The Department of Hungarian Language and Literature

Our study programme is connected to the rapid development of newer linguistic disciplines and state-of the-art research, ad theoretical and methodological approaches in linguistics. One unique feature is that the programme also studies the issue of the position of Hungarian as a minority language in both Slovenia and the Carpathian Basin. Students of Hungarian Studies in Maribor have the opportunity to learn and explore the Hungarian language, linguistics, the characteristics of Hungarian language variety, and Hungarian literature (alongside world literature and literary history and theory).

The programme is designed to provide graduates with a sufficiently specialised profile to carry out professional work in the field of Hungarian studies as well as basic interdisciplinary professional work. Our students are provided with a basic knowledge of the language, linguistics, literature and cultural features of the Hungarian language, while the programme also introduces more specific knowledge, skills and abilities on the postgraduate programme.

The study programme includes compulsory modules that provide a basic theoretical knowledge of Hungarian language and literature, complemented by elective courses in linguistics and literary studies that provide additional specific knowledge. The study programme is credit-based.

The study of Hungarian can be combined with other combined study programmes at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Maribor. Students on the first cycle are trained in a basic interdisciplinary research approach, and have the opportunity to create the groundwork for exploring new sources of knowledge in the professional field.
The narrowly specialised first-cycle programme in Hungarian Language and Literature culminates in a diploma that offers diversified and rich employment opportunities, as well as entry to various postgraduate programmes.

In Slovenia, Hungarian Studies can only be studied at the Faculty of Arts in Maribor. The programme has a national role, raising awareness of the importance of the Hungarian language and literature as fundamental elements of national identity and enabling the spiritual and cultural welfare and diversity of society. It contributes to the promotion of a higher culture of writing and reading in Hungarian, and thereby to the preservation and development of the Hungarian language, which is also an official language in parts of Slovenia.

Hungarian graduates will be qualified to proofread fiction and professional and scientific texts, to compose texts for clients, and to work as consultants in bilingual agencies, companies, institutions and institutes (on language competence and language policy), as well as in public relations (communication competence, rhetoric).

The programme also has a significant impact on language awareness and the use of the Hungarian language in terms of the country’s economic development. It trains graduates to ensure a high level of linguistic culture in all areas of the economy (correspondence, instructions, legal, professional and other documents in the economy, company advertising, company names, language training in the economy, public speaking, etc.) and in various professions in the media (e.g., reporter, moderator, newscaster), publishing (e.g., editor), tourism and advertising (for socio- psycholinguistic and pragmatic skills). Being able to reconcile the differences between linguistic and economic interests, our graduates will form a decisive link in the advertising and public image of individual companies.

The study programme provides an adequate range of the necessary knowledge to create a broad-minded graduate who is able to apply the acquired knowledge in practice and respond appropriately to the current linguistic and cultural challenges of modern times, as well as to integrate successfully into the labour market. The acquired knowledge also provides a solid basis for further study at Master’s level. Through choosing another course, graduates can combine this knowledge and, during the first cycle, also be trained in a basic interdisciplinary research approach, creating the foundations for the search for new sources of knowledge in their field of expertise. The main focuses of new knowledge and discoveries are at the intersections of these disciplines and fields of study.