Prof. Dr. Kurt Kohn, Stuart C. Watts, B.A.,
M.A., Adv.Dip.ed., Stefan Hofstetter
Tuesday 16-18 h, room 036
The main goal of this lecture is to bring together core areas of linguistic
research with the main aim of showing how the individual components work
together when people use language to communicate. The lecture consists of three
parts. The first part will review the main trends in the development of modern
linguistic theory: structuralism, generative grammar, pragmatics, discourse
analysis. Particular attention will be given to models of language (system,
knowledge, use) with an emphasis on cognitive approaches. The second part will
focus on phonetics and phonology. The third part will concentrate on the
structural aspects of meaning with a special emphasis on the formation and
interpretation of words (morphology), phrases and sentences (syntax).
Attention: A final web-based test will be part of the written exam in connection with the PS II in English Linguistics.
Required for Grundstudium (BA and LA).
The lecture will be supported by e-learning activities. All participants will
need an account on the ELP Moodle platform of the university:
https://moodle01.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de/.
References:
Kortmann, B. (2005). English Linguistics: Essentials.
Berlin: Cornelsen.
Yule, G. (2006). The Study of Language. 3rd
edition. Cambridge: CUP.
A reader/reading materials will be provided in class.
Requirements: Final web-based assessment
Modules: Modul 110 and Lehramt
Registration: Registration in CAMPUS
Dr. Remus Gergel
Tuesday 16-18, room 306
The goal of this seminar is twofold. First, students will get to learn how to
precisely analyze all major syntactic patterns of Present-Day Standard English
(PDSE). Second, we will use a selection of case studies to concentrate on the
subtle types of interaction between the rather clear-cut structural requirements
of PDSE, on the one hand, and the variationist panorama one obtains by comparing
different types of speech/text, on the other, (e.g. variation according to
registers, social class, geographical and ethnicity-based dialectal entities,
gender, etc). Thus, the tension between hard structural requirements in grammar
and dynamic variability in use, as the very driving force of change in natural
language, is at the heart of this course.
Tutorial: Polina Berezovskaya will offer a tutorial accompanying this class (Thursday, 09-10 h, room 028)
References: Haegeman, L. & Guéron, J. (1999): English Grammar: A Generative
Perspective. Blackwell. Further references will be distributed in class.
Requirements: Examination(s) according to the BA/LA requirements.
Prerequisites: If you are taking this course as your second proseminar in linguistics, you
need the following prerequisites: your first proseminar, the lecture
Introduction to Linguistics, Language and Use.
Registration: Central web registration via Campus from February 24 through
March 10.
Vera Hohaus, M.A.
Monday 18-20, room 005
"Perhaps the most remarkable property of natural language is its
compositionality: Once a speaker knows the meanings of a set of words and the
rules for combining those words together, she can represent the meanings of new
combinations of those words the very first time that she hears them." (Elizabeth
S. Spelke (2003), "What Makes Us Smart?", p. 295). This course provides an
introduction to this remarkable property of natural language.
This course will provide you with the basic tools for the analysis of
syntactic structures and the assignment of truth-conditional meaning to
them.
Tutorial: Konstantin Sachs will offer a tutorial accompanying this class (Thursdays, 20
pm, room 005)
References:
Kyle Johnson (2007), "Introduction to Transformational Grammar", Manuscript,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst, pp. 1-67.
Barbara Hall Partee, Alice G. ter Meulen and Roger E. Wall (1994),
Mathematical Methods in Linguistics, pp. 3-26.
Requirements: Regular attendance and active participation aside, weekly hands-on exercises,
a midterm exam, and a final written examination
Prerequisites: If this is your first proseminar in linguistics, "Introduction to English
Linguistics". If this is your second proseminar in linguistics, requirements
are: "Introduction to English Linguistics", "Language and Use", and your first
proseminar in linguistics.
Registration: Central web registration via Campus from February 24 through
March 10.
Pia Prestin
Friday 10-12 h, room 108
The course provides an introduction to the sentence structures of English and
the way that those structures are interpreted.
We discuss the way that English phrases and clauses are built
(complementation, modification, movement). Then we investigate how such
structures are assigned an interpretation in a systematic way.
Tutorial: Jasmin Richer will offer a tutorial accompanying this class.
Prerequisites: Lecture "Introduction to Linguistics". If
this is your second Proseminar in linguistics, you need the following
prerequisites: Your first Proseminar, Lecture "Introduction to
Linguistics", Language and Use.
Registration: Central web registration via Campus from February 24 through
March 10.
Sonja Tiemann, M.A.
Tuesday 12-14 h, room 119
The course provides an
introduction to the sentence structures of English and the way that those
structures are interpreted. We discuss the way that English phrases and clauses
are built (complementation, modification, movement). Then we investigate how
such structures are assigned an interpretation in a systematic way.
Tutorial: There will be a tutorial for those students who signed up for the course. It
will be taught by Nadine Bade Thursday, 14-15 h, in room 1.05, Nauklerstr.
35. The attendance of the tutorial
is strongly recommended.
Prerequisites: Lecture "Introduction to Linguistics". If this is your second Proseminar in
linguistics, you need the following prerequisites: Your first Proseminar,
Lecture Introduction to Linguistics, Language and Use.
Registration: Central web registration via Campus from February 24 through March 10.
Dr. Remus Gergel
Thursday 10-12 h, room 027
This class pursues three objectives. First, we contrast the major options
available in the clausal architecture of English and German. Second, we
investigate the properties of quantifiers, polarity items and their licensers,
and to some extent the behavior of other scope-bearing elements. In the third
part of the seminar, we describe and analyze the tense and aspect system of
English from a contrastive perspective.
Requirements: Examination(s) according to the BA/LA/MA requirements.
Registration: Central web registration via Campus from February 24 through March 10.
Prof. Dr. Sigrid Beck
Tuesday 10-12 h, room 306
This seminar will discuss recent literature on plurality and also the
participants' own research.
References: A reading list will be made available in the first session.
Requirements: Examination(s) according to BA/LA-Prüfungsordnung.
Prerequisites: Hauptseminar Introduction to Semantics.
Registration: Central web registration via Campus from February 24 through March 10.