Introduction

In its commitment to academic excellence and the cultural enrichment of Macao, the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) started offering evening courses on ancient languages, namely Latin, Ancient Greek, and Biblical Hebrew, in 2014. These courses were aimed not only at university students but also at the local community in Macao.

USJ Ancient Western Languages courses ended up attracting a considerable number of mainland China graduate students pursuing Master’s or PhD studies in language and linguistics, literature, history, or philosophy at other universities in Macao. Their interest in these courses stems not only from their desire to enhance their academic skills while studying in Macao but also from the fact that these subjects are difficult to find on offer in mainland China and even Hong Kong Universities.

The active knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek is of interest to people studying or interested in Ancient Philosophy and Religion, Western Literature, Legal Studies and History, among other areas of study. Among these other areas of study, the study of Romance languages is worth mentioning. Latin is the basis of many of the most well-known and studied Western languages, such as French, Italian, and Spanish. Latin and Ancient Greek are also the basis of many neologisms and technical words in other Western languages, such as English.

As for Ancient Hebrew, along with Ancient Greek, it gives philosophy and religion students direct access to the Holy Scriptures, allowing them to read the great majority of the books of the Bible in their original languages.

USJ is uniquely positioned in these areas of studies within greater China and is excited at the opportunity to extend these courses to students within the great Bay Area of Guangdong. With that aim in mind, USJ is organizing courses on Latin, Ancient Greek, and Biblical Hebrew in Macao and/or Henquin aimed at students and interested people in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

These courses, which are organized in four levels, each level with a duration of 30 hours spread over five consecutive days (six hours of class per day), are designed to provide a robust basic knowledge aimed at those who want to acquire familiarity and facility in each of these languages to support their academic work or for their own purposes. Each course will result in a USJ Diploma in Ancient Languages in the relevant language.

For further information and inquiries regarding these courses, please contact our Lifelong Learning Office at (+853) 8592 5688 or via E-mail: conted@usj.edu.mo.