Language Technology

 

In today's world, the way we interact with computers or mobile devices is becoming the social norm.

We talk to our devices; use them to interpret commands and respond to our queries via voice and text. Think of how you might type a question into a search engine in the same way you'd ask a friend a question. Or, if you use a virtual assistant like Siri or Google Assistant, how you'd give an order or ask "them" a question.

These are all ways in which we use our natural language to interact with technology to ultimately enable better communication and improve the functionality of everyday life.

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Graphic Language Tech

WHAT IS
LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY?

 

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Language Technology is about teaching computers how to understand the complexities of human language.

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You will find a combination of various fields within this course: linguistics, computer science, natural language processing, maths, and statistics.

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It is a rapidly changing and developing field that we apply in most of our interactions with computers.

Studying
Language Technology
at the NWU

CLASS OF 2025 | IS THIS YOU?

 

Find out how we program machines to understand our language.

 

 

 



 
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BA Language Technology

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS


Final
Pass rate in Gr.12

APS-score

 

 

3-year Degree

NQF Level 7

 

Location

NWU | Potchefstroom Campus
 

Maths *

Minimum marks required:

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* No applications with Math Lit will be approved.

IT, Science, or Accounting

Minimum marks required:

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You will have Algebra, Calculus, Statistics, and Computer Science subjects - All of which have a prerequisite of Maths.

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Become an expert in your field

Be 1 of 10 students!

We accept a maximum of 10 students for this specialised degree. To make sure you tick all the boxes or come see what a computational linguist does, get in touch with us:

Book an Appointment
 

 

What you'll learn

Within this course, you will learn how to develop and research language resources and tools. These allow computers to interpret and correctly connect the meaning behind our human language. You'll gain insight into this by using the various subjects of computer science, maths, statistics, and languages.
Get taught by our researchers within the field of Human Language Technology who work with real-world problems within the South African context and create and define applied solutions.

FIRST YEAR

In your first year, be introduced to the basic concepts of language technology. As well as learning programming languages Python and C++, with the fundamentals of Algebra, Calculus, and Statistics.
You'll also focus on two main languages to understand linguistics – the what and the why of how language is built.


 

First Semester

MTHS111
Introductory Algebra & Calculus

STTN115
Descriptive Statistics & Inferences

CMPG111
Python - Introduction to Computing & Programming

Choice of [2] languages
Afrikaans, English, Setswana, French and or German

 

Second Semester

CMPG121
C++ - Structured Programming

TTEG122
Descriptive Statistics & Inferences

STTN125
Introductory Probability Theory

ALDA122 / ALDE122
Academic Literacy

Continue chosen [2] languages
Afrikaans, English, Setswana, French and or German

SECOND YEAR

By the end of your second year, you will be able to do systems analysis and design and use the programming language, Java, within Computer science. Insight into the application of Language Technology will be given within the areas of Natural Language Processing (NLP), analysis of data, speech analysis, and more.


 

First Semester

CMPG213
Systems Analysis & Design 1

CMPG211
JAVA – Object oriented Programming

Choice of [2] languages
Afrikaans, English, Setswana, French and or German

 

Second Semester

TTEG222
C++ - Structured Programming

TTEG122
Language Technology Application: Introduction

WVCS223
Understanding Cultural World

Continue chosen [2] languages
Afrikaans, English, Setswana, French and or German

THIRD YEAR

Almost a fully-fledged computational linguist, you'll be able to design and develop language technology applications. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are fields you will apply in your work. Now go program machines to understand our human language! Or apply for our Honours degree in Language Technology or Linguistics after successfully completing your degree.


 

First Semester

TTEG312
Natural Language Processing: Introduction

WVLS312
Philosophy of Language & Literature

Choice of [2] languages
Afrikaans, English, Setswana, French and or German

 

Second Semester

TTEG322
Language Technology Application: Advanced

Continue chosen [2] languages
Afrikaans, English, Setswana, French and or German

 

APPLICATIONS OF HLT -
HUMAN LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY

 

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Search Engine 
Technology

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Speech recognition technology:
i.e. Virtual Assistants

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Speech synthesis:
Computer "reads" text to you

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Optical Character Recognition,
i.e. scanning a page and 
recognising handwritten text

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Machine Translation 
Programs

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Spell checkers, 
Grammar, and Thesaurus

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Text Predictions, Autocomplete 
& Autocorrect

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Automatic captioning:
i.e. Instagram stories or YouTube

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Conversational User Interface:
Chatbots

 
 
 

Career

 

Career Choices

With the skills you've gained, you'll be able to analyse the needs, develop a solution and improve on the current state of the art in Language Technology. You will also gain an advanced understanding of the socio-economic implications of multilingualism in South Africa.
The skills learned in this course will provide you with the right tools to analyse and synthesise information related to programming and human languages.
Such education is crucial, especially with globalisation, where multilingual communication is a necessity.

Job Titles

 

Job Titles

Wondering what you'll be able to become after obtaining a degree in BA Language Technology?

Computational Linguist


Data Scientist or Data engineer


Data Analyst


Natural Language Processing Specialist,


Researcher in HLT, Linguistics and NLP (natural language processing)


General Computer Programmer*
This will depend on the computer science subject taken and should be discussed with a subject advisor when registering.

HLT in SA

 

Language Technology in South Africa

The North-West University's (NWU) CTexT (Centre for Text Technology) is a leader in the field of language technology within the South African context. We don't just focus on one language in this degree but on a multilingual setup where we use insights from all the official languages of South Africa during development.
For our languages to continue to grow, we need the right people to build and research techniques that will help us communicate better with each other. You can become a part of the team that makes this happen.

Read more about CTexT and our work.

 

Study Language Technology.
Improve the human-to-computer interaction.

Visit us - at our offices or virtually - and take the first step into your future.

Visit Us