Hungarian and Swedish

Hungarian and Swedish at University College London is an unusual pairing that reflects UCL's exceptional breadth in modern language provision and offers access to two distinctly different but equally fascinating language traditions. Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language, unrelated to the Indo-European languages that surround it in Central Europe, and its grammar and structure are radically different from anything a student of French, German, or Spanish will have encountered. It is the language of a literature of extraordinary richness, including the poetry of Attila Jozsef, the novels of Sandor Marai, and a twentieth-century intellectual tradition that produced remarkable figures in science, philosophy, and the arts.

Swedish is a North Germanic language and one of the most widely spoken of the Scandinavian languages, the language of Strindberg and Astrid Lindgren, and of a country with a significant contemporary cultural and political presence.

At UCL, you will develop proficiency in both languages from whatever level you begin, engaging over four years of full-time study with their grammars, literatures, and cultural contexts. UCL's School of European Languages, Culture and Society brings together specialists across a very wide range of language traditions, and the teaching of both Hungarian and Swedish reflects serious scholarly engagement with each. You will read literary and cultural texts, study the history and contemporary societies of Hungary and Sweden, and develop the communicative skills in each language that are essential for genuine engagement with their cultures and people.

Graduates with these two languages have a rare combination that is valued in contexts requiring expertise in Central European or Scandinavian affairs. Diplomacy, international organisations, journalism, translation and interpreting, and business roles with a Central European or Swedish commercial focus are destinations that draw on the specific language expertise. The Scandinavian countries have a particular presence in the EU and in international organisations concerned with environmental, social, and security policy, and Swedish is an official EU language.

Academic research in Hungarian or Swedish literature, linguistics, or area studies is a path for those who want to pursue the intellectual dimensions of the degree. The analytical and communication skills developed in any serious language degree are also valued across many professional fields.