Around 150 million people in the world speak Russian, which is widely used in global cultural and political contexts. It is the official language of four countries and is commonly understood throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There are also large communities of Russian-speakers in China, the United States, Israel and Western Europe.
This flexible joint honours programme gives you the opportunity to study Russian in its cultural context while exploring how the English language has changed over time. These changes can be traced through written materials ranging from medieval manuscripts to text messages, and more recently, recordings of spoken English.
Combining the linguistic and cultural study of languages demonstrates that you are a good communicator, a resilient problem solver, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas.
When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.
Russian Studies
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.
English Language
Using techniques from modern linguistics, you will analyse the structure of written and spoken English and explore how the language has changed throughout its history.
As well as the study of change in English, we have a strong tradition of investigating variations of the language, including:
- Scots
- distinct dialects of English
- international variations
You will study modern-day English and Scots and identify the similarities and differences between English and other languages.
