Japanese and Linguistics (MA)TQ21

Over the past 150 years, Japan has experienced rapid change yet it retains its fascinating cultural heritage. On our programme you will develop the linguistic, intercultural and analytical skills to critically engage with this dynamic society in a truly interdisciplinary way. Japanese and Linguistics make an excellent joint honours choice by combining the study of: a modern language in its cultural contextthe expression and creation of meaning You will benefit from the same Japanese language training as our MA (Hons) Japanese students but will be able to focus your studies on the social scientific understanding of language. Linguistics courses of particular relevance to language students cover: the speech sounds of the world's languagesvariation in the languages of the worldthe structure and history of world languages Edinburgh is the only university in Scotland to offer undergraduate honours degrees in Japanese. Our programme has been carefully designed around the goal of making you an expert on Japan. You will also learn about the country's place in East Asia, one of the world's most important and influential regions. Our language courses will develop your skills in speaking, listening to, reading and writing Modern Japanese. Classes are active, innovative, inclusive and always informed by the best practice in the field. You can start the language as a complete beginner. A highlight of the programme is spending Year 3 in Japan. This gives you the opportunity to study abroad and experience Japanese culture firsthand. Linguistics examines how language works, describing how sounds, words, sentences and conversations combine to express and create meaning. You will also study: the uses of language in everyday lifethe ways in which it varies across society and evolves over timehow 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. Before arriving, I couldn't have begun to imagine the world that studying Japanese at the University of Edinburgh has opened to me. Every challenge is its own reward! The teaching staff are so welcoming and supportive, and have always encouraged us to reach our full potential at every step of our education. Taking this programme is one choice in life that I'd make over and over again, if given the chance! Nairne, Year 4, Japanese and Linguistics MA (Hons)