Celtic and Linguistics

This joint honours programme gives you the opportunity to develop your social scientific understanding of language while exploring the extraordinarily rich cultures of the Celtic world.

Celtic

At all levels of study on this four-year programme, we offer courses in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of the Celtic world.

You have the option to study Scottish Gaelic and build up to advanced competency in the language.

A choice of pathways through the programme enables you to develop your own interests in particular areas, periods and disciplines of Celtic studies.

Our expertise covers:

• Scottish Gaelic from the late Middle Ages to the present, including language policy and revitalisation

• the medieval literary tradition in Early Irish and Medieval Welsh - the most extensive in the whole of Europe

• the rich oral tradition recorded from the 18th century to the present day

• poetry from the 18th century golden age of Gaelic literature

• 19th and 20th century responses to the rapid social, cultural, and linguistic changes in countries where the Celtic languages are spoken

• the writing, song, and media production emerging from the lively and varied contemporary cultural scene in Gaelic Scotland, Ireland, and Wales

Celtic language study

If you choose to study Scottish Gaelic, it does not matter if you are a complete beginner; we stream our Year 1 classes to suit all levels of prior knowledge or none.

You can also learn a medieval Celtic language at honours level (Years 3 and 4). Both Old Irish and Middle Welsh are available. For this path, you will study Celtic civilisation and literature in Years 1 and 2, with texts presented in English translation.

Linguistics

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 life

• the ways in which language varies across society and evolves over time

• how language 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.

Linguistics courses of particular relevance to students of Celtic cover:

• the speech sounds of the world's languages

• variation in the languages of the world

• the structure and history of world languages

Why Edinburgh?

Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh has a long-established Gaelic community and a lively contemporary cultural scene. Its collections are outstanding, as are the University's own resources for the study of Celtic and Linguistics.

Our programme is extremely flexible. In Years 1 and 2, in addition to studying Celtic and Linguistics, you will choose option courses from a wide range of disciplines. You will then specialise as you progress through your honours years.

When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.