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Honour School of European and Middle Eastern Languages

A

  • 1. The subjects of the examination in the Honour School of European and Middle Eastern Languages shall be (a) those modern languages and literatures studied in the Honour School of Modern Languages, and (b) Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish.

  • 2. All candidates must offer (a) one of the languages which may be studied in the Honour School of Modern Languages, with its literature, and (b) one of the languages specified in clause 1(b) above.

  • 3. No candidate shall be admitted to the examination in this school unless they have either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.

  • 4. The examiners shall indicate in the lists issued by them the languages offered by each candidate obtaining Honours or satisfying the examiners under the appropriate regulation.

  • 5. The examination in this school shall be under the joint supervision of the Boards of the Faculties of Medieval and Modern Languages and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, which shall appoint a standing joint committee to make, and to submit to the two faculty boards, proposals for regulations for this examination and for the Preliminary Examination in European and Middle Eastern Languages.

  • 6. (i) The examiners in the Honour School shall be such of the Public Examiners in the Honour Schools of Modern Languages and Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as shall be required.

  • (ii) It shall be the duty of the Chair of Examiners in the Honour School of Modern Languages and in the Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies to consult together and designate such examiners as shall be required for the Honour School, whereupon the number of the examiners shall be deemed to be complete.

B

Candidates will be examined in accordance with the examination regulations set out below.

They will also be required to spend, after their matriculation, a year of residence in an appropriate country or countries, and to provide on their entry form for the examination a certificate that they have done this, signed by the Head or by a tutor of their society. Candidates wishing to be dispensed from the requirement to undertake a year of residence abroad must apply in writing to the Chair  of the Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Board, Pusey Lane, Oxford, OX1 2LE, stating their reasons for requesting dispensation and enclosing a letter of support from their society.

Candidates will be expected to carry out during this year abroad such work as their society may require. Candidates will agree with their College Tutor in advance of their year abroad an independent course of study to be followed during that period.

Each candidate shall offer the oral examination in the European language.

Except in a Special Subject or an alternative to a Special Subject, a candidate shall offer one European language and its literature only.

In every case where, under the regulations for the school, candidates have a choice between one or more papers or subjects, every candidate shall give notice to the Registrar not later than Friday in the fourth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination of all the papers and subjects being so offered.

Candidates are warned that they must avoid duplicating in their answers to one part of the examination material that they have used in another part of the examination.

For those papers in the Middle Eastern language where a selection of unspecified texts is to be examined, the selection of texts will be determined by the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Board in Hilary Term for the examination in the next academic year, and copies of the list of selected texts will be available for candidates no later than Friday of the third week of the same term.

Oral examination in the European language

As specified for the Honour School of Modern Languages.

  • 1. Honour School of Modern Languages, Paper I.

  • 2. Honour School of Modern Languages, Papers IIA and IIB.

  • 3. Honour School of Modern Languages, one paper chosen from Papers VI, VII, or VIII. 

  • 4. Honour School of Modern Languages, one paper chosen from IV, V, IX, X, XI, or XII.

  • 5. An extended essay on a topic bridging the European and the Middle Eastern language.

Arabic

  • 6A. Arabic unprepared translation into English (half paper) and 6B. Prose composition in Arabic (half paper).

  • 7. Oral (as specified for the Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies).

  • 8. Arabic literature.

  • 9. Islamic religion.

  • 10. One option from a list published in the course handbook.

Paper 6A. is identical with the first half of paper 1 for Arabic and Islamic Studies, and paper 6B. is identical with the first half of paper 2 for Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Final Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Papers 7-9 are identical with papers of the same title for Arabic and Islamic Studies in the same degree. The options under paper 10 are also identical with papers and options of the same titles for Arabic and Islamic Studies. The set texts will be those specified in the Arabic Handbook, available from the Faculty.

Hebrew

Candidates must take paper 6. and paper 10. and two of papers 7., 8., and 9.

  • 6. Hebrew composition and unprepared translation.

  • 7. Prepared texts I: Biblical texts:

    the texts will be those specified for Hebrew only, paper 2.

  • 8. Prepared texts II: Rabbinic and Medieval Hebrew Texts:

    the texts will be those specified for Hebrew only, paper 3.

  • 9. Prepared texts III: Modern Hebrew literature:

    the texts will be those specified for Hebrew only, paper 4.

  • 10. One of the papers in Jewish Studies Paper c.

Persian

  • 6. Unprepared translation from Persian

  • 7. Translation into Persian and essay

  • 8. and 9. Two papers from the following:

    • (a) Persian literature: 1000 – 1400

    • (b) Persian literature: 1400 – 1900

    • (c) Persian literature: 1900 – the present

  • 10. Oral (as specified for the Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies).

Turkish

  • 6A. Unprepared translation from modern Turkish (half paper) and 6B. Translation into Turkish (half paper).

  • 7. Oral

    8. Turkish political and cultural texts, 1860 to the present.

    9. Modern Turkish literary texts.

    10. One paper from a list of options listed in the course handbook.

  • Papers 7-9 are identical with papers 3, 5, and 6 for Turkish in the Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The options under paper 10 are identical with papers of the same degree. The set texts will be those specified in the Turkish Handbook, available on the Website of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Extended Essay

  • 1. The Extended Essay shall be subject to the following provisions:

    • (i) The subject of every essay shall, to the satisfaction of the boards of the faculties, fall within the scope of the Honour Schools of Modern Languages and Honour Schools in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and form a bridge between them.

    • (ii) Candidates proposing to offer an essay must submit, through their college, to the Chair of the Board of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages (on a form obtainable from the Modern Languages Faculty Office, 41 Wellington Square) a statement of their name, college, the academic year in which they intend to take the examination, and the title of the proposed essay together with (a) a statement in about fifty words of how the subject is to be treated, (b) a statement signed by a supervisor or tutor, that they consider the subject suitable, and suggesting a person or persons who might be invited to be an examiner or assessor (the boards will not approve the title unless they are satisfied that a suitably qualified examiner or assessor based in Oxford will be available), and (c) a statement by a college tutor that they approve the candidate's application, not later than the Wednesday of the second week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination.

    • (iii) The faculty boards will decide by the end of the third week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination whether the proposed essay title is approved. Approval may be granted on condition that the candidate agrees to amend details of the title to the satisfaction of the boards and submits the required amendments to the Modern Languages Faculty Office by the Friday of sixth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination.

    • (iv) A candidate may seek approval after Friday of sixth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination for an amendment of detail in an approved title, by application to the Modern Languages Faculty Office. The Chair of Examiners and the chairs of the boards, acting together, will decide whether or not a proposed amendment shall be approved.

  • 2. Candidates will be solely responsible for the final draft, which will not be read by the supervisor or tutor. Candidates must sign a certificate stating that the essay is their own work and that it has not already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for any honour school or degree of this university or a degree of any other institution. This certificate must be sent at the same time as the essay, but under separate cover, addressed to the chair of examiners.

  • 3. No essay shall exceed 10,000 words, exclusive of notes, appendices, and bibliographies. The examiners will not take account of such parts of the essay as are beyond this limit. When appropriate, there must be a select bibliography and a list of sources.

    Essays must be typed in double-spacing to be submitted electronically using the approved online submission system, not later than noon on Monday of Week 11 of Hilary Term of the year in which the examination will be held.