Undergraduate Language and Linguistics 2023-2024

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.

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.

How does the way we use language shape our lives, and how does the way we live shape the language we use? Moving beyond strict notions of structure, this course explores communication in practice, examining how language works in various contexts and cultures. It addresses contemporary social issues that are principally or partly communicative in nature, challenging common misconceptions and giving students an understanding of the contribution awareness of language can make to numerous fields.

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.

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.

The course explores a variety of professional communities of practice from the point of view of language use. Topics range from language in the areas of law and law enforcement, to language in health care, to persuasive language in advertising.

Students will apply a variety of linguistic methods to reveal the relationship between language, communicative practice and professional activities, in order to increase their understanding of language and enhancing professional practice.

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.

Linguistically, we consider all languages as equal, but we know society does not always treat them as such. The world is made up of almost 200 countries; however, over 7000 languages are currently spoken. The result? Many speakers of societally minoritised languages whose language rights are often compromised. In this course you will learn about the challenges faced by such communities and gain a critical appreciation of the language maintenance and revitalisation efforts currently underway.

This course aims to introduce students to a range of phonological approaches, beginning with the classical phonemicist approach (which students have encountered in pre-honours courses), and moving on to consider topics including the role of syllables and metre and the development of models in generative phonology including differences between rule-based phonologies and constraint-based theories.

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.

The course explores a variety of professional communities of practice from the point of view of language use. Topics range from language in the areas of law and law enforcement, to language in health care, to persuasive language in advertising.

Students will apply a variety of linguistic methods to reveal the relationship between language, communicative practice and professional activities, in order to increase their understanding of language and enhancing professional practice.

Linguistic varieties come into contact regularly in our everyday existence. These contacts can amount merely to a few words being borrowed, but they can lead to much greater conclusions, where a variety’s nature is so changed that its ancestry cannot be reconstructed. This course covers how contact through language death, bilingualism, imperialism and new settlement can create a new linguistic variety.

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.

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.

Linguistically, we consider all languages as equal, but we know society does not always treat them as such. The world is made up of almost 200 countries; however, over 7000 languages are currently spoken. The result? Many speakers of societally minoritised languages whose language rights are often compromised. In this course you will learn about the challenges faced by such communities and gain a critical appreciation of the language maintenance and revitalisation efforts currently underway.

This course aims to introduce students to a range of phonological approaches, beginning with the classical phonemicist approach (which students have encountered in pre-honours courses), and moving on to consider topics including the role of syllables and metre and the development of models in generative phonology including differences between rule-based phonologies and constraint-based theories.