Arabic

Arabic Icon
Department: 
Arabic Studies (Religious Studies)
Number of Users Worldwide: 
420 million
Offerings: 
Levels 100-300, Minor
Today, Arabic is the native language of over 300 million speakers in North Africa and West Asia. Arabic is also the primary language for Islamic scholarship from the seventh century to the present, and has historically functioned as a lingua franca for the entire Muslim scholarly world. Arabic has long served as the spoken and written language for a number of other confessional communities (Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Mandeans, and others).

French

French Icon
Department: 
Romance Languages
Number of Users Worldwide: 
220 Million
Offerings: 
Levels 100-600, SLAT, Minor, BA, Master’s, PhD in Romance Languages
French is spoken in more than 50 countries worldwide, is an official language in 29 countries, and maintains its status as a major language of culture, diplomacy, and economics. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, established in 1970 and usually referred to as “La Francophonie,” includes 53 member states on several continents. French is a passport to much of the world! In the French sector in the Department of Romance Languages, we teach courses ranging from beginning language instruction through graduate seminars designed for Masters and Ph.D. students. Our language courses emphasize real-world proficiency as well as the history and culture of the Francophone world.

Hebrew (Biblical)

Biblical Hebrew Icon
Department: 
Judaic Studies
Offerings: 
Levels 100-300, BA
The interdisciplinary Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies provides a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum in the history, religion, and cultural traditions of the Jewish people and offers instruction in Biblical Hebrew language and literature. The program offers a major leading to a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree and minor. It sponsors courses, lectures, and other events of interest to the general student population and the wider community.

Persian/Farsi

Persian/Farsi
Department: 
Yamada Language Center
Number of Users Worldwide: 
110 million
Offerings: 
LT 199 - Self-Study Program
Farsi, or Persian, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in Iran with dialects spoken in Afghanistan (Dari) and Tajikistan (Tajik). It has a wide range of influence from the Turkic languages and Arabic, but is still distinctively its own. There are 110 million speakers of Farsi in the world. Though Iran is adjacent to Arab countries and Farsi uses the Arabic script, the culture and language is distinguishable. Farsi has added letters to the Arabic alphabet and has its own pronunciation.

Portuguese

Portuguese Icon
Department: 
Department of Romance Languages
Number of Users Worldwide: 
262 million
Offerings: 
Levels 100-300
From a small 12th-century kingdom in the far-western corner of Europe called Portugal, the Portuguese language spread to all corners of the globe (Brazil, Africa, Asia, and North America) during the Age of Exploration (15th-16th centuries). Portuguese, the unifying sound of Lusophone identity, is the sixth most spoken language in the world with a total of 236 million speakers. It is used in more than 34 countries and is the official language of eight nation-states in three continents (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe). Brazil alone has more than 190 million speakers (700,000 of which live in the United States).

Spanish

Spanish
Department: 
Department of Romance Languages
Number of Users Worldwide: 
570 million
Offerings: 
Levels 100-600, SLAT, Minor, BA, Master's, Ph.D.
Spanish is the official language of over twenty countries in the world, and it is the de facto second language of the United States. After Chinese and English is the third most spoken language in the world with over 570 million native and non-native speakers. In the Spanish sector of the Romance Languages Department, we provide classes that help students develop linguistic abilities in the language, with an emphasis on real-world proficiency, as well as introduce students to the major historical and cultural phenomena that characterize the Spanish-speaking world.

Swahili

Swahili Icon
Department: 
Linguistics
Number of Users Worldwide: 
100 million
Offerings: 
Levels 100-300
Spoken in twelve countries, Swahili is the gateway to the rich culture and dynamic economy of East Africa. Learning Swahili will give you a unique perspective of the diverse people, places, and culture of Africa. Move past the boundaries of what you think you know about Africa. Explore the fascinating history, economic dynamism, and rich culture of East Africa while learning to communicate with over 100 million Swahili speakers around the world.

Turkish

Turkish Icon
Department: 
Yamada Language Center
Number of Users Worldwide: 
88 million
Offerings: 
LT 199 - Self-Study Program
Turkish, also referred to as Istanbul Turkish, is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with about 75 million speakers in Turkey and in 35 other countries, including Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Iraq and Israel. Turkish Culture is unique in the world in that it has influenced and has been influenced in return by cultures and civilizations from China to Vienna and from Russian steps to North Africa for over a millennia.

Twi

Twi Icon
Department: 
Yamada Language Center
Number of Users Worldwide: 
9 million
Offerings: 
LT 199 - Self-Study Program
Twi is a dialect of Akan, a member of the Kwa sub-group of Niger-Congo languages. There are about 7 million Twi speakers, mainly in Ghana. Major dialects of Twi include Akuapim Twi, Fante Twi and Ashanti Twi, which are all mutually intelligible.