BA Latin and Linguistics / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

Our BA Latin and Linguistics Joint Honours course will enable you to develop your linguistic skills in an ancient language while delving into the science of language - an everyday phenomenon which impacts our lives on an individual and a global scale.

Through our course, you will explore the sounds and structure of languages across the globe, studying topics such as how languages change over time;  how children acquire their first language;  how language varies between different groups of people and across regions; how we communicate as individuals and within groups;  what languages across the world have in common and how they differ; and what happens when speakers of different languages come into contact.

With its diverse local communities, Manchester is an ideal site for carrying out research on linguistic variation and multilingualism.

We have two laboratories, where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography and eye tracking technology.

You'll also be able to learn quantitative methods and use large language corpora, skills which you'll then be able to apply to other fields throughout your life.

You will also study Latin language and literature in each of your three years of study. You can learn Latin either as a beginner or from A-level standard. There is also the opportunity to take specialist courses in Ancient History, Philosophy, Art, Archaeology and Egyptology.

Our course will help you to develop analytical and problem-solving skills. Often dealing with granular and complex data, your combination of humanities and scientific understanding will allow you to make connections across multiple fields of employment.

The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree. 

Special features

Placement year option  

Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a  placement year  in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks. 

Study abroad

You may apply to spend one semester  studying abroad  during Year 2.  

Exchange partners are offered through the international exchange scheme (eg. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore). 

Explore world-class collections 

Enjoy  unique opportunities  to explore special archived material and carry out research in a wide range of archives, libraries, museums and other research institutions in Manchester and beyond. You'll have exclusive access to the Special Collections of the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, including papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books.

Applied learning

Explore the practical application of your subject knowledge by taking part in teaching enhancement projects.

For example, some of our students have developed an online atlas of dialect variation in the UK and storyboards for the use in fieldwork.

Coursework and assessment

Assessment practices in different course units vary, but our basic aim is to achieve a good balance between formal written examinations, continuous assessment, and project work.

Course content for year 1

Core units will give you grounding in the historical and cultural contexts of life in first century Rome via ancient poetry and the study of Latin language. Optional units allow you start exploring key themes and making links between your fields of study.

You will gain a solid grounding in linguistics, taking core course units in (English) grammar and either the sounds of language or the study of meaning. You may also choose additional, optional units such as an introduction to the relation between language, the mind and the brain.

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Virgil's Aeneid CAHE10421 20 Mandatory
English Word and Sentence Structure LELA10301 20 Mandatory
Constructing Archaic Greek History CAHE10012 20 Optional
From Republic to Empire: Introduction to Roman History, Society & Culture 218-31BC CAHE10021 20 Optional
Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs  CAHE10032 20 Optional
The Odyssey CAHE10102 20 Optional
The Making of the Mediterranean CAHE10131 20 Optional
Cities and Citizens CAHE10231 20 Optional
Introduction to the History and Culture of Pharaonic Egypt CAHE10651 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 1 CAHE20151 20 Optional
Intensive Latin 1 CAHE20171 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 1 CAHE30110 20 Optional
Advanced Greek Language 1 CAHE30120 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 2 CAHE30162 20 Optional
Intensive Latin 2 CAHE30182 20 Optional
Language, Mind and Brain LELA10201 20 Optional
The Sounds of Language LELA10322 20 Optional
Study of Meaning LELA10332 20 Optional
From Text to Linguistic Evidence LELA10401 20 Optional
Climate change and societal response: Lessons from the past SALC11011 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 20 course units for year 1

Course content for year 2

With just one compulsory course unit in Latin language, you'll have the flexibility to focus your studies on key areas of interest across both subject areas, selecting from a breadth of historical, literary, cultural and societal themes.

You'll begin to tailor your degree to suit your interests in Linguistics.  While studying two compulsory units in subjects like phonology, syntax, or semantics, and typology or multilingualism, you'll choose from a wide range of optional units tapping into academic expertise in several specialist fields such as experimental phonetics and psycholinguistics.

