Romance Languages
Program Overview
Majoring in Romance Languages at UNLV ensures that a student not only graduates with a practical and fulfilling degree, but also has links with the approximately 700 million people in 67 countries across five continents who speak French, Italian or Spanish. Students who speak more than one language often have linguistic, cognitive, and cultural advantages over monolingual speakers, and they may be better prepared to face the challenges of a multilingual and multicultural world. An understanding of the French, Italian, and Spanish languages is a stepping stone to communication in other Romance languages.
Romance Languages Major
The Romance Languages Bachelor of Arts Major is a comprehensive degree that gives students a thorough preparation in at least two of the following languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Latin. The language courses help students develop their writing and speaking skills while those in linguistics present language in a more theoretical way, taking into account regional, social, and historical variation. Culture courses introduce students to the artistic and cultural trends of the major French, Italian or Spanish-speaking countries over the many centuries of their existence. In the literature courses students read major works by many different authors, improve their language and analytical skills, and study cultural and social issues.
Admission Requirements
For primary language, competence to level FREN 114, ITAL 114, SPAN 114, or equivalent.
For secondary language in French, Italian, or Spanish, competence to level 114 in that language, or equivalent. For secondary language in Latin, student may begin at LAT 113.
Career Information
As Italy, France, and Spain are among the seven most industrialized countries, knowledge of the Italian, French, and Spanish languages can be advantageous in a broad range of careers, such as international business, journalism, politics, and tourism. French, Italian, and Spanish are principal languages of the arts, including opera, cuisine, cinema, fashion, and sports.
French, Italian and Spanish in the World Today
60 percent of English vocabulary is Latin-based, the root of all romance languages. Learning one or more romance languages enhances English language skills.
France is the number one destination for world tourists with the fourth largest economy in the world. Hence knowledge of French is particularly important for students in the Colleges of Business and Hotel Administration. French is both an official and a working language of the United Nations and, along with English, is the official language of the 31-member Council of Europe, headquartered in France.
Italian is the fourth most spoken foreign language in U.S. homes. Outside of Italy, Italian is spoken in Switzerland, parts of Africa, South America, and the Balkans.
Spanish is spoken by more than 500 million people, and it is the primary language of 21 nations. Spanish is the second most widely used language in the United States, and is increasingly important for business, trade, schools, government agencies, the legal system, the media, advertising, the Internet, politics, and the private sector.
