"A different language is a different vision of life." — Federico Fellini

People study modern and ancient languages at university for a variety of reasons. Some are motivated by an interest in the poetry and prose written in that language.

Others see a second (or third, or fourth) language as essential to a career in international business or law. Others hope to reconnect with their roots including the language of their ancestors. Still others are headed for advanced research in anthropology, classics, history, linguistics or one of many other fields in which proficiency in a second language is essential.

No matter what the motivation is for beginning study, all students of language discover new ways in which languages work, different ways of expressing ideas, and an appreciation of the difficulties inherent in learning a new vocabulary and grammar.

Language study is a challenging intellectual activity, but the rewards of acquiring another language are many and diverse. It does not matter which language you choose, since each one opens up new opportunities for communication with different people as well as access to different cultural traditions, literatures and histories.

The study of another language provides not only a useful skill and a greater understanding of another culture, but a renewed and transformed perspective on your first language and on your own place in the world.

For many, learning another language is a transformative experience.

Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world where more 140 languages and dialects are spoken.

It is home to an estimated 200,000 speakers of Italian, 150,000 speakers of Cantonese and 130,000 speakers of Punjabi. There are also large communities of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Tamil speakers — all with over 50,000 speakers.

Follow the links on this site to learn more about the benefits and opportunities achieved through language study at the University of Toronto.

Graduate Students

For Arts and Science graduate students needing to learn a language for the purposes of their research, there is a wide range of possibilities.

Besides the many language courses offered also to undergraduates, the departments of French and German will be offering graduate language courses for reading knowledge in 2009-10.

The Faculty of Arts and Science also provides awards for the Study Elsewhere of Less Commonly Taught Languages for Research Purposes; these are intended to enable graduate students needing, for the purposes of their research, a good working knowledge of a language not regularly taught at the University of Toronto. The next competition for these awards will be held in the Fall of 2009.