Portuguese and English Language, MA (Hons)

Portuguese and English are two of the most widely spoken languages in the world. This programme offers you the opportunity to study Portuguese in its cultural context while exploring how the English language has changed over time.Combining the linguistic and cultural study of languages demonstrates that you are a good communicator, a resourceful problem solver, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas - what employers value as Intercultural Competence.Many of our graduates started as complete beginners in Portuguese.PortugueseOne of the world's ten most widely spoken languages, Portuguese is estimated to have around 234 million speakers. From Brazil to Mozambique, the many countries where it is spoken have fascinatingly rich and varied cultures. Study at Edinburgh and you will have the opportunity to develop advanced spoken and written skills in Portuguese while exploring literature, film, music and arts from Europe, Latin America and Lusophone Africa. English Language The English language has a well-recorded history of more than 1,000 years, and its changes can be traced through written materials ranging from medieval manuscripts to text messages, and more recently, through recordings of spoken English.Your studies will develop your knowledge and understanding of:

• the principles of theoretical linguistics

• the way we learn language

• the regional and social variations of language, particularly the English language

• methods of communication

As part of the programme, you can opt to study the Scots language, which has its own rich linguistic and literary tradition.English Language courses of particular interest to students of Portuguese cover:

• the speech sounds of the world's languages

• variation in the languages of the world

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. The four-year degree also gives you more choice and flexibility in what you study. In Years 1 and 2, you will choose option courses from a broad list of disciplines, then specialise as you move through your honours years.