
- UCAS course code
- QT33
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course description
Our BA Linguistics and Arabic 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. 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 can also achieve near-native proficiency in Arabic while studying the language within its cultural and historical context. You will 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 the countries in which Arabic is spoken, 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 several Arabic-speaking countries, 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.
Special features
Study or work abroad
Your year abroad will offer the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of life in an Arabic-speaking country, and further develop your language skills.
Learn from language experts
Language courses are mainly taught by native speakers of each language, 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 Manchester University Arab Society and learn first-hand about local Arabic speakers through events, language, food, music and more.
Teaching and learning
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 .
Coursework and assessment
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.
Course content for year 1
Linguistics
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.
Arabic
First year study will concentrate on intensive language learning, with a core course on the contemporary Middle East.
You will take only the language units relevant to your level of language in each year of study.
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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
English Word and Sentence Structure | LELA10301 | 20 | Mandatory |
History and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa | MEST10711 | 20 | Mandatory |
Arabic Language 1 | MEST51011 | 20 | Mandatory |
Arabic Language 2 | MEST51022 | 20 | Mandatory |
The Sounds of Language | LELA10322 | 20 | Optional |
Study of Meaning | LELA10332 | 20 | Optional |
The History and Sociopolitics of Palestine/Israel (1882-1967) | MEST10041 | 20 | Optional |
Cultural Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa | MEST10092 | 20 | Optional |
Course content for year 2
Linguistics
You'll begin to tailor your degree to suit your interests. 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.
Arabic
In the second year you will continue your language learning, increase your reading of authentic texts and choose from a range of options that include 'postcolonial Arabic literature' and 'politics of the Middle East'.
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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Arabic Language 3 | MEST51031 | 20 | Mandatory |
Arabic Language 4 | MEST51042 | 20 | Mandatory |
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 |
Phonology | LELA20012 | 20 | Optional |
Analysing Grammar | LELA20022 | 20 | Optional |
Typology | LELA20032 | 20 | Optional |
Societal Multilingualism | LELA20101 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
Your third year of study is spent abroad under approved conditions.
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.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Media and Business Arabic | MEST30182 | 20 | Mandatory |
Arabic Language 5 | MEST51050 | 20 | Mandatory |
Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures | LALC30000 | 40 | Optional |
Phonology | LELA20012 | 20 | Optional |
Analysing Grammar | LELA20022 | 20 | Optional |
Typology | LELA20032 | 20 | Optional |
Societal Multilingualism | LELA20101 | 20 | Optional |
Semantics | LELA20281 | 20 | Optional |
Pragmatics: Meaning, Context, and Interaction | LELA20291 | 20 | Optional |
The Changing English Language | LELA20402 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 4
Linguistics
Have complete freedom of choice among a wealth of different course options, spanning subjects as diverse as forensic linguistics, sociolinguistics, formal semantics and syntax, computational linguistics and child language acquisition.
You will also have the option of writing a dissertation, where you explore and write about a particular topic in depth.
Arabic
The fourth year covers an advanced language course, a variety of specialised thematic course choices in Islam and Middle Eastern Studies and finally a dissertation on an approved topic of your choice.
What our students say
'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
Facilities

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 .