English Language and Linguistics

Language shapes our experience of the world, from our social and emotional lives to our experience of society, work, politics, and culture. English language and linguistics is the scientific study of how language works, how it is acquired, how it varies across communities and contexts, and how it is used to construct meaning, identity, and power in human interaction. It is a discipline that draws on phonetics and phonology, grammar, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and the history of the English language, producing graduates with a rigorous understanding of one of humanity's most fundamental capabilities.

At the University of Portsmouth, this three-year full-time programme immerses you in the nature of spoken and written language, and in how it is used across contexts from digital communication to forensic investigation. You will study the structure of English at every level, from sounds and words through to sentences and discourse, and examine how language varies by region, class, gender, and social context, how it changes over time, and how it can be used as evidence in legal, clinical, and commercial settings. A sandwich year in industry, a year abroad, and work placements are all part of the programme, giving you direct professional experience applying linguistic knowledge and skills and an international perspective on the study of language.

With a typical entry tariff of 120 UCAS points, this programme attracts students who are curious about how language works and motivated to develop real analytical rigour. Graduates pursue careers in speech and language therapy with additional training, forensic linguistics, language teaching, publishing, copywriting, content creation, translation, human resources, education, UX writing, and data annotation for language AI. The analytical and communication skills linguistics develops are valued across many professions.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in linguistics, speech and language therapy, applied linguistics, or language teaching.