BA Linguistics and Japanese / Course details

Our BA Linguistics and Japanese course will enable you to delve into the science of language - an everyday phenomenon which impacts our lives on an individual and a global scale.

You will study topics such as the ways in which children acquire their first language, differences between the speech of men and women, how the sound systems and grammars of different types of language are organised, what happens when speakers of different languages come into contact, and much else besides.

You can also develop your proficiency in Japanese while studying the language within its cultural and historical context. You can start as an absolute beginner and go through to an advanced level over four years.

Language study offers much more than just language fluency. You'll explore diverse aspects of the culture, society, history, politics and literature of Japan, helping you to develop intercultural awareness and communication skills - both highly valued by employers.

You'll benefit from excellent teaching, student support and cutting-edge study facilities, as well as from the vibrancy and cultural diversity of Manchester itself, Western Europe's most multilingual city.

With placement options available at partner universities and in professional environments in Japan, a compulsory third year abroad gives our undergraduate students unforgettable and invaluable personal and professional experience.

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.

Study or work abroad

Your year abroad will offer the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of life in Japan, and further develop your language skills.

Learn from language experts

Language courses are mainly taught by native speakers, giving you a richer learning experience.

Access outstanding resources

You'll have the opportunity to access cutting-edge resources, including one of the largest holdings of linguistics texts in the UK, and to conduct research using English manuscripts held in our prestigious Special Collections.

Get involved with interesting projects

Our students are encouraged to take an active role in funded teaching-enhancement projects, whose outputs benefit them individually and collectively.

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

Enjoy cultural activities

Join the Japan Society North West for an exciting range of cultural events such as sushi-making demonstrations, Taiko drumming workshops, dining experiences and an annual Japan Day celebration.

You will learn through a mixture of formal lectures, seminars, and tutorials, spending approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions.

For every hour spent at university, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of independent study.

You will also need to study during the holiday periods.

The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, revising for examinations, or working in the University's Language Centre .

Applicants should be aware that learning Japanese is rewarding but very intensive.

The first few weeks may be particularly rigorous for those who have not encountered Japanese script before, and we strongly advise all applicants to ensure that they have learned at least the hiragana script prior to Week 1 of teaching.

Guidance on materials to help with this can be obtained from language tutors.

You will be assessed in various ways, including:

• written and oral examinations;
• presentations;
• coursework (which may include library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection, or web-based research).

Many course units are assessed through a mixture of techniques.

In your final year, you can choose to write a dissertation.

'While at Manchester, I volunteered working with young people in a mentoring scheme.

'Now I work with children of all ages up to 18.

'The skills I gained in this post really helped me to develop my counselling skills with young people and I use these almost daily.'

Shona Becker , Speech and Language Therapist, BA Linguistics and French graduate

As well as making use of the wider University library network, you will have access to the University Language Centre , a modern open learning facility where you can study independently and make use of a library and audio-visual resources.

There are also language laboratories and multimedia facilities.

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.

Learn more on the facilities pages for  Linguistics and English Language  and  Modern Languages and Cultures .