Linguistics and the English Language BA (Hons)

About This Course

On this Linguistics and the English Language degree you will learn about, understand and interpret many aspects of human language. Our introductory and advanced modules will give you a strong foundational background and important scientific insight into the nature, structure and use of language, as well as into the history of English and sociolinguistics (the relationship between language and society). You will also be introduced to the tools and methods that will allow you to undertake your own investigations into English as well as other languages spoken around the world. 

The English language component of this degree will give you the opportunity to learn about the grammatical structure of English (e.g., how words and sentences are formed), how meaning is made, interpreted and extended across whole discourses, how sounds are formed, produced, and understood, and how language use varies across speakers and groups and how it changes over time. You will also explore the history of English, the development and emergence English dialects and World Englishes, how English is used in society (e.g., how socio-cultural variables shape the use of English) and the role of English in society, in education and as a global lingua franca.

The linguistic elements of this degree will enable you to learn about, understand and interpret many aspects of human language. You will study the ‘science’ behind language, including possible sounds used in speech and their combination (phonetics, phonology), how words are built up morphology), what distinguishes sentences from just strings of words (syntax), meaning (semantics and pragmatics), the effect that society, culture and norms have upon language use (sociolinguistics) and how languages change over time.

Combining these two, complementary, subjects enable you to explore of the way in which language abilities develop, while also acquiring knowledge and capabilities in the use of English language. 

Why choose Bangor University for this course?

• We are a vibrant, accessible, friendly department with staff committed to high-quality teaching, excellent student experience, strong pastoral support, and the integration of current cutting-edge research and topics into your lectures throughout the duration of your studies. We are also dedicated to ensuring that our Linguistics and English Language students develop excellent skills in critical thinking, data analysis, presentation and independent research to enhance their employability upon graduation.
• Our teaching staff are also active researchers in a range of applied and theoretical areas relating to Linguistics and English Language - many have international reputations in the field.
• You will gain a sound and scientific insight into the structure and use of language, its history and the relationship between language and society.
• Our state-of-the-art learning facilities include a professional grade sound / recording studio (our Speech laboratory), an eye tracking laboratory, and an event-related potential (ERP) laboratory and a corpus-linguistics resource facility. We also have audio and video equipment that can be checked out for field work. Our facilities also include an extensive collection of books on Linguistics and English Language and a language library which is maintained by our undergraduate student association - the Bangor Linguistics Society (BLS).