This paper is available for the academic year 2023-24.

This paper focuses on contemporary variation and historical change in English. It uses English, a language known by all those taking the paper, as an introduction to the linguistic analysis of variation and change.

One part of the paper looks at variation from different perspectives: social and typological. It presents and analyses variation in English today, encompassing both the well-established varieties in England and the newer varieties that have emerged as English has spread to become a world language. We consider the linguistic features of a range of these varieties, covering most areas of linguistic description, including pronunciation, grammar, and lexicon. The study of geographical variation raises various more general issues: how do such differences arise? Do all varieties of English share the same basic grammar? Do differences reflect major structural differences in the linguistic system? This leads on to consideration of typological variation: how do linguistic systems differ? What patterns and regularities can be found?

The other main part of the paper looks at earlier stages in the history of English, from the emergence of Old English as a distinct language in the early Middle Ages right down to ongoing change at the present day. English is a West Germanic language within the Indo-European family of languages: we begin by looking at what this means and how linguists establish the place of English within the Germanic languages and beyond. For the attested history of the language, we review the extensive changes that English has undergone at all levels. We consider how linguists interpret written texts and other sources to infer past stages of English, and go on to look at how we can understand and account for the changes which have taken place and are taking place in various aspects of the structure of English. We see how language change can be both internally and externally motivated: internally, for instance, as perhaps a drive towards 'simplification', and externally as English has come into contact with and been influenced by other languages throughout its history - from Old Norse influence on Old English to the emergence of English-based creoles in the past few centuries.

Far from being distinct from the study of contemporary variation in English, the history of English may hold the key to how current variation arose; and, conversely, current variation and short-term change, together with knowledge of typological variation, can enable us to venture predictions on future directions of change in the language.