Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Linguistics

The Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Linguistics (BA - ELL), situated in the Department of Literature and Languages, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, was developed in the formative years of the University of Zambia to train specialised human resource in English language and linguistics. Such graduates are holistically developed and equipped with language skills, linguistic competencies and aptitude to respond to societal language-related needs, and invariably adept in theoretical and applied linguistic analysis amenable to meaning making, phonation and grammaticality for an informed and thorough examination of sociocultural knowledge and histories that come to bear on language use, evolution and teaching. The BA – ELL conflates two broader theoretical strands, namely, ‘language’ and ‘linguistics’ as they apply to the English language study. Thus, the programme takes, as the pedagogical point of departure, the detailed study of the communicative (functional), theoretical and descriptive aspects of the English language to prepare a graduate for work related to but not limited to linguistics, language teaching, interpretation, editing, language planning and policy formulation, as well as research and clinical linguistics.

Rationale

Designed to give students an all-round approach to language and linguistics by exposing to and canalising them into linguistic theories and application, the BA-ELL programme will fulfil two interrelated functions:

(i) Firstly, it is envisaged that once completed, the graduates will fill up the critical human resource shortages in such areas as lecturing, teaching, interpreting, translation, editing, and language planning and policy formulation, as well as language therapy for delayed speech, aphasics and dyslexics. To this end, this programme, through various critical approaches, develops a cadre of critically appearances and social commentary. developed graduates who make a huge difference to society through both the professional pathway such as in teaching and the general societal-oriented contribution arising from informed discussions on language matters through media

ii) Secondly, at the core of the aims of the programme is to develop graduates that can take up postgraduate studies in English language and linguistics for the creation of highly skilled labour force for university teaching, language experts, planners and internationally acclaimed scholars of linguistics. Thus, the well tier-made curriculum of this programme will equip students to critically write about language, reflectively carry out research in various fields of linguistics as means to uncover complex linguistic synergies cross-linguistically and purposefully analyse texts in English for a deeper appreciation of the pretext, text and context within the broader discoursal and socio-pragmatic context.

Aims of the programme

The aim of the programme is four-fold in nature with respect to developing graduates that are adept in English language and linguistics as described below.

i) At the core of the programme is the desire to train and develop specialised graduates in English language and linguistics, in order to familiarise graduates with key theoretical trends in language and linguistic, and develop in them (graduates) analytical, applicative and linguistic skills.

ii) iii) To canalise graduates into responsive professionals in specialised fields obtainable within the public service and private practice arising from the training in language and linguistics. Such graduates will contribute to training, teaching, translation, interpretation, language therapy and multilingual awareness, as well as language documentation and preservation.

iii) To create a workforce sensitivity to and adept in generating locally-sensitivity solutions to local language/linguistic challenges akin to literacy, communication and the UN imperative of inclusivity predicated on multilingualism and sociocultural diversity. This entails developing graduates that will be equipped with tools for the formulation of language planning and language policy.

Objectives of the Programme

At the end of the programme, graduates of the BA-ELL are expected to:

i. Explain the origin and nature of language in general and human articulated language in particular;

ii Describe language in terms of its phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics;

iii Carry-out a lexico-semantic and discoursal analysis of texts; Account for the complex nature of the relationship between language, mental and physical processes, and the context of reality;

iv Apply the acquired knowledge linguistics and language skills in translation, interpreting and editing among other specialised tasks;

v Plan, and implement field research project in linguistics; and,

vi Communicate aspects of language planning and policy for inclusivity and public awareness in multilingual context