Comparative Indo-European Linguistics

What do Dutch, Russian and Hindi have in common? They are all Indo-European languages. This well-known language family moreover counts among its members Spanish, Latin, Armenian and Persian.

A number of Indo-European languages were also some of the earliest written languages in the world: Classical Greek, Ancient Sanskrit and Hittite (a cuneiform language dating to ca. 1500 BC) are just a few examples. In this programme, students are given the opportunity to learn how languages belonging to this family relate to each other historically. The programme focuses both on Indo-European comparative linguistics and historical linguistics (change of sound and meaning). It includes topics such as different languages and scripts, as well as linguistic subjects such as historical comparative linguistics, historical grammar and phonetics.

Bachelor’s Programme
Language of Instruction: Dutch
From the first year, students are taught to work with languages such as Greek, Sanskrit and Gothic. In the course of the second and third year, each student chooses one more Indo-European language from the many language courses that Leiden University has to offer. The options include Classical languages, Slavic, Persian and Indian languages.

See for more information the epartment website (in Dutch)

Practical Studies

Following the basic programme, the Comparative Indo-European Linguistics programme can be combined with one of the 'practical studies' or PraktijkStudies (International Management & Culture, European Union Studies, Journalism and the New Media, Book and Publishing or the Educational minor) or with other options and, possibly, an internship.