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
The World of Late Antiquity: Europe and the Med from the Severan Dynasty to the Rise of Islam CAHE20022 20 Optional
The Conquering Hero: The Life, Times and Legacy of Alexander The Great CAHE20041 20 Optional
The Roman Empire 31BC - AD313 Rome's Golden Age CAHE20052 20 Optional
Politics and Society in Classical Greece CAHE20061 20 Optional
Social Life in Ancient Egypt  CAHE20072 20 Optional
Literature, Literacy, and Textual Transmission in Pharaonic Egypt  CAHE20091 20 Optional
Greco-Roman Society and Technology  CAHE20122 20 Optional
Neolithic Britain CAHE20131 20 Optional
From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World CAHE20142 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 1 CAHE20151 20 Optional
The Emergence of Civilisation: Palaces, Peak Sanctuaries, and Politics in Minoan Crete CAHE20221 20 Optional
Artefacts and Interpretation CAHE20362 20 Optional
Roman Women in 22 Objects CAHE20532 20 Optional
Greek Tragedy CAHE21012 20 Optional
Ovid: the Mythological Poems CAHE21261 20 Optional
National Identity and the Roman Past CAHE23022 20 Optional
Men, Beasts and Marvels: the Limits of Nature in Classical Antiquity  CAHE23361 20 Optional
Nature, Poetry, and Art: Ancient Pastoral and its Reception CAHE24201 20 Optional
Education and Schools in the Greek and Roman Worlds CAHE25211 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 1 CAHE30110 20 Optional
Advanced Greek Language 1 CAHE30120 20 Optional
Intensive Greek 2 CAHE30162 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 2 CAHE30210 20 Optional
Phonology LELA20012 20 Optional
Analysing Grammar LELA20022 20 Optional
Typology LELA20032 20 Optional
Societal Multilingualism LELA20101 20 Optional
Quantitative Methods in Language Sciences LELA20231 20 Optional
Semantics LELA20281 20 Optional
Pragmatics: Meaning, Context, and Interaction LELA20291 20 Optional
The Changing English Language LELA20402 20 Optional
Variationist Sociolinguistics LELA20502 20 Optional
Psycholinguistics LELA20962 20 Optional
Stylistics of English LELA21512 20 Optional
Data Literacy in a Digital World SALC20081 20 Optional
Spanish Linguistics SPLA20772 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 36 course units for year 2

Course content for year 3

Continue to shape your understanding according to specific interests, with interdisciplinary and advanced course unit options, in addition to your advanced Latin language unit.

In Linguistics, you have complete freedom of choice among a wealth of different options, spanning subjects as diverse as forensic linguistics, sociolinguistics, formal semantics and syntax, computational linguistics and child language acquisition.

Course units for year 3

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology Dissertation CAHE30000 40 Optional
The World of Late Antiquity: Europe and the Med from the Severan Dynasty to the Rise of Islam CAHE30022 20 Optional
Social Life in Ancient Egypt  CAHE30072 20 Optional
Literature, Literacy, and Textual Transmission in Pharaonic Egypt  CAHE30091 20 Optional
Neolithic Britain CAHE30131 20 Optional
From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World CAHE30142 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 2 CAHE30210 20 Optional
The Emergence of Civilisation: Palaces, Peak Sanctuaries, and Politics in Minoan Crete CAHE30221 20 Optional
Advanced Latin Language 3 CAHE30310 20 Optional
Artefacts and Interpretation CAHE30362 20 Optional
The Roman Army and the North-West Frontiers CAHE30882 20 Optional
Greek Tragedy CAHE31012 20 Optional
Ovid: the Mythological Poems CAHE31261 20 Optional
National Identity and the Roman Past CAHE33022 20 Optional
Men, Beasts and Marvels: the Limits of Nature in Classical Antiquity  CAHE33361 20 Optional
Nature, Poetry, and Art: Ancient Pastoral and its Reception CAHE34201 20 Optional
Education and Schools in the Greek and Roman Worlds CAHE35211 20 Optional
Dissertation LELA30000 40 Optional
Topics in the Study of Meaning in English LELA30032 20 Optional
Language Contact LELA30291 20 Optional
Topics in Language Development LELA30672 20 Optional
Historical Syntax LELA30962 20 Optional
Forensic Linguistics LELA31632 20 Optional
Romance Linguistics LELA32001 20 Optional
Quantitative Methods in Language Sciences LELA32011 20 Optional
Experimental Phonetics LELA32021 20 Optional
Computational Linguistics LELA32051 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 27 course units for year 3

Facilities

The John Rylands Library

At The John Rylands Library , you'll have exclusive access to our internationally significant collections, including papyri, medieval manuscripts and early printed books such as very early copies of the Homeric poems.

Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum is The University's own award-winning facility, home to important prehistoric, classical and ethnographic collections, which you'll draw from in your learning.

You'll go behind the scenes to handle, analyse and interpret rare artefacts, including one of the finest Egyptology collections in Britain.

Our ongoing collaboration between the museum and the global work of archaeology staff offers unique opportunities for students to get involved in the design of major exhibitions.

Linguistic labs

For your Linguistics studies, we have two laboratories where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography and eye tracking technology. You'll also be able to use quantitative methods in the study of large language corpora.

Find out more on the facilities pages for Classics and Ancient History and Linguistics and English Language .

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk