This course will give students an overview of the history of English phonology, morphology, lexicon, and syntax as well as the development of 'new Englishes' due to colonisation. Although it is not a literature course, it will introduce students to the nature of the literature of Early, Middle, and Early Modern English and will include discussions of how scribal and editorial practices may affect our understanding of the language of texts.

Postgraduate students will attend joint classes with undergraduates but will be required to do some additional reading at a more advanced level and also to make a short presentation in one of two extra postgraduate-only tutorials. There will be two written assignments as well as a major research paper.