Languages Offered at Howard
Learn a New Language
Learning a new language is important for being competitive in today's global market. The Department of World Languages & Cultures offers 15 different foreign languages. Students can choose to study languages and cultures from regions all over the world.
Click on the languages below to find out more information about instructors, course offerings and other important information.
Don't Know Which Language to Study?
Come visit us to find out more information. Our offices are located on the third floor of Locke Hall.
AFRICAN LANGUAGES
Program in African Languages (PAL):
The Program in African Languages at Howard offers courses in the following languages:
These languages are offered from the elementary level up to the advanced level and they equip students with the much needed language proficiency to meet their foreign language requirement at Howard.
Beyond the foreign language requirement, African languages are very important in several ways. In the 21st century they equip students with key resources and advantages over other students to navigate the demands of a globalized world. Additionally, our basic philosophy in PAL is that any serious understanding of Africa begins with the study of an African language. Indigenous African languages serve as windows into how social, cultural, political and economic institutions and processes develop and operate. With more than 2000 languages, the languages that are taught at Howard are key because they are spoken across borders and are key to the understanding of how African people in neighboring countries understand, organize, and maintain their cultures from one generation to the next. In brief, all the African languages offered at Howard serve as languages of wider communication and are therefore important in regional commerce, governance and development.
Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply for a FLAS fellowship that provides both summer and academic year support for language training. To learn more about FLAS opportunities contact Dr. Leonard Muaka, the coordinator of PAL.
Coordinator - Dr. Leonard Muaka (leonard.muaka@howard.edu )
Center for African Studies: African Languages Instructors