Varieties of English

A subject guide prepared for the University of London International Programmes by Pia Pichler and Satori Soden, offering advice to students taking the Varieties of English course that is part of the following programmes – BA English (New Regulations), Diploma of Higher Education in English and Certificate of Higher Education in English.

This course explores how and why language is used differently in a range of contexts. Students will examine the variation of spoken language in relation to region, gender, ethnicity, age and social class; students will see that individuals are able to shift their style of speaking from one situation to the next and we will explore the attitudes that people have towards different varieties of English. The course also examines a range of tools and methodological frameworks that linguists use to analyse both spontaneous spoken interaction, written media and advertisement texts/discourses.