SoSe 2024

This course examines the grammatical expression of aspectual distinctions in typologically distinct languages (Germanic like English and German), Slavic, and Finnish, among others). The topics will include, but not be limited to: (i) typological and formal questions about what makes an aspectual marker (im)perfective; (ii) the interaction between (im)perfectivity and aspectual classes/telicity, (iii) the semantics of perfectivity and imperfectivity, and its delimitation from genericity (aka habituality); (iii) the interaction of grammatical aspect and aspectual classes with quantification (especially in aspectual composition) and adverbial modification. Specifically regarding the expression of aspectual distinctions in German, we will explore the so-called Rheinische Verlaufsform

In diesem Seminar erhalten Studierende eine Einführung in diejenigen Methoden der Neurolinguistik, die auf elektrophysiologischen Prozessen im Gehirn basieren. Dazu gehört vor allem die EEG-Methodologie (Elektroenzephalographie), aber auch MEG (Magnetoenzephalographie). Studierende werden verschiedene EEG-Komponenten kennenlernen, die linguistischen Prozessen zugrunde liegen.

In this seminar, we will explore the definitional and conceptual questions surrounding lying and other modes of deception. How do we define lying? Does lying require uttering something false (or untrue)? Does lying require assertion? Does lying necessarily involve an intention to deceive another person? How does lying differ from other kinds of untruthful use of language such as humor, fiction, irony, and metaphor. How does lying relate to other types of deception such as bullshitting, bluffing, and white lies. We will see how these questions connected to broader issues about speech acts and pragmatics. While this class focuses on the language side of lying, we will inevitably also touch on ethical issues surrounding lying and deception. 

This seminar belongs to the research module. Students will carry out a psycholinguistic study on coherence processing. In the first few lessons, students will acquire basic knowledge about coherence in language. Then we will proceed to the preparation, execution and analysis of a reading time study. Each student will be required to test 4 participants in the psycholinguistics lab at HHU. We will then pool the results for data analysis.

Linguistic relativity refers to the (assumed) phenomenon that we perceive the world through the lens of language. A number of suggestions have been made how the native language that we speak determines how we think and, in extension, interact with the world surrounding us. In this seminar we will critically evaluate some of these proposals by looking at controlled experiments that have investigated the question of linguistic relativity.

BN: Students will have to present one of the research papers in a summary of about 20 minutes, thereby preparing our general discussion of the paper.

AP: Students will write a thesis ("Hausarbeit") on one of the research questions discussed in the seminar OR students will do an oral exam in which they will be questioned on the relevant papers to one of these research questions.

In diesem Seminar lernen Studierende den Verlauf des menschlichen Spracherwerbs während der ersten drei Lebensjahre kennen. Außerdem werden sie mit den bekanntesten Theorien des Spracherwerbs vertraut gemacht.

Für den Beteiligungsnachweis (BN) ist das regelmäßige Abgeben von Hausaufgaben erforderlich.

Die Abschlussprüfung (AP) besteht aus einer Hausarbeit oder einer mündlichen Prüfung zu wissenschaftlicher Literatur.

In this class, we take a hands-on approach to the Grassfields language F'ef'e. Co-teacher Anne Yosseu is a native speaker of the language, and we will work with original recordings and field methods, along with existing descriptions of related languages and typological databases.

We will explore the following properties of the language:

• Sociolinguistic and typological context
• Basic grammatical properties, including phonology, morphology and syntax
• A focus on the fine-grained tense/aspect/mood system

We will learn to make transcriptions with ELAN, practice glossing translated sentences in LaTeX, analyse structures and meanings, elicit new data to explore specific research questions, and document our findings.

In diesem Kurs lernen wir die Grundlagen der Syntax kennen. Anhand der Grundsatzdebatte über Worststellungsmuster in den Sprachen der Welt entwickeln wir die Grundbegriffe und Fähigkeiten, die für die sprachwissenschaftliche Forschung zentral sind. Dazu gehören die Diagnose von Wortarten und Argumentstrukturen, die Analyse von Phrasen und Sätzen in verschiedenen Theorien, und die Bestimmung der Länge syntaktischer Dependenzen.