gain tools to describe and analyse sentences, drawing on a mixture of their own insights and data from a variety of languages to get to grips with the mechanisms that allow us to go beyond single-word utterances and communicate complex messages.

In this course, students will critically engage with some of the principal concepts in research on Information Structure — the study of how we ‘package’ information in communication, such as Focus, Topic and Givenness. Students will develop their individual research projects in their language of choice to describe how syntax, morphology, or intonation can serve to highlight discourse-relevant information or instruct the addressee that they take this information for granted.

This course enables students to apply skills of close linguistic analysis to a range of literary texts and genres. Students will explore the ways that different aspects of linguistic structure shape and contribute to readers' interpretations. The core structural elements of phonology, morphology and syntax will be covered; each week, students will discuss a particular text, putting into practice skills of stylistic analysis. We will cover both canonical ‘Literary’ texts and other forms of writing.

In professional discourse, language is used not only to communicate, but to gatekeep, to enact, to form and preserve identities, and to negotiate, challenge, and wield power. In this course we will look at language use within the legal, educational, and medical professions, as well as from the so-called ‘blue-collar’ professions of domestic and factory work and investigate the ways in which language is used and to what effect.

Once you have successfully completed three years of university-level study of Linguistics, this course allows you to develop and carry out an independent piece of research on a topic of your choice. It might be that a particular taught course has inspired you to explore a topic in more depth; your own reading might have prompted you to wonder about a particular question. You will be supervised by a member of the department who will be happy to give advice and support as you complete your dissertation of 7000-8000 words.

Dissertations are completed in HS2 (spring), but students will be offered research training workshops in HS1 (autumn), and will be expected to submit a short research proposal for their dissertion in December.

Once you have successfully completed three years of university-level study of Linguistics, this course allows you to develop and carry out an independent piece of research on a topic of your choice. It might be that a particular taught course has inspired you to explore a topic in more depth; your own reading might have prompted you to wonder about a particular question. You will be supervised by a member of the department who will be happy to give advice and support as you complete your dissertation of 7000-8000 words.

Dissertations are completed in HS2 (spring), but students will be offered research training workshops in HS1 (autumn), and will be expected to submit a short research proposal for their dissertion in December.

We all string words together without thinking, but how does this process actually work? What makes the difference between a meaningful phrase and word salad? In this course we will explore sentence structure through the study of syntax. Students will gain tools to describe and analyse sentences, drawing on a mixture of their own insights and data from a variety of languages to get to grips with the mechanisms that allow us to go beyond single-word utterances and communicate complex messages.

In this course, students will critically engage with some of the principal concepts in research on Information Structure — the study of how we ‘package’ information in communication, such as Focus, Topic and Givenness. Students will develop their individual research projects in their language of choice to describe how syntax, morphology, or intonation can serve to highlight discourse-relevant information or instruct the addressee that they take this information for granted.