Article published In: Historical Linguistics at School
Edited by Theodore Markopoulos and Brian D. Joseph
[Pedagogical Linguistics 6:2] 2025
► pp. 134–154
On opportunities to study historical linguistics in schools in the United Kingdom
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.
Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Edinburgh.
Published online: 6 May 2025
https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.24001.god
https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.24001.god
Abstract
This paper presents an overview of some of the opportunities available to children in the United Kingdom to study
aspects of historical linguistics, both as part of the approved curricula and as additional learning opportunities. We present an
overview of some of the arrangements in the public examinations in England and Wales in three subject areas: English Language;
modern foreign languages; and classical languages. We observe that opportunities to study historical linguistics are limited in
all of these areas, but there is at least some engagement with the subject. We then describe the United Kingdom Linguistics
Olympiad, in particular, some of the kinds of problems in historical linguistics that students are required to solve as part of
the competition. Finally, we introduce Maths-Puzz-Ling, a project being developed at the University of Edinburgh as a result of
collaboration between linguists and mathematicians, and show how particular problems can simultaneously be used to educate pupils
about mathematical concepts and patterns in (historical) linguistics. The benefit of a modified problem-based learning approach to
the teaching of historical linguistic concepts is also considered.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Historical linguistics in public examinations in England and Wales
- 2.1English language
- 2.2German
- 2.3Latin
- 2.4Summary
- 3.The United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad
- 3.1A short history UKLO and a description of UKLO-style problems
- 3.2UKLO puzzles and problem/inquiry-based learning
- 4.Maths-Puzz-Ling: A new initiative
- 4.1The historical linguistics connection
- 4.1.1Avestan
- 4.1.2Cistercian and Cree
- 4.1.3Polynesian numbers
- 4.2The rationale for Maths-Puzz-Ling
- 4.1The historical linguistics connection
- 5.Conclusions
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
References
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