Danish and Yiddish

Danish and Yiddish is an exceptionally distinctive language pairing, bringing together a North Germanic Scandinavian language with a Germanic language of the Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora. Danish is the national language of Denmark, closely related to Swedish and Norwegian, and opens access to a country with a significant literary, cultural, and political tradition, as well as to the Nordic professional world. Yiddish, written in the Hebrew alphabet, was the primary spoken language of Ashkenazi Jews across Central and Eastern Europe for many centuries, and while the Holocaust catastrophically reduced the number of its speakers, it remains the language of a rich literary and theatrical tradition and of living Hasidic communities worldwide.

Studying these two languages together provides a remarkable window into very different aspects of European cultural history.

The four-year programme at University College London is split equally between Danish and Yiddish, with modules covering speaking, listening, reading, writing, and translation in each, alongside cultural topics including literature, history, film, linguistics, and politics designed to complement your language learning. UCL is one of very few institutions in the UK where Yiddish is taught at undergraduate level, and the department brings research expertise in both Scandinavian and Jewish studies to the programme. Your third year is a year abroad, split between countries where your two languages are spoken, providing essential immersion.

With a typical entry tariff of 168 points, the programme attracts students with a deep curiosity about language and cultural history. Graduates with Danish and Yiddish proficiency are valued in academia, translation, cultural organisations, Jewish heritage bodies, Scandinavian business and diplomatic contexts, and international institutions. The rarity of the combination is itself professionally significant.