Classics and English Language

Classics and English language is a combination that brings together the ancient foundations of Western textual culture and the scientific study of the English language as it exists and functions today. Classical study gives you access to Greek and Latin texts that have shaped literature, philosophy, law, and rhetoric across two millennia, while English language as an academic discipline examines language not through literary criticism but through the tools of linguistics: how English is structured grammatically, how it varies socially and regionally, how it has changed over time, and how it is acquired and used in real contexts.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year full-time programme develops your skills in ancient Greek or Latin, or both, alongside a rigorous linguistic study of English that includes phonology, grammar, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and the history of the English language. Reading classical texts in the original develops analytical precision and a historical perspective on how languages work, while English language study equips you with the scientific frameworks to analyse language as a system and a social phenomenon. The two disciplines are more complementary than they might at first appear, since both demand careful attention to how language works and what it means.

A year abroad forms part of the programme, providing the opportunity to study at a partner institution and broaden your academic perspective.

Graduates from this combination go on to careers in education, publishing, speech and language therapy, the civil service, journalism, communications, and academic research in linguistics or classical studies. The deep literacy, analytical habits, and linguistic knowledge developed through the degree are transferable across a wide range of professional contexts. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in linguistics, English language, classical studies, or related fields.