MA/PGDip Sociolinguistics (Research)

This course explores 20th-century history of linguistics and the philosophy of linguistics. Tensions between different conceptions of language, the issues surrounding research methodology in linguistics, sociolinguistics and the sociology of language are examined. This Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) recognised course 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. You will gain a working knowledge of the methodology and skills in quantitative and qualitative research in language and linguistic studies. You will carry out a literature review, independent fieldwork, and undertake sociolinguistic analysis using a variety of mathematical and computational tools. We offer supervision in the following areas:

Linguistic theory

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

historical/diachronic linguistics
variationist/comparative linguistics
sociolinguistics
grammaticalization
dialect syntax
corpus analysis
linguistic typology

Language evolution, acquisition, and development

first language acquisition and development
the acquisition of second language morphosyntax and phonology
evolutionary linguistics.

Centre for Research in Linguistics and Language Sciences (CRiLLS)

The Centre for Research in Linguistics and Language Sciences (CRiLLS) is one of the largest centres for linguistic research in Europe, so 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.

Our 'student work in progress' meetings give you the opportunity to present your work to a student audience, giving you instant feedback and discussions around your research. 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.

Students can also exit with PGDip Award.