Chinese and Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language as a human phenomenon, examining its sounds, structures, meanings and social functions, and asking how language varies across communities, changes over time and is acquired by children and adults. Chinese is one of the world's most significant languages, spoken by more people than any other on earth and central to one of the great intellectual and literary traditions of human history. Combining the two at the University of Manchester gives you both a systematic understanding of how language works and genuine proficiency in one of the most globally important linguistic systems.
You will explore a wide range of topics in linguistics, including phonology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, language change and language acquisition, developing the analytical tools to examine language at every level of organisation. Alongside this, you will develop your proficiency in Chinese, engaging with the language as both a subject of linguistic inquiry and a medium for communication. The combination allows you to apply your theoretical understanding directly to a language that differs profoundly from European languages in its phonological, grammatical and written systems, which deepens your understanding of what all human languages share and how they differ.
A placement year gives you professional experience relevant to both strands of the degree, and work placement opportunities are integrated throughout.
Graduates with this combination of linguistic knowledge and Chinese proficiency are in demand across a range of fields. Translation and interpreting, language teaching, editorial and publishing roles, and work with international organisations are all natural career directions. The analytical and research skills linguistics develops are also valued in technology sectors working on natural language processing, computational linguistics and language technology.
Postgraduate study in linguistics, Chinese studies, translation or applied linguistics opens further specialist routes.