MA French and Portuguese
About this course
French and Portuguese at the University of Edinburgh is a combination that brings together two of the great Romance language traditions, each with its own rich literary heritage and its own complex relationship to the wider world through the histories of French and Portuguese colonialism and the global communities that emerged from those histories. French is spoken on every continent, the language of international diplomacy and a continuing tradition of philosophy, literature, film, and cultural thought of the highest calibre. Portuguese is the language of Brazil, Portugal, and significant communities in Africa, Asia, and beyond, and a literary tradition that includes Fernando Pessoa, Clarice Lispector, and José Saramago, as well as the extraordinary corpus of mediaeval Galician-Portuguese poetry. At Edinburgh, you will study both languages to a high level of proficiency over four years of full-time study, developing reading, writing, speaking, and listening competence alongside deep engagement with the literatures, cultures, and histories of the French-speaking and Portuguese-speaking worlds. The programme draws on Edinburgh's tradition of strength in modern languages and area studies, and you will be taught by specialists in both French and Lusophone literature and culture. The combination encourages comparative thinking about two very different but related traditions, and develops the broad cultural awareness that is increasingly important in an interconnected world. Graduates with proficiency in both French and Portuguese have a rare and genuinely valuable linguistic portfolio. Careers in diplomacy, international organisations, the European Union, journalism, international development, and NGOs working across French-speaking Africa, Brazil, or the wider Lusophone world draw directly on this combination of languages. Translation and interpreting, publishing, and roles in cultural organisations connecting the UK with French-speaking and Portuguese-speaking markets are further options. The Brazilian economy and the cultural and political dynamics of Francophone Africa are areas of growing significance in which graduates with this combination of languages will be well placed. Academic research in French, Lusophone, or comparative Romance studies, and postgraduate study in translation, linguistics, or area studies, are natural paths for those who want to develop their expertise further.
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