French and Linguistics, MA (Hons)

French is a major world language, spoken in many parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas.This joint honours programme offers you the opportunity to study French in its global cultural context while exploring how language works.French and Linguistics make an excellent joint honours choice by combining the study of:

• a modern language in its cultural context

• the expression and creation of meaning

Linguistics courses of particular relevance to language students cover:

• the speech sounds of the world's languages

• variation in the languages of the world

• the structure and history of world languages

French You will have the opportunity to acquire near-native fluency in this widely-spoken modern language, while gaining the broad cultural education valued by graduate employers. You will explore aspects of French culture, including Francophone literature and cinema, political history, social movements and philosophical ideas. Our courses cover material from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century and include specialist options taught by leading experts in their field. LinguisticsLinguistics 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 it varies across society and evolves over time

• how it 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. Why Edinburgh We are unique in Scotland in offering students a full academic year abroad within the four-year honours programme, regardless of whether you spend the year studying or working. Our programmes are extremely flexible. In Years 1 and 2, you will choose option courses from a broad list of disciplines, and specialise as you progress through your honours years.