In an era shaped by data and revolutionary technologies, understanding how language reflects and creates societal trends is extremely important. This module introduces corpus linguistics as a powerful way of analysing vast amounts of language data to uncover meaningful patterns.

You will experience a hands-on introduction to language analysis using specialised computer software, suitable for students with no prior experience. You’ll learn the fundamentals of corpus linguistics, including essential tools and statistical techniques for robust social science research. You will also explore how large-scale language data can uncover insights into communication patterns and cultural trends. Applying these skills to real-world challenges, you will address topics such as social inequality and healthcare and explore areas such as language learning and politeness strategies.

Emphasising practical learning through real-world case studies and hands-on tasks working with authentic language data, this module will help you develop analytical skills that are highly sought after in the private and public sector.

Gain a deeper understanding of how English grammar works, how it has been studied and how it varies across different contexts as you study the parts of speech that make up the English language and the problems faced in defining them.

You will examine the grammatical structure of English at the levels of the noun phrase, of the verb group and of the sentence, paying attention to issues such as transitivity, adverbials and subordination. Exploring prescriptive and pedagogical approaches to English grammar, you will learn how it varies in dialects around the world, in spoken versus written language, and across different genres.

Introducing you to modern methods of studying the grammar of the English language, this module will allow you to do your own investigation on real examples of English grammatical structures.

Why does English sound the way it does? How does English vary across different accents? And how do listeners perceive that variation? This module will explore these questions, applying the methods of articulatory and acoustic phonetics to the study of spoken English.

The module will begin with the anatomy of the vocal tract, examining how its muscles work together to produce distinctive patterns of movement. This will provide a system for describing variation in speech. You will then focus on the acoustic characteristics of speech and on the computer-based and experimental analysis of real speech data. You will apply this knowledge to chart sound change in English, describe new varieties of spoken English and explore the perception of different English accents.

By the end of the module, you will have developed skills in technical analysis relevant for speech therapy and voice-assisted technologies, whilst acquiring the foundations for advanced studies in phonetics.

Discover language in relation to Artificial Intelligence and other technology. In this module, you will learn about the ideas that power language-related technologies such as:

• Translation technologies
• Speech recognition systems
• Generative AI and much more

You'll think creatively about how these technologies could be used in new ways. You’ll also tune in to important discussions around ethics and responsible tech development.

Without the need for prior programming experience, this module will set you up with technical skills including coding and script writing. These skills will help you test how different language technologies work with both written and spoken language, whilst setting you up for a future career in computational linguistics.

Not all professional contexts are the same – and within any organisation there are diverse people with varied backgrounds. This module focuses on enhancing your intercultural competency and cultural awareness, with a particular emphasis on ‘place-based’ learning. Considering the cultural dynamics of the North West of England and the broader UK helps us reflect upon intercultural dynamics in very different locations.

Through analysis, discussion and self-reflection you will strengthen your ability to navigate diverse workplace settings and enhance your employability in today’s interconnected world.

Explore how language is used to interact with others, form social groups and shape society. In this module, you will examine how communication functions socially, from the persuasive language used by politicians and advertisers to the way social organisation is reflected in and reinforced through casual conversations among friends.

You’ll draw on different models in linguistics to explore the way language is used and organised to achieve social goals. This includes:

• Using principles of systemic functional grammar to identify who is represented in texts and how,
• Conversation analysis to uncover the structure and management of conversation
• Methods of visual analysis to consider non-linguistic meanings

By the end of this module, you will become more confident in analysing texts and understanding their functions. You will see everyday texts, such as a phone call with a family member or a letter from your GP, in different light because you will understand the features and structures of language that help to organise society.

Hone a strong sense of purpose and gain the satisfaction of applying your skills and knowledge to a community, charity or student-led initiative.

Your challenge will be to take responsibility for arranging and completing a voluntary or fundraising activity—locally, virtually or during vacation periods at home. You will need to show that you have made a positive difference through this activity.

In class, you will be asked to reflect on this experience and explore the wider social impact of the work. In doing so you will build your confidence in your ability to contribute meaningfully to society through your future personal and professional path.

You are invited to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team with other students as you explore major global challenges such as climate change, inequality or emerging technologies.

Throughout the module you will examine how the humanities, arts and social sciences contribute to understanding and addressing complex issues. Classroom discussions and activities focus on the process of identifying problems and considering innovative, ethical responses, while helping you to consider and articulate the relevance of this work to your personal and professional development.

