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English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literature
Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
s written in the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 (including literatures from the U.K.
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
, the Philippines
Philippine literature in English

Philippine literature in English has its roots in the efforts of the United States, which had been engaged in a Philippine-American War at the end of the 19th century, to establish in the country a government based on the ideals of "universality, practicality, and democracy." By 1901, public education had been institutionalized in the Philipp...
, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, and the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, among other areas), English linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
 (including English phonetics
Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds , and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception....
, phonology
Phonology

Phonology is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use. Just as a language has syntax and vocabulary, it also has a phonology in the sense of a sound system....
, syntax
Syntax

In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing Sentence s in natural languages. In addition to referring to the discipline, the term syntax is also used to refer directly to the rules and principles that govern the sentence structure of any individual language, as in "the Irish syntax"....
, morphology
Morphology (linguistics)

Morphology is the identification, analysis and description of structure of words . While words are generally accepted as being the smallest units of syntax, it is clear that in most languages, words can be related to other words by rules....
, semantics
Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. The word is derived from the Greek language word s??a?t???? , "significant", from s??a??? , "to signify, to indicate" and that from s??a , "sign, mark, token"....
, pragmatics
Pragmatics

Pragmatics or intent is the study of how the arrangement of words and phrases can alter the meaning of a sentence, it deals with the structural ambiguity in a sentence....
, corpus linguistics
Corpus linguistics

Corpus linguistics is the study of language as expressed in samples or "real world" text. This method represents a digestive approach to deriving a set of abstract rules by which a natural language is governed or else relates to another language....
, and stylistics
Stylistics (linguistics)

Stylistics is the study of varieties of language whose properties position that language in wiktionary:context. For example, the language of advertising, politics, religion, individual authors, etc., or the language of a period in time, all are used distinctively and belong in a particular situation....
), and English sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used....
 (including discourse analysis
Discourse analysis

Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken or signed language use....
 of written and spoken texts in the English language, the history of the English language
History of the English language

English language is a West Germanic languages which originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Germanic tribes from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the northern Netherlands....
, English language learning and teaching
English language learning and teaching

ESL , ESOL , and EFL all refer to the use or study of English language by speakers with a different native language. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below....
, and the study of World Englishes).

More broadly, English studies explores the production and analysis of texts produced in English (or in areas of the world in which English is a common mode of communication).






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English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literature
Literature

Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" . In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and non-fiction....
s written in the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 (including literatures from the U.K.
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
, the Philippines
Philippine literature in English

Philippine literature in English has its roots in the efforts of the United States, which had been engaged in a Philippine-American War at the end of the 19th century, to establish in the country a government based on the ideals of "universality, practicality, and democracy." By 1901, public education had been institutionalized in the Philipp...
, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, and the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, among other areas), English linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
 (including English phonetics
Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds , and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception....
, phonology
Phonology

Phonology is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use. Just as a language has syntax and vocabulary, it also has a phonology in the sense of a sound system....
, syntax
Syntax

In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing Sentence s in natural languages. In addition to referring to the discipline, the term syntax is also used to refer directly to the rules and principles that govern the sentence structure of any individual language, as in "the Irish syntax"....
, morphology
Morphology (linguistics)

Morphology is the identification, analysis and description of structure of words . While words are generally accepted as being the smallest units of syntax, it is clear that in most languages, words can be related to other words by rules....
, semantics
Semantics

Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. The word is derived from the Greek language word s??a?t???? , "significant", from s??a??? , "to signify, to indicate" and that from s??a , "sign, mark, token"....
, pragmatics
Pragmatics

Pragmatics or intent is the study of how the arrangement of words and phrases can alter the meaning of a sentence, it deals with the structural ambiguity in a sentence....
, corpus linguistics
Corpus linguistics

Corpus linguistics is the study of language as expressed in samples or "real world" text. This method represents a digestive approach to deriving a set of abstract rules by which a natural language is governed or else relates to another language....
, and stylistics
Stylistics (linguistics)

Stylistics is the study of varieties of language whose properties position that language in wiktionary:context. For example, the language of advertising, politics, religion, individual authors, etc., or the language of a period in time, all are used distinctively and belong in a particular situation....
), and English sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used....
 (including discourse analysis
Discourse analysis

Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken or signed language use....
 of written and spoken texts in the English language, the history of the English language
History of the English language

English language is a West Germanic languages which originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Germanic tribes from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the northern Netherlands....
, English language learning and teaching
English language learning and teaching

ESL , ESOL , and EFL all refer to the use or study of English language by speakers with a different native language. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below....
, and the study of World Englishes).

More broadly, English studies explores the production and analysis of texts produced in English (or in areas of the world in which English is a common mode of communication). It is not uncommon for academic departments of "English" or "English Studies" to include scholars of the English language
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
, literature
English literature

The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S....
 (including literary criticism
Literary criticism

Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals....
 and literary theory
Literary theory

Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes?in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense?considerations of intellectual history, moral philosophy, social prophecy,...
), linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
, law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
, journalism
Journalism

Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and editorial via a widening spectrum of Media . These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and, more recently, the cellphone....
, composition studies
Composition studies

Composition Studies is the professional field of writing research and instruction, focusing especially on writing at the college level in the United States....
, the philosophy of language
Philosophy of language

Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for Analytic philosophys is concerned with four central problems: the nature of Meaning , language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language and reality....
, literacy
Literacy

The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language to Reading , Writing, Listening, and Speech communication....
, publishing
Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view....
/history of the book
History of the book

The history of the book follows a suite of technology innovations for books. These improved the quality of text conservation, the access to information, portability, and the cost of production....
, communication studies
Communication studies

Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time....
, technical communication
Technical communication

Technical communication is the process of conveying technical information through writing, speech, and other mediums to a specific audience. Information is usable if the intended audience can perform an action or make a decision based on it ....
, folklore
Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
, cultural studies
Cultural studies

Cultural studies is an academic discipline which combines political economy, communication, sociology, social theory, literary theory, Media influence, film theory, cultural anthropology, philosophy, museum studies and art history/art criticism to study culture phenomena in various societies....
, creative writing
Creative writing

Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional writing, journalistic, Academic writing, and technical forms of literature....
, critical theory
Critical theory

In the humanities and social sciences, critical theory is the examination and critique of society and literature, drawing from knowledge across social sciences and humanities disciplines....
, disability studies
Disability studies

Disability studies is an interdisciplinary field of study, which is focused on the contributions, experiences, history, and culture of people with disability....
, area studies
Area studies

In the humanities and social sciences, area studies are interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to a particular geography, national/Federal government, or culture region....
 (especially American studies
American studies

American studies or American civilization is an Interdisciplinarity dealing with the study of the United States. It incorporates the study of Economy of the United States, History of the United States, American literature, art of the United States, Mass media, American cinema, urban studies, women's studies, and culture of the United St...
), theatre
Theatre

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one or more actor, isolated in time and/or Theater , present themselves to Audience." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling....
, gender studies
Gender studies

Gender studies is a Field of study of interdisciplinary study which analyzes the phenomenon of gender. Gender Studies is sometimes related to studies of Social class, Race , ethnicity, sexuality and Location ....
/ethnic studies
Ethnic studies

Ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study of racialized peoples in the United States and elsewhere. It evolved in the second half of the 20th century partly in response to charges that traditional disciplines such as anthropology, history, English language, ethnology, Asian Studies, and orientalism were imbued with an inherently eurocentr...
, digital media
Digital media

Digital media usually refers to electronic media that work on digital codes. Today, computing is primarily based on the binary numeral system....
/electronic publishing
Electronic publishing

Electronic publishing includes the digital publication of e-books and electronic articles, and the development of digital library and catalogues....
, film studies/media studies
Media studies

Media studies is a collection of academic programs regarding the content, history, meaning and effects of various media . Media studies scholars vary in the theoretical and methodological focus they bring to mass media topics, including the media's political, social, economic and cultural roles and impact....
, rhetoric
Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
 and philology
Philology

Philology, derived from the Greek language considers both morphology and Meaning in linguistic expression, combining linguistics and literary studies....
/etymology
Etymology

Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time.In languages with a long detailed history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time....
, and various courses in the liberal arts
Liberal arts

The term liberal arts refers to the education derived from the Classical education curriculum....
 and humanities
Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural science and social sciences....
, among others.

