Language police: Europe’s language academies and attitudes

About this course

The course examines how European institutions have tried to define “correct” language and how those efforts have influenced national identity and political power. It compares the Académie Française and Real Academia Española with language planning in the Nordic countries, then considers how Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary shaped ideas about English without an official academy. Illustrated lectures, group discussion and analysis of academy edicts, historical documents and dictionary entries are used to explore prescriptive and descriptive approaches, including the effects of internet and social media on language authority.

What you'll learn

• Identify political and historical factors behind the creation of European language academies.
• Distinguish between prescriptivist and descriptivist approaches to language.
• Explain how English developed without a central language academy.
• Analyse the influence of major dictionaries on language and national identity.
• Assess how digital culture challenges traditional language institutions.

Is this course right for you?

This all-levels course is intended for people interested in history, linguistics or European culture. No prior knowledge of French, Spanish or linguistic theory is required. Participation includes group discussion and debate, while optional readings and word-spotting exercises are available outside class without mandatory homework.

• No prior knowledge of the subject languages or linguistic theory is required.
• The teaching includes discussion and debate alongside illustrated lectures.
• Optional weekly readings and word-spotting exercises are available.

Before you go

• A notebook and pen may be useful but are optional.
• Primary source excerpts are provided digitally or as handouts.
• No additional costs are stated.