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Honour School of Modern Languages

A

  • 1. The subjects of examination in the Honour School of Modern Languages shall be the French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Medieval and Modern Greek, Czech (with Slovak),1 and Celtic1 languages and the literatures associated with them.  Save in the case of the subjects Czech (with Slovak) and Celtic, which may be offered only with another of the languages, a candidate may offer one or two languages . The standard of competence required of a candidate shall be the same in any language which they offer whether it be their sole language or one of two languages.

  • 2. Every candidate shall be required to show, in the case of any language which they offer, a competent knowledge:

    • (1) of the language as it is spoken and written at the present day, such knowledge to be tested by oral and written examination;

    • (2) of at least one specified period in its literature;

    • (3) of the history, thought, and civilization of the country necessary for the understanding of the language and literature.

  • 3. A candidate offering one language shall be required to show a competent philological knowledge of the language they are offering. A candidate offering two languages shall be permitted to offer a paper or papers on philological topics.

  • 4. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in this School unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.

  • 5. The examiners shall indicate in the lists issued by them the subject or subjects offered by each candidate obtaining honours or satisfying the examiners under the appropriate regulation. In drawing up the Class List the examiners shall satisfy themselves that each candidate has shown an appropriate level of competence both in literature (and linguistic studies where this applies) and in language.

  • 6. The board of the faculty shall by notice from time to time make regulations concerning the examination; and shall have power in respect of each subject included in the examination:

    • (1) to determine, within the limits of this decree, the form and content of the individual papers of the examination, and

    • (2) to issue a list of Special Subjects, prescribing books or authorities where they think it desirable. Such books or authorities may be in other languages than that to which the Special Subject is related. A Special Subject may be concerned with a language or literature not specified in clause 1 of this Regulation.

  • 7. A candidate whose name has been placed in the Class List upon the result of the examination in any one or more of the subjects included in the examination shall be permitted to offer themselves for examination in any of the other subjects so included at the examination in either the next year or the next year but one, provided that no such candidate shall offer any of the languages or subjects already offered by them in the Honour School of Modern Languages or in the Honour Schools of History and Modern Languages, Philosophy and Modern Languages, Classics and Modern Languages, or English and Modern Languages, or European and Middle Eastern Languages, or Modern Languages and Linguistics, and provided always that they have not exceeded six terms from the date on which they first obtained Honours in a Final Honour School.

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 Medieval and Modern Languages Board, 41 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JF, stating their reasons for requesting dispensation and enclosing a letter of support from their society.

Candidates should during this year abroad undertake a programme of activity acceptable to their college or society. They will also be expected to carry out during this period  such academic 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.

It is strongly recommended that candidates offering two languages who spend their year abroad in a country or countries of one of the languages only should in addition spend between their matriculation and examination at least four weeks in a country of the other language.

The following is the general scheme of papers in Modern Languages:

I, II, III Language papers

IV, V Linguistic Studies

VI, VII, VIII Period of Literature or Period Topics

IX Early Texts

X, XI Prescribed Authors (German XI: German Thought; Portuguese XI: Modern Prescribed Texts)

XII Special Subjects

XIII General Linguistics (as specified for Paper A in the Special Regulations for Linguistics in all Honour Schools including Linguistics)

XIV Dissertation

Candidates must take one of the schedules of papers listed in 1 below, subject to the general and specific conditions listed in 2, and the special regulations concerning Paper XII Special Subjects listed in 3 and concerning Paper XIV Dissertation listed in 4.

