French and Language & Linguistics

French and Language & Linguistics at Aberdeen is a great subject combination that adds value to highly-developed language skills and cultural knowledge in an major European language. The programme explores how human language evolved, how we learn languages and how they differ and change over time. You will gain the all-round knowledge and skills to open up an avenue to a wide variety of careers.

French & Francophone Studies at Aberdeen has a long-standing reputation for teaching and research. The programme explores the diversity of French and Francophone culture and the complex global influence of France and the French language over the centuries. You will add to your growing language skills with diverse courses in contemporary society and politics, philosophy and history, film and visual culture, advanced translation skills, and literature from the Renaissance to the present day.

Language & Linguistics probes deeply into language and speech – analysing and modelling this fascinating human attribute so that we understand ourselves and human societies more fully. You will explore the brain processes speech and language, how languages evolve over time and how we learn second languages. This is an exciting and fast-moving field. Our understanding of language grows all the time with new discoveries in neuroscience, animal behaviour, archaeology, sociology and psychology and new ways to use linguistics theory in industry, medicine and forensic science emerge year on year.

As an integral part of your 4-year programme, you will spend half of year three developing your language skills as a Teaching Assistant or visiting student in a French-speaking country. You will graduate with a combination of skills to make you very attractive to employers, both in an international setting and in careers such as media, advertising and marketing, information and communication technology, publishing, language teaching and health-related professions such as speech and language therapy.