University of Pretoria Ancient and Modern Department

Welcome to the website of the Department of Ancient and Modern Languages and Cultures!

Our vision:

To empower people to cross bridges across time and space by cultivating a better understanding of humankind, by overcoming language and cultural barriers, and to appreciate cultural diversity.

Our mission:

• To teach Ancient Culture Studies, Classical Hebrew, Latin, and New Testament Greek; and Medical Terminology;
• To teach modern French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish;
• To conduct research in our respective fields;
• To translate and interpret texts in the aforementioned languages;
• To establish links between literature, identity, and self-representation;
• To cultivate a better understanding of humankind within a culturally diverse context;
• To illustrate the indebtedness of modern culture to ancient civilisations at the intersection of Africa, Europe and the Orient; and
• To contribute to African-European intercultural relations and extended global dynamics.

Our philosophy:

Ancient and modern languages and cultures is at the heart of any human endeavour and is also a unique human characteristic. To understand languages and cultures is thus also to understand being human. Likewise, acquiring foreign languages and learning about their cultures is the basis for achieving awareness of a shared humanity that crosses all social boundaries. The study of foreign languages and cultures is a key to enlightening minds and strengthening awareness of globalisation. Acquiring a foreign language, and the ability to translate and interpret texts in those languages, then exponentially increases career opportunities, both locally and internationally, in the individual’s chosen profession. This also explains why, historically, the study of languages and cultures formed the foundation of academia in the classical trivium.