Entry requirementsWe normally require a good honours degree (uppersecond class) or its equivalent. You will preferably have studied a modern language and/or some linguistics. We look sympathetically on applications from those who are returning to study after a break of some years.
Academic titleMA Language, Society and Change in Europe
Course descriptionMA
One year full-time, two years part-time
Programme description
This MA examines the relationship between language and a variety of socio-historical phenomena, such as language as a marker of social identity, the functions of different varieties in multilingual communities, and the social, cultural and political effects of imposed linguistic norms. It also investigates some of the structural, functional and social forces driving linguistic change. You will explore these topics both within a European context and with reference to the influence of the language of Western European powers during the colonial and postcolonial period. With its broad linguistic approach, this programme will also be of interest to students of sociology, history, political science and other disciplines.
Programme outline
The programme’s core module, Research Methods in Sociolinguistics, runs throughout the year.
In addition you will choose two modules from a range that includes:
* Colonialism and the Languages of Western Europe
* Language and Nation in Europe
* Language, Gender and Power
* Language, Variation and Change in Europe.
If you have not studied linguistics at undergraduate level, you may be required to audit an undergraduate
Foundations of Linguistics option in addition to your two MA modules.
A student may be permitted to take one option offered as part of another MA programme in the School or within the Faculty of Arts, provided that the MA convenor agrees that this would be beneficial for the student’s intellectual development and research plans. In the case of options outside the School, admission to such modules requires the further agreement of the module convenor.
Assessment
You will complete two 4,000-word essays for the core module, and a 4,000-word essay for each of the two options. At the end of August all students submit a dissertation of around 10,000 words, which may take the form of an original research project.