1. Combinations of Papers

  • I. A candidate who offers two languages must take the written papers listed below, and oral examinations in both languages:

    • Five papers in language A

      • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

      • One of VI, VII, VIII 

      • Two of IV, V, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV

    • Four papers in language B

      • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

      • One of VI, VII, VIII 

      • One of IV, V, IX, X, XI, XII

  • II. A candidate who offers one language only must take the written papers listed below, and the oral examination in the language:

  • (a) French:

    • Three language papers I, II(A+B), III

    • One of VI, VII, VIII

    • Five of IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV

  • (b) Spanish:

    • Three language papers I, II(A+B), III

    • Paper IX

    • Two of VI, VII, VIII, XIII 

    • Three of IV, V, X, XI, XII, XII (Modern Galician or Modern Catalan), XIV

  • (c) All other languages:

    • Three language papers I, II(A+B), III

    • Paper IX

    • Two of VI, VII, VIII, XIII 

    • Three of IV, V, X, XI, XII, XIV, of which at least one must be IV or V

  • III. Candidates offering one language with Polish must offer:

    • Three papers in Polish: II(A+B), IV or V, VIII

    • Six papers in the other language, as specified below

    • Oral examination in the other language

  • In French

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • One of VI, VIII, XIII

    • Three of IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV (provided that no more than two of IV, V, IX are taken)

  • In German

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • One of VI, VII, VIII, XIII

    • Three of IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV (provided that no more than two of IV, V, IX are taken)

  • In Italian

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • One of VI, VII, VIII

    • One of IV, V

    • Paper IX

    • One of IV or V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV

  • In Spanish

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • One of VI, VII, VIII, XIII

    • Paper IX

    • Two of IV or V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XII (Modern Galician or Modern Catalan), XIV

  • In Russian

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • One of VII, VIII

    • Paper IX

    • Two of IV or V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV

  • In Portuguese

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • One of Papers VI, VII, VIII

    • Three of IV or V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV

  • In Medieval and Modern Greek

    • Two language papers I, II(A+B)

    • Two of VI, VII, VIII, XIII

    • Two of IX, X, XI, XII, XIV

Examination answers must be written in English, except when directions are given to the contrary.

Candidates will be required to attend for an oral examination in each language they offer. A candidate failing to appear for the oral examination, without good cause shown, will be deemed to have withdrawn from the whole examination.

In the oral examination a candidate will be required to show in each language they offer competence in the following:

  • (i) A short discourse

  • (ii) Conversation.

Candidates in Russian and Czech are required to show competence in

  • (iii) Listening comprehension

The mode of assessment of each paper and detailed examination arrangements will be as set out in the Course Handbook. Papers I, II, III, IV and V will normally be examined by a three-hour in-person unseen written paper; papers VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XI will normally be examined by an unseen online written paper taken over a five-hour period; and papers XII, XIII and XIV will be examined as outlined below.

2. Special Provisions

  • i. All candidates offering Italian must offer at least one of IV, V, IX in Italian

  • ii. A candidate offering two languages is required to offer, in one language,

  • either at least one of papers IV, V

  • or at least one pre-Modern paper as designated below:

    • French VI, VII, IX, X

      German VI, VII, IX

      Italian VI, VII, IX, X

      Spanish VI, VII, IX, X

      Portuguese VI, VII, IX, X

      Russian VI, VII, IX

      Medieval and Modern Greek VI, VII, IX, X

      Celtic VI, IX, X

      Czech IX

    • or one Paper XII designated as pre-Modern

    • or one Paper XIV on pre-Modern topic.

Details of Paper XII Special Subjects which have been designated as pre-Modern will be provided in the list of Special Subjects published by the Faculty by the beginning of the fifth week of the Trinity Term one year before the examination.

3. Paper XII Special Subjects

Candidates may offer only one Paper XII, with the following exceptions:

  • Candidates offering Spanish as a sole language or as one of two languages may offer two Paper XII Special Subjects in total, provided that one is either Modern Catalan or Modern Galician;

Candidates offering a Paper XII Special Subject in the second of two languages (Language B) may choose only a Special Subject bearing the appropriate language identifier.

Candidates offering Spanish as a sole language or in combination with any language other than Portuguese may offer one of the following papers in Portuguese as a Paper XII Special Subject: Paper X, Paper XI, half of the period covered in Paper VII or Paper VIII.

