Course summary

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.