French and English Language

French and English language is a combination that takes two of the world's most influential linguistic traditions and examines them both as formal systems and as carriers of culture, literature and thought. English language study involves the systematic analysis of how English works, including its grammar, phonology, historical development, regional and social variation, and the ways it is used in different communicative contexts. French brings fluency in one of the world's most widely spoken languages alongside engagement with French literature, culture and the diversity of French-speaking societies across Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond.

Together they produce graduates with both analytical linguistic depth and a genuine command of another language.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year full-time programme draws on the university's strengths in both linguistics and French studies. You will develop advanced French language skills through intensive tuition, literary and cultural study, and translation practice, while also engaging with the core areas of English language study, including historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and language acquisition. The four-year Scottish degree structure allows time for both dimensions to develop thoroughly, and Edinburgh's intellectual and cultural environment provides a stimulating context for work at the intersection of language study and literary analysis.

Graduates from French and English language programmes work in translation and interpreting, language teaching, publishing, journalism, editing, cultural organisations, the civil service, international business, speech and language therapy, and natural language processing. The combination of advanced French and the analytical rigour of English language study is valued wherever clear communication, cultural sensitivity and linguistic precision are required. Postgraduate study in linguistics, French studies, applied linguistics, translation studies or language education is a natural progression for those who wish to develop their expertise further.