Undergraduate Language and Linguistics 2026-2027

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. 

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.

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.