French Language and Literature

Studying the French language and its literature opens the door for students to understand the multicultural Francophone world. They can go on to master French; become familiar with the Francophone cultures of Europe, North America, and Africa; and understand their cultural contexts and ties. Beside acquiring knowledge of the practical language and specialized linguistic disciplines, such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax, students will learn about the history, culture, basic facts, lifestyles, institutions, and literatures not only of France and Canada but also of the Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean.

Studying French will, on one hand, improve students' linguistic knowledge of the skills required in fields based on communication and communication technologies, such as translation or public service, while on the other it will build analytical capabilities, independence, and creativity.

Through a systematic training in connection with practical language, specialized linguistics, and literature, students will master the main principles of a cultivated written and spoken style in both French and Czech.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• communicate in spoken and written French on C1 level according to CEFR
• perform linguistic analyses of texts, at all fundamental linguistic levels and based on knowledge in selected branches of linguistics
• analyze a literary text
• critically address literary history in basic interdisciplinary and cultural contexts
• translate from French into Czech and vice versa

Graduates of this programme have the knowledge and skills to be able to perform independent work in intercultural communication, in internal and external company communication, in cultural institutions, as editors in translation agencies and translation sections of national and international institutions and companies, and as editors in the media and publishing houses. In all of these fields, they will be able to apply their linguistic competence and knowledge of a different cultural milieu.

A standard length of a Bachelor's thesis ranges from 72,000 to 90,000 characters, including footnotes, cover sheet, content, index, and bibliography. Students can work with already published texts, although they must approach them in an analytic and critical way in order to express their own comments, opinions, and conclusions. These are to be written in French so as to demonstrate the student's capability to work with sources and to communicate in an appropriate and cultivated way, without errors.

Graduates of the Bachelor's programme may subsequently continue in any related Master's programme (after fulfilling the conditions for admission).