In most English-speaking countries, the literary and cultural dimensions of English studies are typically practiced in university
University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education....
 departments of English, while the study of texts produced in non-English languages takes place in other departments, such as departments of foreign language or comparative literature
Comparative literature

Comparative literature is literary criticism dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups. While most frequently practiced with works of different languages, it may also be performed on works of the same language if the works originate from different nations or cultures among which that languag...
. English linguistics is often studied in separate departments of linguistics. This disciplinary divide between a dominant linguistic or a literary orientation is one motivation for the division of the North American Modern Language Association
Modern Language Association

The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature....
 (MLA) into two subgroups. At universities in non-English-speaking countries, the same department often covers all aspects of English studies including linguistics: this is reflected, for example, in the structure and activities of the European Society for the Study of English
European Society for the Study of English

Founded in 1990 in Rome, the European Society for the Study of English is the largest and most comprehensive organization for university teachers and researchers in English Studies, including literature, linguistics, and cultural studies, throughout Europe....
 (ESSE).

English Studies

See also Literature and linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
, along with List of academic disciplines
List of academic disciplines

An academia discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge which is teaching and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned society and academic departments or faculties to which their practitioners belong....
  • English linguistics
    Linguistics

    Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
  • English sociolinguistics
    Sociolinguistics

    Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used....
  • Discourse analysis
    Discourse analysis

    Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken or signed language use....
     in English
  • English Stylistics (linguistics)
    Stylistics (linguistics)

    Stylistics is the study of varieties of language whose properties position that language in wiktionary:context. For example, the language of advertising, politics, religion, individual authors, etc., or the language of a period in time, all are used distinctively and belong in a particular situation....
  • World Englishes
    International English

    International English is the concept of the English language as a global means of communication in numerous dialects, and also the movement towards an international standard for the language....
  • History of the English
    English language

    English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
     Language
  • Composition studies
    Composition studies

    Composition Studies is the professional field of writing research and instruction, focusing especially on writing at the college level in the United States....
  • Rhetoric
    Rhetoric

    Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with logic and dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse....
  • Technical communication
    Technical communication

    Technical communication is the process of conveying technical information through writing, speech, and other mediums to a specific audience. Information is usable if the intended audience can perform an action or make a decision based on it ....
  • English language learning and teaching
    English language learning and teaching

    ESL , ESOL , and EFL all refer to the use or study of English language by speakers with a different native language. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below....
  • English Literature
    English literature

    The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S....
    • American literature
      American literature

      American literature refers to written or literature produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States....
      , including:
      • African American literature
        African American literature

        African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reaching early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem Renaissance, and continuing today with author...
      • Jewish American literature
        Jewish American literature

        Jewish American literature holds an essential place in the American literature. It encompasses traditions of writing in American English, primarily, as well as in other languages, the most important of which has been Yiddish literature....
      • Southern literature
        Southern literature

        Southern literature is defined as American literature about the Southern United States or by writers from this region. Characteristics of Southern literature include a focus on a common American history, the significance of family, a sense of community and one?s role within it, the region's dominant religion and the burdens/rewards religion...
    • Australian literature
      Australian literature

      Australian literature began soon after the settlement of the country by Europeans. Common themes include indigenous and settler identity, alienation, exile and relationship to place - but it is a varied and contested area....
    • British literature
      British literature

      British literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as to literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the United Kingdom....
       (literature from some regions of the United Kingdom may be written in Celtic languages)
    • Canadian literature
      Canadian literature

      Criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes. Critics against such thematic criticism in Canadian literature, such as Frank Davey, have argued that a focus on theme diminishes the appreciation of complexity of the literature produced in the country, and creates the impression that Canadian literature is so...
       (a significant amount of Canadian literature is also written in French
      French language

      French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
      )
    • Irish literature
      Irish literature

      For a comparatively small island, Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to world literature in all its branches. Irish Literature encompasses the Irish Language and English Language languages....
    • New Zealand literature
      New Zealand literature

      New Zealand claims as its own many writers, even those immigrants born overseas, like South African-born Robin Hyde, or those emigrants who went into exile but wrote about New Zealand, like Dan Davin and Katherine Mansfield....
    • Scottish literature
      Scottish literature

      Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by List of Scottish writers. It includes literature written in English language, Scottish Gaelic language, Scots language, Brythonic languages, French language, Latin language and any other language in which a piece of literature was ever written within the boundaries of modern Sc...
    • Welsh literature
      Welsh literature

      Welsh literature may be used to refer to any literature originating from Wales or by List of Welsh writers:*See Literature of Wales for literature in the Welsh language...


External links

  • (ESSE)
  • in the US and Canada