In many North American universities, the analysis of contemporary English and the history of the English language (including the the study of Old English) are being left to linguists and language specialists in other departments. Graduating students, particularly those who will go on to be teachers, are not well served by this trend. The UPEI English Department has chosen to go in the opposite direction, and has incorporated English language studies into the core of the degree program.
Courses
From the beginning, the Department has had two introductory linguistics courses, English 285: Linguistics I: The Sounds System of English and English 286: Linguistics II: The Grammar and Vocabulary of English (formerly 401 and 402)). In 2004 it added 385: Linguistics and Literature and 485: Advanced Studies in Linguistics. In addition, English 281: The English Language will emphasize the linguistic history of English, as well as raise issues about English as a world language, dialect variation and the future of English. Courses in English linguistics have two goals - analysis of the grammar, sound system, and history of English; and a thorough introduction to the theories, practice and methods of linguistics.
All English majors and honours students must take one of these courses. A student may statisfy the requirements for a Minor in English by taking four linguistics courses along with two Survey of Literature courses (201, 202) and one other directed literature course. In effect, he or she thus achieves a Minor in English Language.
For full course descriptions, please see the Registrar's website.
Publications and Conferences
Outstanding student papers from the above courses have been published in-house under the title Occasional Student Papers in Linguistics and circulated in the Atlantic Region. The Department has hosted the Atlantic Provinces Linguistic Association annual meeting four times (1981, 1988, 1995, and 2004). In the past, UPEI students have taken an active role in these meetings, including presenting papers.
Further Information
Contact Dr. Anne Furlong (902) 566-0677 or afurlong@upei.ca
