Both Linguistics and English Language have a long history at the University of Edinburgh and our teaching staff have an excellent reputation for research in this area.Linguistics examines how language works, describing how sounds, words, sentences and conversations combine to express and create meaning.You will take two semester-long courses, which introduce you to the principles of theoretical linguistics. You will study the way we learn language, the regional and social variations of language in general, and of the English language in particular, and methods of communication. If you are studying a joint honours programme you will also take courses from your other subject area.Linguistics graduates work in a wide range of fields such as journalism, international relations, translation, marketing and social research. Recent graduates have taken up funded places on MSc programmes or have found employment in speech technology research.A linguistics qualification is also a good foundation for careers in professions such as speech and language therapy, adult literacy, or for teaching English as a foreign language.