Why Study Linguistics and English Language at Manchester?
At a glance
- Study at a University ranked in the top ten in the UK for Linguistics and English Language (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025).
- Investigate a range of topics, including English dialects and language change, from child language acquisition to the origins of languages.
- Access cutting-edge resources such as the John Rylands and The University of Manchester libraries, containing one of the largest holdings of linguistics texts in the UK.
- Explore language in one of Europe’s most diverse linguistic environments.
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Frequently asked study questions
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It explores how language works, how we use it to communicate, and how it changes over time. Studying Linguistics means looking beyond simply learning a language.
At Manchester, you’ll explore questions such as:
- how we produce and understand speech;
- how words and sentences are structured;
- how children acquire language;
- why people speak differently in different places and communities.
You will also explore a broad range of areas within Linguistics, including:
- phonetics and phonology
- syntax
- semantics
- sociolinguistics
- language acquisition
- language change.
You’ll develop an understanding of both the structure of language and the ways in which language interacts with society, culture, and the human mind.
A Linguistics degree can open up a wide range of career opportunities. You’ll develop valuable skills in critical thinking, analysis, research, communication, and problem-solving, which are highly transferable across many industries.
Depending on your interests, you could pursue a career in areas such as:
- education
- marketing
- publishing
- media
- translation
- speech and language therapy
- lexicography
- forensic linguistics.
As a Linguistics and English Language student at The University of Manchester, you’ll have access to specialist facilities, extensive library resources and cutting-edge technology to support your studies and research.
You can use our Phonetics Laboratory, which includes equipment for speech recording and analysis, laryngography and electropalatography. Our Psycholinguistics Laboratory provides a sound-attenuated environment for language-processing and speech-perception experiments, with facilities including eye-tracking technology.
You’ll also have access to specialist software, linguistic corpora and one of the largest holdings of linguistics texts in the UK through The University of Manchester Library. The University's John Rylands Library also provides opportunities to work with rare books, manuscripts and other Special Collections relevant to the study of language.