As children learn language, they produce creative utterances. They say things like ‘we goed to the zoo’. They understand sentences they have never heard before, such as ‘the bunny is meeking the mouse’. Remarkably, they will eventually learn to say ‘we went to the zoo’ without any explicit language lessons. They will also acquire additional languages in their home and communities with ease. In this module, you will explore these incredible abilities from different theoretical perspectives.

You’ll explore two main theories about how we learn language: the nativist theory, suggesting we’re born with a special ability just for language, and the usage-based theory, suggesting we learn it through everyday thinking and experience.

You will consider different conditions under which children learn multiple languages at home and outside it. You will discover what social and cognitive factors contribute to the development of their language skills.

Throughout the module, you will explore other important topics including:

• Language development in deaf and bilingual children
• Second language acquisition
• Developmental disorders affecting language

How many advertisements have you already seen today? From moving billboards to advertisements between games on your phone - advertising is everywhere.

How many advertisements have you already seen today? From moving billboards to advertisements between games on your phone, advertising is everywhere.

In this module, you will learn how advertisers use language, visuals, sound and music to influence behaviour. You will discover how to differentiate advertising from marketing by examining hard and soft selling, influencer advertising and the role of “prosumers” on social media. You will explore consumer research to ask what makes a good advertisement. Rich examples show how advertising has borrowed from prose, poems and plays.

You will explore aspects of language including:

• Phonetics (sounds in a language)
• Stylistics (linguistic analysis of literary texts)
• Pragmatics (meaning in context)

By the end of this module, you will be able to analyse the creative use of language in advertisements, understanding the role that advertising plays in wider marketing efforts and reflecting on its uses in your future professional and personal lives.

Learning requires language. That makes pedagogic practice language work, and the design of talk and text a crucial dimension of a professional educator's practice.

You will explore talk between teachers and students to better understand what makes for effective classrooms. You will analyse genres that students read and write, and how teachers unpack densely organised information to provide students access and control. You will consider how digital technologies, multilingualism and the growing influence of visual communication can inform teaching. You will work with authentic classroom data while examining what current research says about language and teaching.

By the end of this module, you will have newfound insights into the complex ways in which talk, text and image shape processes of meaning-making in educational settings. Although our primary focus is on the classroom, the insights we provide are equally valuable in any setting where people gather to learn and collaborate.

Soon, you will find yourself in a professional job in a company, school, charity, medical centre, local government or other place of employment. Although very different, such organisations are all held together by language – the language of meetings, client or investor interactions, team leadership and/or crisis management.

You will explore linguistic concepts such as (im)politeness, narrative, and metaphor and consider their implications for multilingual communication and using English as a lingua franca. You will develop your knowledge of how professional communication is organised and how language is used to both reflect and influence wider discourses. The module distinguishes between professional communication and business/workplace language and includes attention to difficult professional communication such as delivering bad news and responding to bullying.

By the end of the module, you will be able to read and assess studies of professional communication, drawing on a range of linguistic approaches and using frameworks to analyse real-life data.

Understand the human ability to produce and organise the smallest building blocks of language as you study the fundamental principles of spoken communication. From the movements used to express speech and the properties of sound travelling through the air to how sounds are processed in the brain, this module investigates how language is spoken.

You will learn to describe and produce sounds of speech from around the world and to use and critique models such as the International Phonetic Alphabet. You will explore the whole range of human vocal skills – such as clicks in isiXhosa – and discover how humans have adapted language to communicate across long distances – as in whistled languages. You will also study phonology and units of communication in sign languages, which challenge foundational principles of linguistics.

By the end of this module, you will have the knowledge and skills that are essential for work as a speech therapist, teacher or audiologist. You will also acquire transferable skills relevant for careers in speech technology and analytics.

What do the world’s languages have in common and what sets them apart from each other? In this module, you’ll explore this fundamental question in linguistics and grammar and be introduced to the field of linguistic typology, which aims to describe and explain the (dis)similarities between languages around the world.

Through hands-on exercises, you will develop the skills needed to analyse unknown languages and come to see familiar concepts such as 'subject’ and ‘passive’ in a new light. You will also learn about new phenomena, such as ‘antipassives’ and ‘tripartite alignment’.

Focussing on much more than just grammatical analysis, this module will help you understand why languages work the way they do. You will find that the answers lie in the nature of communication, in the way humans think about reality and more. By the end of the module, even your own language(s) will no longer feel as ‘normal’ as before.

Explore how ideas can be developed into real-world projects with lasting value. Through hands-on collaboration and problem-solving, you will develop innovative projects, learn how to bring ideas to life and explore ways to sustain them.

