BA Portuguese and Beginners German
About this course
Portuguese and German represent two of Europe's great literary and linguistic traditions, with Portuguese carrying an extraordinary reach across Europe, Brazil, and several African nations, and German anchoring one of the richest intellectual and cultural traditions of the modern period, from Goethe and Schiller through Kafka and Brecht to contemporary literature and film. Studying both languages alongside each other, with Portuguese approached from the beginning, develops a genuinely wide-ranging linguistic competence and an appreciation of the diversity of European and world cultures. At Oxford, this four-year full-time degree in Portuguese and Beginners' German combines rigorous practical training in both languages with extensive engagement with the literatures and intellectual traditions of the Portuguese and German-speaking worlds. You will learn to write and speak both languages fluently, and you will engage with literature across periods from the medieval to the present day, with additional options including linguistics, philology, film, gender studies, and advanced translation in German. The beginners' route in Portuguese means the programme is fully accessible to students with no prior Portuguese, making this a degree that opens doors across an unusually broad range of cultures and geographies. Modern languages graduates from Oxford are highly sought after across many professions. Diplomacy, international business, law, journalism, the civil service, translation, publishing, broadcasting, and international organisations all recruit strongly from this background. The combination of Portuguese and German opens particularly distinctive career pathways, spanning the Lusophone world in Europe, Latin America, and Africa alongside the Germanophone heartland of central Europe. Postgraduate study in translation, comparative literature, area studies, or international relations is a natural continuation, and many graduates pursue academic careers or enter the foreign service.
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