Instead of a Special Subject from the list for the year concerned, a candidate offering a sole language in the Honour School of Modern Languages may offer any one of papers B1-B6 of the Honour School of Modern Languages and Linguistics, subject to the agreement of the Director of Studies of the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics. This option is not available to candidates offering two languages or to candidates for any joint school involving Modern Languages other than the Honour School of Modern Languages and Linguistics.

4. Detailed specifications of papers I to XIV

I, II, III Language Papers

  • French

    • I Essay in French

      IIA Translation from Modern French

      IIB Translation into Modern French

      III Translation from pre-Modern French

  • German

    • I Translation into German and Essay in German

      IIA Translation from Modern German

      IIB Translation from Modern German

      III Translation from pre-Modern German

  • Italian

    • I Essay in Italian

      IIA Translation from Italian

      IIB Translation into Italian

      III Translation from pre-Modern Italian

  • Spanish

    • I Prose translation from English into Spanish and an essay in Spanish

      IIA Translation from Modern Spanish

      IIB Translation from Modern Spanish

      III Prose translation from English into Spanish and a translation from Spanish into English (medieval or golden age)

  • Portuguese

    • I Prose composition and essay

      IIA Translation from Modern Portuguese (European)

      IIB Translation from Modern Portuguese (Brazilian)

      III (A) Translation from pre-Modern Portuguese and (B) a Year Abroad Essay

  • Russian

    • I Translation into Russian and essay in Russian with further specifications

      IIA Translation from Modern Russian

      IIB Translation from Modern Russian

      III Translation from pre-Modern Russian with further specifications

  • Czech (with Slovak)

    • I Translation into Czech or Slovak and essay in Czech or Slovak

      IIA Translation from Modern Czech

      IIB Translation from Modern Slovak

  • Medieval and Modern Greek

    • I Translation into Modern Greek and essay in Modern Greek

      IIA Translation from Modern Greek

      IIB Translation from Modern Greek

      III Translation of a prose text in kathareuousa into English

  • Polish

    • IIA Translation from Modern Polish

      IIB Translation into Modern Polish

  • Celtic

    • I Translation into Irish or Welsh and essay in Irish or Welsh

      IIA Translation from Modern Irish or Modern Welsh

      IIB Translation from Irish from the period up to 1200 or Welsh from the period up to 1400.

IV. Linguistic Studies I.

French:

The History of the French language. Texts for linguistic commentary will be set as specified in the FHS French course handbook.

German:

The development of the German language from 1170 to the present.  Texts for special study will be specified in the FHS German course handbook.

Italian:

The history of the Italian language from the earliest times to the twentieth century.

Spanish:

The history of the Spanish language to 1700.

Portuguese:

The history and varieties of Portuguese. Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the historical development from Latin to modern Portuguese in its different dialectal varieties, including Portuguese-based creoles, and knowledge of the basic principles of historical linguistics and dialectology, as applied to Portuguese. This paper will include commentaries on linguistic samples.

Russian:

The history of the Russian language. Texts prescribed for linguistic comment and for translation and linguistic comment will be specified in the FHS Russian course handbook.

  • Medieval and Modern Greek:

    The History of Modern Greek Language. The paper will study the development of Greek language from Koine to Standard Modern Greek.

    Czech (with Slovak):

    The history of Czech and Slovak. Texts prescribed for passages for commentary and translation will be specified in the FHS Czech course handbook.

    Polish:

    The History of the Polish Language.

    Celtic:

    Comparative and Historic Celtic Linguistics. Passages will be set for linguistic commentary on one of (a) The history of Welsh or of Irish and Scottish Gaelic or (b) Comparative Celtic Linguistics.2

    V. Linguistic Studies II.

    French:

    Modern French. The descriptive analysis of Modern French, including optional questions on theoretical linguistic issues to be answered with particular reference to French. 

    German:

    Either

    • (1) Old High German .Texts prescribed for study will be specified int he FHS German course handbook. 

      Or

    • (2) Descriptive analysis of German as spoken and written at the present day (phonetics, phonology, grammar, vocabulary, semantics, style). The paper will contain optional questions on the principles of descriptive linguistics to be answered with particular reference to German.