Whether you are working in a team or individually, you will be encouraged to experiment with different approaches to making a difference in artistic, cultural, social and community spaces.

How is language connected to who we are, how we see ourselves, and how others see us? This module explores the idea of identity and how it relates to language.

You’ll investigate how accents and other language varieties are perceived in society and how they can reflect or reinforce social identities and inequalities. You’ll also explore areas such as language and gender and learn how identity shows up in the way we speak and write.

You will also look at how people choose to use language in different contexts, in multilingual England and beyond, and the reasons behind this, as well as why people choose to learn new languages. Throughout the module, you’ll think about how these issues are shaped by and help shape power and inequality.

By the end of the module, you’ll have gained useful skills in critical thinking as well as a deeper understanding of how language works in the real world.

Explore present-day English to discover how it varies and how it has evolved, within and beyond its heartland. This module will deepen your insight into the English language by examining the (socio)linguistic dimensions along which it varies and the (extra)linguistic processes that have changed it over time.

From Old English to the present and from British dialects to emerging World Englishes, you will explore how variation in English is driven by factors such as gender and class and how it has been shaped by contact with other languages. You will discover how cultural shifts have changed the way English is used and consider whether we can make predictions about its future.

You will be introduced to key research in variationist and historical linguistics. The module will also encourage you to apply these insights to new data and to undertake data collection yourself.

Explore competing approaches to phonology as you discover how the most prominent phonological theories have developed.

You will explore the linguistic debates that have caused great controversy in the study of phonology over the past century, whilst also examining the important question of whether phonology is best understood as formal logic – akin to philosophy – or as a cognitive system grounded in psychological reality.

Throughout the module, you will engage with essential topics in linguistics, such as sound change, phonological variation in accents, and models of bilingualism and second language acquisition. Via these topics, you will explore exciting questions such as ‘what is the connection between sound systems and the mind?’, ‘is language learning innate?’ and ‘what happens when we develop more than one sound system?’

What happens when radically different forms of art meet? How do these fused forms change our understanding of the world? We will draw on material from different periods and continents, to explore works of art where, for example, film meets history, poetry meets philosophy, fine art meets sociology, religion meets fiction, and theatre meets politics.

Now one of the most important paradigms in contemporary linguistics, this module introduces you to principles of Cognitive Linguistics and the alternative view of language it presents compared to other approaches.

You will explore the cognitive structures and processes that underpin language, including radial categories, frames, image schemas and mappings. You will learn how these things relate to aspects of language like word meaning, grammatical structure and metaphor. You will also explore the idea that much more of language than just idioms is stored in the mind in whole chunks.

Cognitive Linguistics is largely theoretical. However, you will learn how it has recently integrated methods from psycholinguistics and gesture studies as well as how it is applied to social contexts like politics, health and more.

How might we engage with the implications of environmental transformation locally, nationally and globally? Where do we have agency and capacity to intervene?

This module brings together a range of perspectives—historical, political, philosophical and cultural—to explore the nature and severity of the effects of the climate crisis on our world.

Can we determine whether someone is lying from their voice or words? Can we identify the sender of anonymous threatening messages? Can we tell whether a call to a bank is a real customer or an AI-generated fraud? This module offers the opportunity to answer these questions and understand how linguistic expertise is applied in intelligence, evidential and judicial contexts.

You will review the fields’ history and development and have your studies brought to life through court cases and practical case studies. Through this, you will be able to see the use and status of linguistic evidence in intelligence gathering, police investigations and in the courtroom.

Throughout the module, you will engage in questions such as ‘who created this linguistic sample and is it authentic?’, which will help you develop the practical skills necessary to critically evaluate different methods and approaches.

What does it mean to imagine a world without borders? Using materials typically derived from case studies, reports, archives, film, television and literature, this module foregrounds interdisciplinary approaches.

You will be encouraged to develop your understanding of migration and displacement, and to envision alternative global migration futures in ways that can impact future policy, political and societal perspectives.

Our media environment is constantly changing and has never been more diverse. The way different media approach events or issues - i.e. the language they use to describe and discuss them - varies enormously. Consequently, there are important theoretical and methodological challenges involved in making sense of this environment.

In this module, you’ll examine social and broadcast media in their changing forms to consider how each contributes to our current media ecology. You will apply frameworks including discursive news values, corpus linguistics, framing analysis and multimodal discourse analysis which are useful in future media careers and as a citizen.

Throughout, you will explore media talk, ideology in news selection and presentation, fake news and mis/disinformation.

