Uni-Tübingen

Sarah Metzger

Email: sarah-isabelle.metzger[at]uni-tuebingen.de

proceedings opened: 30 July 2021

Biographical Information

  • 2010-2016: Studied English and German literature and linguistics (Teaching degree) at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
  • 2014-2016: Student Assistant, Chair Prof. Dr. Claudia Maienborn (Germanic Linguistics)
  • 2016: First Teaching Degree in German and English (18.02.)
  • 2016: Master Program: Germanistische Linguistik – Theorie und Empirie at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
  • 2016: M.A. (30.08.)
  • 2017: Teacher-in-training programs
  • since 1.2.2018: Research Assistant and PhD Student at Research Training Group 1808: Ambiguity – Production and Perception at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany

 

Research Interests

  • Ambiguity
  • Lexical Semantics

 

Abstract:

"Literal and figurative readings of verbs that are ambiguous between a stative and an eventive reading" (working title)

Verbs like blockieren [to block], bedecken [to cover], führen [to lead] are ambiguous between a stative and an eventive reading.

  1. Die Demonstranten blockierten in Windeseile die Ausfahrt. - event
  2. Die Container blockierten tagelang die Ausfahrt. - state

The aim of this dissertation project is to develop a lexical semantics that captures and adequately models the link between those two readings. To develop a lexical entry that can account for the combinatoric particularities of a verb, more and more approaches focus on the figurative use of a verb (Asher & Lascarides 2001; McNally & Spalek 2017; Spalek 2012, 2015). Asher & Lascarides (2001) conclude that the productivity of metaphor enables us to draw important inferences in terms of the information a lexical entry should contain and that there is a link between conventional and metaphorical ambiguity. The challenge is to develop a lexical entry that licenses a compositional analysis without marginalizing a multitude of figurative data (Spalek 2015: 37). Following Asher & Lascarides (2001), McNally & Spalek (2017) as well as Spalek (2012, 2015), this project seeks to explore the lexical information stored in the lexicon by considering metaphorical uses to account for the verbs’ ambiguity and the factors that trigger it.

 

Teaching

  • Winter Term 2019/20
     
  • Graduate Seminar: Metaphern in korpuslinguistischen Untersuchungen (with Natascha Elxnath)

 

Awards

  • Faculty Award for Linguistics, University of Tuebingen

 

Talks

  • Metzger, Sarah (2018). Understanding Stative-/ Eventive Ambiguities. Talk given at the workshop Understanding Understanding. Tübingen, 04 May 2018.
  • Metzger, Sarah (2018). Information Gaps in Figurative Uses of Verbs with Stative and Eventive Ambiguity. Poster presented at the workshop Ambiguity as Information Gaps. Tübingen, 16-17 November 2018.