English Language

Course summary

The first year of the English Language focuses on the language that surrounds us in our daily lives and seeks to unpick how our communications operate. The course examines spoken, written, and electronic modes of communication. Students learn the core principles that underpin linguistic study. They apply these to the exploration and analysis of modern, everyday texts, from handwritten notes to advertising, from food packaging to legal interactions. Students then progress to explore how these language systems form part of a wider critical debate, in both academic and non-specialist terms. The second year of the course moves on to more challenging topics which demand that the students tackle extreme and often unfamiliar forms of English. We study the history of language change from Anglo-Saxon roots to modern and potential future usages of English: for example, exploring the spread of English as a global language. We also explore the diverse range of Englishes, from traditional British dialects to pidgins and creoles.