English Language and Linguistics

Immerse yourself in the English language. Discover how humans produce English and how English shapes human experience. Apply linguistic knowledge and theory to solve real-world problems. Learn from world-leading research in linguistics, language, psychology, education, and culture, and be empowered as an independent scholar, critical thinker, communicator, and problem-solver.

This course engages you in the systematic study of language with a specific focus on English. You will learn to analyse the structure of English, and the ways people use English to structure the world.

You will explore the evolution of English from a set of dialects on an island to a global lingua franca, and examine ways that English continues to change today. You will dissect the structure of English and scrutinise written and spoken discourse. You will discover how babies acquire language, and how English and other languages are learned and taught.

You will become expert in the core domains of linguistics. You will analyse the sounds, grammar, and meaning systems of English and other languages, and you will reveal the physiological and cognitive processes that humans use to create and understand language.

You will have flexibility to customise your learning with optionality, especially during your final year. This will allow you to tailor your degree to your professional and intellectual interests.

Courses offered in Applied Linguistics are unique for prioritising engagement with real-world datasets and problems and for challenging students to conduct independent research from the very start. You will develop proficiency in gathering and synthesising information, in analysing language and communication data, and in communicating effectively and persuasively.

As a student, you will work in a rigorous and highly supportive learning community to create knowledge and solve problems. As a graduate, you will be eminently employable in careers ranging from marketing to publishing to media to teaching English internationally, and may pursue further study toward fields like speech pathology, forensic linguistics, or computational language modelling.