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like in other languages? Or what connects language, cognition, culture and ecology? These are the fundamental questions addressed in this module, which explores the latest developments in language-related cognitive science.

You’ll explore what all human languages have in common, as well as how they can differ, and how language, thought, culture, and the environment are linked. You’ll also look at how we communicate using sign and gesture and think about how language forms connect to meaning.

As you continue through the module, you will consider how things like space, time, colour and numbers are talked and thought about in different cultures. With a strong focus on anthropology, you’ll explore the language and culture of several Indigenous communities, such as those living in Papua New Guinea. To help unlock the evolution of language, you’ll also explore culture and communication in non-human populations including chimpanzees and ancestral homo species.

The module emphasises experimental methods. You will work in groups to design, implement and present the results of a language experiment. Together, you will gain an enriched understanding of the linguistic and cognitive diversity of humankind.

Would you like to learn more about a specific topic in Linguistics or English language? Would you like to research and work independently on a study that matters to you? The final-year dissertation module provides this opportunity.

With support from a supervisor, you’ll build on what you’ve learned in previous modules and carry out your own research project. You’ll gain valuable skills in designing a study, asking research questions, and collecting and analysing data.

This module is especially useful if you’re thinking about postgraduate study or a career in research. It’s also a great opportunity to focus on topics relevant to future careers, such as language teaching or speech and language therapy. You'll also develop your ability to work independently and grow as a writer and learner.

Would you like to learn more about a specific topic in Linguistics or English language? Would you like to research and work independently on a study that matters to you? The final-year dissertation module provides this opportunity.

With support from a supervisor, you’ll build on what you’ve learned in previous modules and carry out your own research project. You’ll gain valuable skills in designing a study, asking research questions, and collecting and analysing data.

This module is especially useful if you’re thinking about postgraduate study or a career in research. It’s also a great opportunity to focus on topics relevant to future careers, such as language teaching or speech and language therapy. You'll also develop your ability to work independently and grow as a writer and learner.

What are the possibilities and pitfalls of community and citizen action, voice and agency? This module uses interdisciplinary case-studies to critically examine collaboration with communities.

You will participate in activities such as a mock citizens' assembly, visit local community groups and hear different points of view from a range of guest speakers on concepts like power, race, gender, class, affect and justice.

Language is much more than linguistic structure. Language is the means through which we pursue social goals and the primary means through which we infer the goals of others. This module will explore how our language use impacts our social and institutional identities, our interpersonal relationships and our impact on the perceptions of others.

You will examine how conventions and norms across contexts and cultures drive the way we interact with others and how deviations from expected behaviour can be perceived negatively. Pragmatics is at the core of Cognitive Science and one of the most exciting disciplines driving the technological and social cognition advances of the 21st century.

As you go through the module, you will develop the theoretical and methodological tools to analyse verbal behaviour in politics, intercultural communication, law, AI and more. You will investigate how communicative behaviour changes alongside neuro-cognitive factors; for example, in first language acquisition, across the autistic spectrum or in dementia.

You will learn how our linguistic behaviours mirror evolutionary patterns in our closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos. Human interaction is a fundamental tool for ‘social’ survival and how language use can improve our social gains.

On this module, you will study the psychology of language. You’ll explore how the brain helps us learn languages and how language experience can shape the brain itself.

You will examine what happens when specific brain regions are damaged and how this affects things like semantic vs. syntactic knowledge, memory and inhibition. Throughout the module, you will investigate links between language processing and cognitive and social-cognitive skills while discussing specific topics such as autism, aphasia, Williams Syndrome and bilingualism.

You will learn about neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic methods, including eye-tracking, EEG, and neuroimaging, and discuss appropriate measurement of cognitive and linguistic skills. You will also investigate how empirical data can inform practice in speech and language therapy or diagnosing and supporting children with developmental disorders.

What do we understand by queerness? Looking back at earlier interpretations, we imagine how queerness might evolve—how it might be lived, felt and understood in the future.

You will explore queer futures from a range of perspectives and viewpoints, while examining both feminist and queer theory, as well as queer media and cultural texts and material relating to areas such as activism, politics and healthcare.

Who does technology benefit or harm, and what should its role in society be? This module examines the social and ethical issues surrounding the development of modern technologies and their use in the modern world, with a vision to shape our future relationship with technology.

How do ideas understand, transform and conserve the world? In this module we will study examples of powerful ideas such as the nation, free speech, liberation, the free market, culture and nature. We will use case studies to help us explore the relationship between analysis, imagination and practice.