English Language and Linguistics BA(Hons)

Why study with us?

• You’ll study at our Falmer campus situated on the edge of Brighton and the South Downs. You’ll benefit from outstanding modern facilities and easy access to the city centre, with its well-established arts and social scene.

• You’ll be part of a vibrant, research-active programme where our talented teaching team create a dynamic and supportive environment.

• Options mean that you can tailor your degree to your individual interests or career ambitions and create a unique pathway to suit you.

• You'll gain vital transferable skills including personal organisation, independent research, team working, communication and presentation that you can use throughout your career.

• You have the opportunity to undertake a year abroad in year three, extending your degree to four years. 

• The course is delivered through lectures, seminars and workshops, small group or individual tutorials. You will have plenty of opportunity and time for independent study and to make use of the university’s online learning environment.

• This degree provides good grounding for many different industries including publishing and journalism, but equally provides a solid foundation for further study or research. 

Year 1

In your first year, you will develop an understanding of the basic concepts and modes of linguistic analysis focusing particularly on the four structural approaches to linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax. In addition, you will also gain an insight into the processes by which children acquire and develop their first language.

Your first year also provides you with an essential introduction to the study of English language at degree level. The core English language modules will enable you to develop the meta-language to describe language features and their use in different genres. You will also explore the historical perspective of the development of the English language.

Modules

• The Structure and Grammar of English

  On this module you'll develop your understanding of the basic structure/grammar of English and develop your awareness of how different choices of forms of spoken and written English might affect meaning.

• Perspectives on the History of English Language

  In this module you will trace the development of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present, by looking selectively at major social and historical influences on language change.

• Introduction to Pragmatics

  This module is an introduction to the study of meaning in linguistics. You will explore the key concepts in pragmatics – the study of language in use. These concepts include: the nature of context and the difference between context-dependent and context-independent meaning; Gricean non-natural meaning and ‘saying versus ‘implicating’; generalised conversational implicatures; speech act theory; non-literal language and tropes; relevance theory; contextualist approaches, pragmatics and mental architecture.

• General Linguistics 1: Phonetics and Phonology

  In this module you will develop your understanding of phonetics and phonology. In phonetics, you will study physical properties of speech sounds and of the articulatory mechanisms used in speech production and perception. In phonology, you'll study the systematic use of sounds in language. By the end of the module you will be able to describe phonetic and phonological processes from a variety of the world’s languages, as well as undertake basic phonetic and phonological analysis in a range of languages, and transcribe a wide variety of sounds.

• Language Acquisition and Development

  This module will introduce you to the key questions in language acquisition and development, such as:

  • What is distinctive about human language?
  • Are all languages basically similar?
  • How do humans acquire language?
  • What theoretical models have been proposed to explain language acquisition?

  In order to add an empirical dimension to these discussions, you will also look in detail at how English is acquired by children and how disability and impairment can affect language development and use.

• General Linguistics 2: Morphology and Syntax

  In this module you will develop your understanding of morphology and syntax. Descriptive analysis in the two branches of linguistics will enable you to examine how different natural languages can be, by illustrating a range of morphological and syntactic features.

Our courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that what you learn with us is relevant and that your course enables you to develop appropriate skills. When you apply to study with us, we will inform you of any new developments in your chosen programme through our applicant portal.

Year 2

In year 2, linguistics modules will introduce you to the study of meaning and different approaches to describing and analysing grammatical structures. The second year also provides an essential grounding in understanding language in society and how it varies according to both context and the user. The focus of several year two modules is also on enabling independent study and research in preparation for the skills required for your year 3 dissertation or creative project.

Modules

• Language, Identity and Power
• Researching English Language Use
• Linguistics and Grammar: Concepts and analyses
• Semantics

Options*

• Creative Writing
• Studying Travel Writing
• Queer Writing
• Literature in Practice
• Literature and Art History
• American Literature 1850–1960
• Multilingualism
• Sign Language Linguistics
• Mind and Language
• Image and Text: The Language of Comics and Graphic Novels
• Regional Englishes
• Media in Practice
• Introduction to Journalism
• Photography: From Painting with Light to Zeros and Ones
• Documentary Filmmaking: Theory and Practice
• Writing for Stage, Radio and Screen
• Television Studio Production
• Contested Stories
• Deconstruction: Language, Theory, Society

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects.  

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Final year

In your final year, you will examine the content and explanatory potential of a number of theoretical frameworks that have been proposed to explain language use in context.

Building on the knowledge developed over the first and second year, you will study different approaches to analysing how different types of discourse are constructed. Finally, you will write a dissertation on a topic of your choice in which you can explore and investigate particular aspects of language use. 

In your third year, you study two core modules, one in linguistics and one in English language; two options, and a dissertation.

Modules

• Dissertation

Options*

One from:

• Approaches to Analysing Discourse
• World Englishes

One from:

• Pragmatics, Meaning and Truth
• Language, Philosophy, Mind
• Non-truth-conditional Semantics

Two from:

• Public Journalism
• From Script to Screen
• Creative Writing Project
• Adaptations
• English Language Teaching
• Women's Writing and Feminist Theory
• Russian Literature and Culture
• Gothic: Texts and Contexts
• Victorian Sexualities
• Literature and Philosophy
• Post-war American Literature
• Apocalypse, Utopia, Dystopia
• (Re)Viewing Shakepeare
• Postcolonial Literature
• Writing the Contemporary
• European Literatures
• Culture Wars: Revisiting the Great Divide
• Popular Culture
• Approaches to the Study of Meaning
• Images of War
• Language, Culture and Ideology
• Language of Gender and Sexuality
• Community Placement: Theory in Practice
• Television Broadcast Journalism
• Autobiography and the Screen
• Media Ethics and Conflict
• Language Policy and Planning

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects. 

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Staff profile 

Dr Tim Wharton, course leader

Tim, linguistics lecturer  and course leader of the English Language and Linguistics BA(Hons) also leads our linguistics research. 

Most people share the intuition that what a speaker says may fall short of what they mean, or that by saying one thing a speaker might mean something else entirely. But have you ever stopped to wonder how hearers bridge the gap between what speakers say and what they mean? Are we, in a sense, mind-readers? My work begins with the assumption that we are.

International requirements

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Course fees

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with us for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly. You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Falmer campus