Celtic and Linguistics, MA (Hons)

This joint honours programme offers you the opportunity to investigate the languages, literatures and cultures of the Celtic world alongside linguistics in a global context. Celtic In Celtic, we work with the medieval literary tradition in Early Irish and Medieval Welsh (the most extensive in the whole of Europe), as well as Scottish Gaelic from the late Middle Ages to the present. We also explore the rich oral tradition recorded from the 18th century to the present day, and poetry from the 18th century golden age of Gaelic literature. You will study 19th and 20th century responses to the rapid social, cultural, and linguistic changes in countries where the Celtic languages are spoken. You will also study the writing, song, and media production emerging from the lively and varied contemporary cultural scene in Gaelic Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. At all levels of study, we offer courses in language, literature, history, and culture. This will enable you to build your programme by developing your own interests in particular areas, periods, and disciplines of Celtic studies. Our expertise extends to:

• theoretical and practical issues of current sociolinguistics

• language policy

• language revitalisation

Celtic language studyYou can choose to study Scottish Gaelic from Year 1, and continue to learn about Scottish Gaelic language, literature, and culture throughout your studies. If you choose this pathway through the programme, it doesn't matter if you are a complete beginner in Scottish Gaelic; we stream our Year 1 classes to suit all levels of prior knowledge or none. You can also learn a medieval Celtic language at honours level (Years 3 and 4). For this path, you will study Celtic civilisation and literature in Years 1 and 2, with texts presented in English translation. Both Old Irish and Middle Welsh are available, and students may choose to study one, or both.Linguistics Linguistics examines how language works, describing how sounds, words, sentences and conversations combine to express and create meaning.You will study:

• the uses of language in everyday life

• the ways in which language varies across society and evolves over time

• how language is mastered by children

As you progress through the programme, you will have the opportunity to formulate and test scientific hypotheses about linguistic phenomena using specialist linguistics and phonetics equipment. Linguistics courses of particular relevance to students of Celtic cover:

• the speech sounds of the world's languages

• variation in the languages of the world

• the structure and history of world languages

Why EdinburghScotland's capital city, Edinburgh has a long-established Gaelic community and a lively contemporary cultural scene. Its collections are outstanding, as are the University's own resources for the study of Celtic and Linguistics.Our programme is extremely flexible. In Years 1 and 2, you will choose option courses from a wide range of disciplines, and specialise as you progress through your honours years.When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.