    Italian:

    Modern Italian. Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the descriptive analysis of the contemporary language, and will have the opportunity of discussing the historical development of the language where this illuminates present-day usage. The paper will contain optional questions on the principles of descriptive linguistics to be answered with particular reference to Italian.

    Spanish:

    Modern Spanish. Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the descriptive analysis of the structure and variation of contemporary Spanish in its major European and American varieties, and knowledge of the basic principles of linguistic theory, as applied to Spanish.

    Portuguese:

    Modern Portuguese. Candidates will be required to show knowledge of the descriptive analysis of the structure and sociolinguistic variation of contemporary European and Brazilian Portuguese, and knowledge of the basic principles of linguistic theory, as applied to Portuguese.

    Russian:

    Either

    • (1) The development of the Church Slavonic language. Texts prescribed for linguistic comment and for translation and linguistic comment will be specified in the FHS Russian course handbook.

    • Or
  • (2) Descriptive analysis of Russian as spoken and written at the present day (phonetics, phonology, grammar, vocabulary, semantics, style). The paper will contain optional questions on the principles of descriptive linguistics to be answered with particular reference to Russian.

Medieval and Modern Greek:

The structure of the standard language as spoken and written at the present day (phonetics, phonology, grammar, vocabulary, semantics, style). The paper will contain optional questions on the principles of descriptive linguistics to be answered with particular reference to Modern Greek.

Polish:

Descriptive analysis of Polish as spoken and written at the present day.

VI. Topics in the period of literature (French only) or Period of literature (i):

French: to 1530.

German: Beginnings of writing to 1550: Texts, Contexts, and Issues.

Italian: 1220-1430.

Spanish: to 1499.

Portuguese: to 1540.3

Medieval and Modern Greek: Byzantine Greek to 1453.

Celtic: Medieval Irish up to 1600 and Medieval Welsh up to 1500. [Candidates will be able to confine their answers to questions on either Irish or Welsh topics.]

VII. Topics in the period of literature (French only) or Period of literature (ii):

French: 1530-18004

German: 1450-1800  

Italian: 1430-1635

Spanish: 1543-1695

Portuguese: 1500-16973

Russian: 1100-1700

Medieval and Modern Greek: Medieval Greek to 1669

VIII. Topics in the period of literature (French only) or Period of literature (iii):

French: 1715 to the present.4

German: Modern German Literature (1770 to the present day): Texts, Contexts, and Issues.

Italian: Modern Italian Literature (1750 to the present) and Cinema

Spanish: The literature of Spain and of Spanish America: 1811 to the present.

Candidates may offer themselves for examination either in the literature of both Spain and Spanish America, or in the literature of Spain only, or in the literature of Spanish America only.

Portuguese: The literature of Portugal, Brazil, and Lusophone Africa: 1820 to the present.

Candidates may offer themselves for examination either in the literature of both Portugal and Brazil, or in the literature of Portugal only, or in the literature of Brazil only.

Russian: 1820–present

Medieval and Modern Greek: Modern Greek, 1821 to the present.

Czech (with Slovak): Czech and Slovak literature, 1816 to the present.

Polish: Polish literature from the late 18th century to the 20th century.

IX.5  Medieval Prescribed Texts (excluding Russian) or Enlightenment Texts (Russian only):

Texts for study will be specified in the relevant modern language’s FHS course handbook.

French

German

Italian

Spanish

Portuguese

Russian

Medieval and Modern Greek: Candidates may choose one of either A or B:6

  • A: Byzantine Texts

  • B: Medieval vernacular texts

Czech

Celtic

X. Modern Prescribed Authors (i) (excluding Portuguese) or Renaissance Prescribed Texts (Portuguese only): 7,8 Passages for explanation and comment will be taken from the works prescribed for special study, which will be specified in the relevant modern language's FHS course handbook. Candidates will be expected to have read works by their chosen authors other than those prescribed for special study.

French:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Rabelais

  • (2) Montaigne 

  • (3) Pascal 

  • (4) Molière  

  • (5) Racine 

  • (6) Voltaire 

  • (7) Diderot

  • (8) Madame de La Fayette

German:

Any two of the following:

  •  
  • 1) Goethe 

    (2) Hoffmann 

    (3) Heine 

    (4) Ebner-Eschenbach 

    (5) Rilke 

    (6) Kafka 

    (7) Brecht 

    (8) Ingeborg Bachmann 

    (9) Elfriede Jelinek 

    (10) The Berlin School 

Italian:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Petrarch

  • (2) Boccaccio

  • (3) Machiavelli

  • (4) Ariosto

  • (5) Tasso

Spanish:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Garcilaso de la Vega

  • (2) Cervantes

  • (3) Góngora

  • (4) Quevedo

  • (5) Calderón

  • (6) Sor Juana

Portuguese:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Fernão Mendes Pinto, Peregrinação 

  •  (2) António Vieira, Sermões 

  •  (3) Violante do Céu, Rimas Várias 

  •  (4) Gregório de Matos, Poemas escolhidos 

  • Candidates must also demonstrate knowledge of theory from the Portuguese-speaking world. 

Russian:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Pushkin

  • (2) Gogol

  • (3) Mandel'shtam

  • (4) Tsvetaeva
  • (5) Bulgakov

Medieval and Modern Greek:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Digenis Akritis

  • (2) The vernacular verse romances

  • (3) Cretan drama

  • (4) Erotokritos

  • (5) Greek oral poetry

Czech (with Slovak):

Any three of the following:

  • (1) Comenius

  • (2) Bridel

  • (3) Světlá

  • (4) Zeyer

  • (5) Benešová

  • (6) Nezval

  • (7) Vančura

  • (8) Hostovský

  • (9) Fuks

  • (10) Vostrá

  • (11) Hodrová

  • (12) Hůlová

  • (13) Kráľ

  • (14) Záborský

  • (15) Timrava

  • (16) Johanides

  • (17) Vilikovský

  • (18) Haugová

Celtic:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Gwaith Guto'r Glyn

  • (2) Gwaith Tudur Aled

  • (3) Gwaith Iorwerth Fynglwyd

  • (4) Gramadegau'r Penceirddiaid

  • (5) Acallam na Senórach

  • (6) Caithréim Cellaig

  • (7) Buile Shuibne

  • (8) Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne

  • (9) Dánta Grádha

7XI. Early Modern Literary Texts or German Thought (German only) or Modern Prescribed Authors (ii) or Modern Prescribed Texts (Portuguese only)

Passages for explanation and comment will be taken from the works prescribed for special study ,which will be specified in the relevant modern language's FHS course handbook.  Candidates will be expected to have read works by their chosen authors other than those prescribed for special study.

French:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Stendhal

  • (2) Baudelaire

  • (3) Flaubert

  • (4) Mallarmé

  • (5) Djebar

  • (6) Beckett

  • (7) Duras

  • (8) Barthes

German:

Set texts for study will be specified in the German FHS course handbook.

Italian:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Manzoni

  • (2) Leopardi

  •  
  • (3) Verga

  • (4) Pirandello

  • (5) Montale

  • (6) Calvino

  • (7) Morante

  • (8) Ferrante

Spanish:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Pérez Galdós

  • (2) Valle-Inclán

  • (3) Federico García Lorca

  • (4) Javier Marías

  • (5) Neruda

  • (6) Borges

  • (7) Julio Cortázar

  • (8) Gabriel García Márquez

  • (9) Mario Vargas Llosa

  • (10) Rubén Darío

Portuguese:

Four of the following prescribed texts. Candidates must show knowledge of AT LEAST ONE text from EACH list below. Candidates must also demonstrate knowledge of theory from the Portuguese-speaking world.

