Russian Studies and Linguistics

Around 150 million people in the world speak Russian. It is the official language of four countries, and is widely understood throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There are also large communities of Russian-speakers in China, the United States, Israel and Western Europe.

Russian Studies and Linguistics makes an excellent joint honours choice by combining the study of:

• a modern language in its cultural, historical and political context

• the expression and creation of meaning, and how language works

On our programme, linguistics course options of particular relevance to language students cover:

• sociolinguistics - the relationship between language and society

• variation in the languages of the world

• first and second languages acquisition

• Global Englishes

When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.

Russian

On this joint honours programme, you have the opportunity to develop advanced speaking, writing, reading, listening and translating skills in Russian.

Our Year 1 Russian courses are streamed according to how much of the language you already know, so it does not matter if you are a complete beginner.

You will explore Russian and Russian-speaking (Russophone) literature and culture, past and present. You will also develop an awareness of Russia's international political and historical contexts.

You will spend Year 3 in a country where Russian is spoken.

Linguistics

Linguistics examines how language works, describing how sounds, words, sentences and conversations combine to express and create meaning.

You will also study different aspects of language, including:

• its uses in everyday life

• how its use 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 plan and test scientific hypotheses about linguistic phenomena using specialist linguistics and phonetics equipment.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is studied over 4 years, including a Year Abroad. This enables us to build choice and flexibility into your studies, giving you time to explore options, find what you like and build your skills.

Your first two years will be your pre-honours years. They will give you a good grounding in the Russian language and in the study of Russia and of linguistics. In addition to your core courses, you will broaden your education and skill set by choosing option courses from a range of disciplines. This gives you the chance to build your intercultural awareness in other areas of the arts, humanities, social sciences and beyond.

Your final two years will be your honours years. You will spend Year 3 studying abroad, gaining lived experience of Russophone culture. Year 4 will be tailored to your interests in specific topics or approaches to Russian studies and linguistics. You will also further develop your Russian language and translation skills.

Programme benefits

• Take the oldest programme of its kind in Scotland.

• Study over four years, including one abroad.

• Become fluent in a language.

• Try out different subjects in your first two years.

• Join societies related to what you are studying.

• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections.