- UCAS course code
- QL13
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Linguistics and Sociology
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: QL13 / Institution code: M20
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,6,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Cognitive Linguistics
| Unit code | LELA30181 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 3 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
The course covers central topics in Cognitive Linguistics (CL), a cover term for a group of approaches to the study of language which constitute an alternative to formal and structural approaches. CL assumes that language is not a separate and autonomous cognitive faculty, but part of general cognition; that linguistic meaning is dynamic and grounded in cultural and physical experience and thus features an inescapable degree of subjectivity; and that grammar is meaningful and structured by users’ conceptualizations, as opposed to being essentially arbitrary. Centrally, the framework is usage-based, meaning that it makes no principled distinction between competence and performance, but assumes that knowledge of language emerges from language use.
Subtopics covered include: Categorization, Frames and domains, Construal, Metaphor and Metonymy, Polysemy, Iconicity, Constructions, and Meaning Change.
Pre/co-requisites
| Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Word and Sentence Structure | LELA10301 | Pre-Requisite | Compulsory |
LELA10301: English Word and Sentence Structure
The following are recommended, but not required:
LELA10332: The Study of Meaning
LELA10201: Language, Mind and Brain
LELA20292: Pragmatics: Meaning, Context and Interaction
Aims
The aim of the module is to introduce students to a set of approaches which assume that language is shaped by the conceptualization of human experience and by the need to communicate such conceptualizations to others. We will study central aspects of the cognitivist approach to language and look at how the aims, assumptions, and commitments of this school of thought differ from competing approaches, and at the type of arguments that are brought to bear in the debate.
Knowledge and understanding
Upon successful completion of this module, students will:
- Understand central concepts in Cognitive Linguistics and be able to apply them to data from a variety of languages, prominently including English.
- Understand how and why cognitive approaches to language differ from formal and structural approaches.
- Have a deeper understanding of the intellectual history of the field of linguistics.
Intellectual skills
Abstract thinking skills
Reasoning and argumentation skills
Practical skills
Qualitative data analysis skills
Problem solving skills
Transferable skills and personal qualities
Communication skills
Problem solving skills
Argumentation skills
Independent study skills
Time-management skills
Employability skills
- Other
- The ability to identify a problem area and to determine what sort of data and methods are relevant for addressing it The ability to critically assess data and arguments adduced in support of a position The ability to clearly structure and compose short essays. In addition, students will have acquired an enhanced understanding of human conceptualization patterns and how they affect linguistic communication. In particular, this will be useful for students who wish to go into fields that centrally involve communication, such as teaching, journalism, or public relations.
Assessment methods
Midterm MCQ exam 25%
Exam 75%
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Oral feedback on contributions to class discussions | Formative |
Generalized written feedback on midterm | Formative and Summative |
Written and oral feedback on exam | Summative |
Recommended reading
Set text:
- Evans, Vyvyan & Melanie Green. 2006. Cognitive Linguistics: an Introduction. London: Routledge.
Additional recommended texts:
- Croft, William & D. Alan Cruse. 2004. Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Geeraerts, Dirk & Hubert Cuyckens, eds. 2010. The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Taylor, John R. 20043. Linguistic Categorization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Ungerer, Friedrich & Hans-Jörg Schmid. 20062. An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. London: Routledge.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 |
| Seminars | 11 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Maj-Britt Hansen | Unit coordinator |