African list:

(1) Mia Couto, O último voo do flamingo 

(2) Chó do Guri, A perversa

(3) Pepetela, A gloriosa família 

(4) Odete Semedo, Entre o ser e o amar

Brazilian list:

(1) Mário de Andrade, Macunaíma and Modernist manifestos

(2) Machado de Assis, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas 

(3) Conceição Evaristo, Ponciá Vicêncio and Poemas da Recordação 

(4) Clarice Lispector, A hora da estrela

Portuguese list:

(1) Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Luanda, Lisboa, Paraíso

(2) Lídia Jorge, A costa dos murmúrios

(3) Fernando Pessoa, Mensagem and Modernist manifestos

(4) Eça de Queirós, Os Maias

Russian:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Dostoevsky

  • (2) Tolstoy

  • (3) Chekhov

  • (4) Solzhenitsyn

  • (5) Petrushevskaia

Medieval and Modern Greek:

Any two of the following:

  • (1) Solomos

  • (2) Palamas

  • (3) Kavafis

  • (4) Seferis

  • (5) Tsirkas

  • (6) The novels of Kazantzakis

  • (7) Melipoiemene Poiese

XII. Special Subjects.

1. A candidate may offer one or two (depending on the regulations outlined above) of the Special Subjects from the list circulated in the Trinity Term one year before the examination. The list of options available in that year will be publicised on the Faculty’s internal website (and circulated to all students and tutors by e-mail) by the beginning of fifth week of Trinity Term.

Methods of assessment:

The method of assessment for each subject will be published with the list of options by the beginning of the fifth week of the Trinity Term one year before the examination, according to the following key:

  • A: Three-hour unseen written paper. 

  • B: An essay or portfolio of essays (the number of essays required to be shown in parentheses) aggregating to about 6,000 words and not exceeding 8,000 words, to be submitted electronically using the University approved online assessment platform by noon on the Monday of the tenth week of Hilary Term in the year of the examination.

  • C: An essay or portfolio of essays (the number of essays required to be shown in parentheses) aggregating to about 6,000 words and not exceeding 8,000 , written as answers to an examination paper to be downloaded from the Faculty website after 10am on the Friday of the fifth week of the Hilary Term next before the examination. Completed essay(s) should be submitted electronically using the University approved online assessment platform by noon on the Monday of tenth week of Hilary Term in the year of the examination.

2. Candidates may not be permitted to offer certain Special Subjects in combination with certain other papers. Candidates offering a Special Subject and another paper both of which involve the study of the same author or authors, may not make the same texts the principal subject of an answer in both the papers.

3. Instead of a Special Subject from the list for the year concerned, a candidate may follow the directions under Section 3. Paper XII. Special Subjects.

XIII. General Linguistics.

As specified for “Paper A. General Linguistics” in the Special Regulations for Linguistics in all Honour Schools including Linguistics.

XIV. Dissertation

  • 1. Candidates may offer a Dissertation, subject to the following provisions:

    • (i) The subject of every Dissertation shall, to the satisfaction of the board of the faculty, fall within the scope of the Honour School of Modern Languages.

    • (ii) For candidates offering two languages, the Dissertation may only be taken for Language A, though its subject may be comparative across Languages A or B, or include a Language other than Languages A or B.
    • (iii) The subject of a Dissertation may, but need not, overlap any subject or period on which the candidate offers a paper, but candidates should avoid repetition of material presented in the Dissertation in other parts of the examination. Candidates should not offer a title involving the reading of works only or mainly in translation from the original.

    • (iv) Candidates are prohibited from making the same text or texts the principal subject of their Special Subject or Dissertation and of an answer or essay in papers VI-XI but they are not prohibited from making an author the focus of their Special Subject or Dissertation on whom they also intend to write in another part of the examination, as long as they make use of different texts and have due regard to the need to avoid repetition of the same material.

    • (v) Candidates proposing to offer a Dissertation 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 Administration and Faculty Office, 41 Wellington Square,) a statement of their name, college, the honour school they intend to offer, the academic year in which they intend to take the examination, and the title of the proposed Dissertation 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, preferably in the language or in one of the languages or in the field of study with which the Dissertation is concerned, that they considers the subject suitable, and suggesting a person or persons who might be invited to be an examiner or an assessor (the board will not approve a title unless it is 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.

