Research overview

What if your passion for linguistics could help improve the way we understand international history, culture and politics? Follow your intercultural research interests to a deeper level in a department ranked 6th nationally in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

A Linguistics (Modern Languages) PhD allows you to research a linguistic topic related to one or more modern languages. You may research any modern language but the school has particular expertise in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian-Croatian, as well as expertise in Italian and Chinese.

Our areas of expertise in linguistics include the following:

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• Sociolinguistics (including language standardisation, historical sociolinguistics)
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• History of linguistics (such as history of ideas about language, including the history of grammar-writing of particular languages)
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• Pragmatics and interactional linguistics (including conversation analysis in workplace and institutional settings, politeness studies, intercultural communication studies)
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• Discourse analysis
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• Translation and interpreting studies
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• Corpus linguistics (especially diachronic linguistics)
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• Applied linguistics, especially foreign/second language education and its history
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• Historical linguistics

Careers

Whether you are considering a career in academia, industry or haven't yet decided,

Expert staff will work with you to explore PhD career options and apply for vacancies, develop your interview skills and meet employers. You can book a one-to-one appointment, take an online course or attend a workshop.

International students who complete an eligible degree programme in the UK on a student visa can apply to stay and work in the UK after their course under the