English Structures

This course is an intensive introduction to the linguistic structures of English, covering pronunciation (phonetics & phonology) and grammar (syntax & semantics). A key feature of the course is one of comparison - in part one we compare pronunciation systems across varieties of English and other languages, and in part two we compare the sentence structure of English to that of other languages. This course will be valuable for anyone planning to teach English as an additional language, or those who want a detailed introduction to the analytical tools linguists use to study English and other languages.

30 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

Variation and Theory

Advanced study of aspects of the use of language in social contexts.

30 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

Sociophonetic Research

Aspects of socially-conditioned phonetic variation in speech. These include sound change, social and regional variation, phonetic style-shifting, and the study of how socially-conditioned phonetic variation can be accommodated by models of speech perception and production.

30 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

Research Essay

30 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

World Englishes

This course explores some of the historical, political and social issues associated with the development of different World Englishes, discussing key structural differences between varieties of English along the way. Of course, for the language professional attempting to operate in this environment (e.g. teacher, writer, editor, policy maker), there are a number of practical challenges: e.g. what type of English should we teach (and endorse)? How do learners' attitudes towards their target variety affect their eventual proficiency? How do we codify new and emerging varieties? These and many more real-world issues associated with policy, planning and pedagogy are tackled in this course.

30 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

MA Dissertation

MA Dissertation

60 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

MA Thesis

120 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.

MLing Thesis

In this course students design and carry out a research project, with the support of an academic supervisor. The research topic is decided in collaboration between the student and supervisor. Research training is also provided.

90 points

Subject to approval of the Head of Department.