French Language and Culture

Field of Study: philology, majoring in translation and interpreting

French is one of the three most widely spoken official and working languages in the political, economic and cultural international arena.  Globally, it is the fifth most widely spoken language in terms of number of speakers.

A thorough knowledge of foreign languages opens up new horizons and the possibility for people to understand the world and its events from a different perspective than their mother tongue and to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds. Knowledge of French enables an authentic knowledge of France, which has historically and culturally shaped European civilisation and world history and continues to do so.

Proficiency in French enables ordinary and professional communication within Francophone countries (102 countries registered by the International Organisation of La Francophonie) on four continents, access to their cultural and literary heritage, cultural and professional exchanges in the wider international area and access to literature and the results of scientific research in many fields.

The study programme offered prepares students primarily for the profession of translator and interpreter from French into Slovak. This profession requires comprehensive linguistic and professional knowledge and, later on, the lifelong learning necessary to maintain good educational standing of translators and interpreters.

Successful completion of the Master’s degree provides access to further specialised training in both academic and non-academic institutions, which significantly increases the prerequisites for successful auditions for EU translation and interpreting structures and for working in both domestic and European organisations that require such training.

A specialised university degree is also required if you wish to pursue this profession on an individual basis.  Translation and interpreting services are included in the list of regulated trade of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, for which a diploma is required as proof of competence to practice the profession.

 

Study organisation

The French Language and Culture study programme is always studied in combination with another language offered in the relevant academic year.  The course of study includes a set of core courses designed to train translators and interpreters in their mother tongue and in the specialised subjects necessary for mastering the profession of translator and interpreter.

The programme can be studied at three degree levels: 1. Bachelor’s degree, 2. Master’s degree, 3. Doctoral degree. The study programme is structured in such a way that the individual degrees build on each other in terms of content and the gradual deepening of the knowledge acquired in the field of language, literature and culture, linguistic competences and translation or interpreting skills and techniques.  Successful completion of a Bachelor’s degree is a prerequisite for enrolment in the Master’s degree study. Throughout their study, students have the opportunity to spend 2 semesters as part of Erasmus+ student mobility at one of our 7 partner universities.

Study content: The composition of the offered courses enables students of the Bachelor’s degree in French Language and Culture within the Translation and Interpreting study field to prepare for the use of French in an environment where emphasis is placed on practical command of the language and the use of special techniques of communication (professional and artistic translation, consecutive interpreting, round tables, conferences and work with electronic media). The aim of the study is to master French in its normative form, both written and spoken, the regularities of the language studied and of the mother tongue at the grammatical, lexical and stylistic levels, as well as the basic methods and procedures of textual analysis and lexicographic practice, which translators and interpreters will be able to use for their professional needs.  Students will learn communication and translation skills on the basis of administrative, journalistic, economic and legal texts, as well as social science and literary texts. Accordingly, they also acquire knowledge of comparative linguistics, the theory of interpreting, professional and artistic translation, the history and civilisation of France and French literature. In the Master’s degree study, the composition of the compulsory electives allows for a more translation-oriented or interpreting-oriented focus. After completing the Master’s degree (or as a part of the Master’s degree), prospective students may supplement their education with a pedagogical minimum (Additional Pedagogical Studies).

The French Language and Culture study programme is provided by in-house lecturers from the Department of Roman Studies of the Faculty of Arts Comenius University Bratislava, who are specialists in the field of French language, literature and civilisation, as well as a French lecturer. The lecturers also work as active translators (of fiction and professional literature) or as interpreters in European structures.

 

Basic Study Prerequisites and Requirements

We expect applicants to the French Language and Culture study programme to mainly have an active interest and passion for the study of foreign languages, a relationship to the linguistic and cultural area of France and Francophone countries, communicative skills, but above all a willingness to work systematically on their education.

To successfully master the beginning of the study, you must have a B2 level of French (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and a secondary school knowledge of French literature and civilisation. Teaching is in French, and/or some subjects are taught in both French and Slovak.

 

Graduates’ Employment

Privileged areas of employment for graduates of this course are: work in publishing houses, in the media, in the corporate, industrial and commercial spheres, in tourism, in the civil service, in diplomacy, in European institutions. Graduates can also work as cultural mediators. They can also choose to become a registered translator (artistic translator or professional translator) and/or interpreter. They can also find employment in the field of education after completing additional pedagogical study.

All further information is available at http://fphil.uniba.sk/katedry-a-odborne-pracoviska/katedra-romanistiky/studium/sekcia-francuzskeho-jazyka/

 

ENTRANCE EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants will be admitted to the French Language and Culture (in combination) study programme on the basis of a general aptitude test of the National Comparative Exam, which is provided by www.scio.cz, s. r. o. Although there is no French language test, a B2 language level is required in the first year of the Bachelor’s degree programme.