Members of the Language Variation and Change group in the school
are all interested in the study of linguistic variation and the
manner in which systematic and inherent variation in synchronic
and diachronic linguistics can be observed, analysed and
modelled using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Members of the Language Variation and Change group teach modules
about all the different periods of the English language: Old and
Middle English, Early Modern English and 19th century English.
Our own research also spans the entire history of the language
and we would welcome supervision of any project in this field.
The methodology that we use in collecting and interpreting the
basic historical facts is varied. It ranges from methods
developed in sociolinguistic studies to modern theories of
language structure and from computer corpus work to the study of
individual manuscripts. What we try to convey in our teaching
and writing is that every aspect of the English language today
(whether this relates to syn