LFU:online

Focus on a sub-field of French/Italian/Spanish linguistics

Reading core texts representing the sub-field and preparation of a related project including its presentation and discussion.

Possible sub-fields for the project include political and media linguistics, the study of linguistic varieties and sociolinguistics, pragmatics, gastro- and oeno-linguistics, cultural linguistics, literary linguistics, phraseology or gender linguistics. Here are some exemplary topics:

• In politics, what is not said is often more revealing than what is said – why?
• Why can the press never be objective?
• Where are the norm-centres of pluricentric languages?
• Why do often say things only indirectly? And how do we get from what we say to what we mean in a conversation?
• What do I have to call a dish in order to sell it at a higher price? How do speaking and doing work together in a wine tasting?
• Why does a picture (for instance in advertising) really say more than 1000 words?
• Why do some authors write in dialect and others in two or more languages?
• What options are there for gender-inclusive language in the Romance languages in contrast to German?
•  Why does one "take up" a profession in German (einen Beruf ergreifen) but "hug" it in Italian, French and Spanish (abbracciare una professione, embrasser un métier, abrazar una profesión)?

For a more extensive list together with the sub-fields and possible supervisors, see the link below.

Self-study of preset reading list, development of individual research question(s) and literature research, implementation of the project after consultation with the supervisor, presentation/defence of the results

see above

dependent on topic

Presence at the preparatory meeting (first session of course) on 09/10/2019 (11:15-11:45) is compulsory, as the topics will be presented there and participants will choose a supervisor and a general topic.