    • (vi) Subject to the agreement of the faculty board, candidates may offer a Dissertation written in the language or one of the languages they are offering in the Honour School; application, with a letter of support from a college tutor, should be made at the same time as the proposed title of the Dissertation is submitted for approval. (This provision is not available in the case of Russian).

    • (vii) Notification of approval of the title will be given by the end of the fourth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination. Approval may be given on the condition that the candidate agrees to amend details of the title to the satisfaction of the board, and submits the required amendments to the Undergraduate Office for the board's approval by Friday of the sixth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination.

    • (viii) Any application to amend a title must be submitted to the Undergraduate Office by the Friday of the second week of the Hilary Term preceding the examination. The Chair of the Examiners will decide whether or not a proposed amendment shall be approved.

  • 2. Every Dissertation must be the candidate's own work. Dissertations previously submitted for the Honour School of Modern Languages may be resubmitted. No Dissertation will be accepted if it has already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another Honour School or degree of this University or a degree of any other institute. A Dissertation shall not be ineligible because it has been submitted, in whole or in part, for any scholarship or prize in this university. 

    All quotations, whether direct or indirect, from primary or secondary sources must be explicitly acknowledged. The use of unacknowledged quotations will be penalized.

    Candidates must sign a certificate stating:

  • (a) that the Dissertation is their own work;

  • (b) that it does not exceed 8,000 words in length (including footnotes, but not including bibliography and any permitted appendix or translation of quotations);

  • (c) that no more than the specified maximum amount of advice and assistance (no more than four hours or preparatory or advisory meetings and/or email consultation) has been received;

  • (d) that the Dissertation has not already been submitted for another Honour School or degree of this University or of any other institute.

  • This certificate must be sent at the same time as the Dissertation.

  • 3. Candidates shall present a one-page summary of the arguments in English at the beginning of their Dissertation; Dissertations shall be in the range 7,000-8,000 words (exclusive of the footnotes, the bibliography, any appendices, and summary (where this applies)). No person or body shall have authority to permit the limit of 8,000 words to be exceeded, except that, in the case of a commentary on a text, and at the discretion of the chair of the examiners, any substantial quoting of that text need not be included in the word limit. The examiners will not take account of such parts of a Dissertation as are beyond these limits. There must be a select bibliography, listing all primary and secondary sources consulted when writing the Dissertation, and full details must be given of all citations (either in the text, or in footnotes).

    All Dissertations must be typed in double-spacing.

  • 4. Candidates must submit their Dissertation electronically not later than noon on the Monday of tenth week of Hilary Term of the year in which the examination will be held using the University approved online assessment platform.

 

1 Czech (with Slovak) and Celtic may not be available in every year.

2 It is possible to do this paper with a knowledge of either Irish (with Scottish Gaelic) or Welsh, together with some Continental Celtic, or with a knowledge of both Irish and Welsh. Details of the passages for translation and comment are available from the Modern Languages Faculty Office.

3 Candidates offering both Portuguese paper VI and Portuguese paper VII may answer questions on the period 1500-40 in one of the two papers only. In papers VI and VII the questions affected by this provision will be indicated by an asterisk.

4 (a) Candidates offering both French paper VII and French paper VIII may answer questions on the period 1715-1800 in one of the two papers only. In both papers, the questions most obviously affected by this provision will be indicated by an asterisk. (b) Candidates offering subject 8(iii), Ancient and French Classical Tragedy, in the Honour School of Classics and Modern Languages will not be permitted to discuss the work of Corneille and Racine in French paper VII.

5 Each paper will be divided into two sections, one containing questions on the general aspects of the books and authors, and the other containing passages for explanation and comment. Both sections will be compulsory.

6 Those who offer B may not offer options (1) and (2) in Paper X.

7 Each paper will be divided into two sections, one containing questions on the general aspects of the books and authors, and the other containing passages for explanation and comment. Both sections will be compulsory.

8 Except in the case of Medieval and Modern Greek.