Arabic is taught at postgraduate level on the MA degrees in Translation and Interpreting and Professional Translation. We also have a thriving community of Arabic scholars working on PhD projects in Translation and Interpreting under the direction of the academic lead in Arabic Studies, Dr Salwa El-Awa.
French has been taught at Swansea since the University’s foundation in 1920. Professor Mary Williams, the first woman to hold a chair in any academic subject in the UK, was the first head of department. Today, French is available on two single honours BA programmes (BA Modern Languages and BA Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting) and a range of joint honours combinations, either at post-A level or from Beginners. French is taught by six members of staff, two of whom are native speakers. They are: Dr Greg Herman; Dr Kathryn Jones; Dr Jo Langley; Ms Manuela Ruault; Dr Sophie Rouys; and Dr Alison Williams.
Our BA Modern Languages allows you to study French by itself (what used to be called single honours French) or in combination with German or Spanish. Optional modules include Paris, France and the Second World War,
Contemporary French Cinema, as well as translation modules and in your final year, a dissertation. We have partnerships with the following French universities where you can spend your year abroad: Angers, Besançon, Brest, Chambéry, Lyon III, Pau and Toulouse. You can also work as a British Council Language Assistant or undertake a work placement. BA Modern Languages offers a broad-based curriculum via four pathways, in Culture, second-language teaching, Translation, and additional languages: these include Catalan, Italian and Portuguese.
In BA Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting you take French alongside another language and specialist modules such as Computer-Assisted Translation, Simulated Translation Bureau and Concepts in Translation. You are obliged to split your year abroad, practicing Translation and Interpreting in two languages at two institutions from our list of prestigious partners. Those for French are based in Brussels, Geneva, and Paris.
All students of French can take part in the weekly Café Causette and join the University French Society.
After your BA, you can specialise in French on the MA degrees in Translation and Interpreting and Professional Translation, which also have options of internships and study abroad, or take an MA by Research in French, leading to an MPhil or PhD.
German has a long-established reputation at Swansea and can be studied either post-A level or from beginner’s level on our two single honours BA programmes ( and ) and a range of joint honours combinations.
In BA Modern Languages, you can study German by itself (what used to be called single honours German) or in combination with French, or Spanish. You choose from options including Berlin in the Twentieth Century and Underground Vienna, as well as modules in translation, second language teaching, introductory modules to Italian, Portuguese and Catalan, and, in your final year, a dissertation. We have partnerships with the following German universities where you can spend your year abroad: Augsburg,
Bamberg, Mannheim, Regensburg, and Würzburg. You can also work as a British Council Language Assistant or take a work placement.
In BA Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting you take German alongside another language and specialist modules such as Computer-Assisted Translation Tools, Simulated Translation Bureau and Concepts in Translation. You are obliged to split your year abroad, practicing Translation and Interpreting in two languages at two institutions from our list of prestigious partners. Those for German are based in Cologne, Innsbruck, Mainz, and Zurich.
All students of German can take part in the weekly Sprachcafé and join the University German Society.
You can specialise in German on the MA degrees in Translation and Interpreting and Professional Translation, which also have options of internships and study abroad. We currently have two research students writing projects on German topics in the Research Centre for Contemporary German Culture (CCGC).
Final-year BA German students with staff, May 2019
For native speakers of Mandarin, Swansea University offers a BA (Hons) in English-Chinese Translation and Interpreting. This programme is delivered principally by Drs Jun Yang and Sui He, both of whom are specialists in translation and interpreting
At postgraduate level, native speakers of Mandarin can develop their areas of specialisation via our MA degrees in Translation and Interpreting and Professional Translation, both of which feature internships and the chance to study abroad. We have a thriving community of postgraduate research students working on topics involving Mandarin in Translation and Interpreting.
Spanish is available on two single honours BA programmes (BA Modern Languages and BA Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting) and a range of joint honours combinations, either at post-A level or from Beginners.
Spanish is taught by six permanent members of staff, five of whom are native speakers, from Columbia, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. They are: Dr Maria Fernandez-Parra, Dr Fede Lopez-Terra, Dr Geraldine Lublin, Ms Tanya May, Dr Rocio Perez-Tattam, and Mr James R. Turner. They are specialists in both Iberian and Latin American Studies.
In BA Modern Languages you can study Spanish by itself (what used to be called single honours Spanish) or in combination with French and German.
You choose from options including ‘Barcelona / Buenos Aires’, and ‘Narrating Crises’, as well as modules in translation, pedagogy, additional languages such as Italian, Catalan and Portuguese, and, in your final year, a dissertation. We have partnerships with the following Spanish universities where you can spend your year abroad: Alcalá de Henares, Bilbao, Cáceres, Madrid, and Seville. You can also work as a British Council Language Assistant or take a work placement.
BA Modern Languages has a broad-based curriculum with three pathways, in Culture, Education and Translation.
In BA Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting you take Spanish alongside another language and specialist modules such as Computer-Assisted Translation Tools and Concepts in Translation. You are obliged to split your year abroad, practising Translation and Interpreting in two languages at two institutions from our list of prestigious partners. For Spanish you choose between Barcelona, Granada, Madrid, Seville, Valencia, and Valladolid.
All students of Spanish can take part in the weekly Café Guay and join the University Spanish Society.
You can specialise in Spanish on the MA degrees in Translation and Interpreting and Professional Translation, which also have options of internships and study abroad. We currently have three students enrolled on research degrees working on Spanish topics and based in the Centre for the Study of Portugal, Spain, and the Americas (CEPSAM).
