Sociolinguistics (Taught)

This course explores 20th-century history of linguistics and the philosophy of linguistics.

Join us for this master's in Sociolinguistics. You'll examine:
tensions between different conceptions of language
the issues surrounding research methodology in linguistics
sociolinguistics
the sociology of language

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) recognises this course. It is designed to prepare you for doctoral study. The course combines a mixture of generic research training modules with more specialised modules covering research training and specific linguistic knowledge.

Although your focus will be on your specialist study, our aim is for you to develop a broad range of research and project management skills that will support you in your career ahead. We have nurtured a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and supportive environment where staff and students from across the world can come together and share their research experiences.

We offer supervision in the following areas:

Linguistic theory
This includes:
syntactic theory and comparative syntax
phonological theory
morphophonology and morphosyntax
philosophy of language
philosophy of linguistics
architecture of the language faculty

Language variation and change
This includes:
historical/diachronic linguistics
variationist/comparative linguistics
sociolinguistics
grammaticalization
dialect syntax
corpus analysis
linguistic typology

Language evolution, acquisition, and development
This includes:
first language acquisition and development
the acquisition of second language morphosyntax and phonology
evolutionary linguistics

Research skills
You have a unique opportunity to acquire a wide range of methodologies and exposure to diverse theoretical perspectives to enrich your own research. We have a wide range of research supervisors you can work with.

We offer subject-specific research training, including specialised practical workshops on statistical packages and software used in corpus linguistic methodologies. This specific training complements the research training programme you will be part of as a postgraduate research student.

Student work in progress meetings
Our 'student work in progress' meetings give you the opportunity to present your work to a student audience. You'll get instant feedback and discussions around your research.

Special interests group
Our special interests groups also facilitate researchers with common interests to share ideas, develop new skills and gain feedback on their work. The groups meet regularly and include topics like:
language variation and change
theoretical phonology
corpus linguistics
syntax
language and cognition

Guest lectures
Internationally renowned linguistic researchers have previously given guest lectures, recent speakers include:
Professor Ellen Bialystok, York University, Toronto
Professor J K Chambers, University of Toronto
Professor David Pesetsky, MIT
Professor Elizabeth Closs Traugott, Stanford University

Facilities:
The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics is a lively and diverse community with over 700 undergraduates and 200 postgraduates.

We are based in the Percy Building. Our purpose-built postgraduate suite includes:
several dedicated computer clusters
meeting rooms
a kitchen
lounge area

Find out more about the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics

The award-winning Philip Robinson Library has an extensive audio-visual collection.