German and Linguistics

More people speak German as their first language than any other in Europe and, worldwide, it is the third most popular language to learn.

This flexible programme gives you the opportunity to study German while developing your social scientific understanding of language.

German 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

On our programme, Linguistics 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

German

Across all four years of our programme, your studies will give you the chance to gain professional skills in all aspects of German, including:

• reading and listening

• writing and translating

• speaking and presenting

As well as language learning, you will also explore German-language literature, film and theatre. You will study these in the context of historical and political developments, from the eighteenth century to contemporary times.

On this programme, you will take one of the following as your first language course:

• German 1A - for beginners

• German 1B - for students with more experience of learning the language

By your final year, you will have developed linguistic, critical and analytical skills to the standard of completing a dissertation or long essay.

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 language 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.

Why Edinburgh

As a world-leading festival and capital city, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study a modern language in its cultural context and alongside Linguistics. German has been taught here since 1894, making it one of the first modern European languages to be offered at the University.

Studying over four years enables you to choose courses, including from other disciplines, that match your own interests, expertise and employability needs.

Additionally, 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.

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 your subjects. In addition to studying core courses, you will broaden your education and skill set by choosing option courses. This may enable you to change the focus of your programme.

Your final two years will be your honours years. You will spend Year 3 abroad, gaining a lived experience of German-speaking culture. Year 4 will be tailored to your interests in specific topics or approaches to German and Linguistics.

Programme benefits

• Learn in an historic, capital city where German has been taught for over a century.

• Study over four years, including one abroad.

• Become fluent in one of Europe's most widely spoken languages.

• Combine practical language learning with language science.

• Try out different subjects in your first two years.

• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections.