LFU:online

The students are able to reproduce deepened knowledge of a special area of German linguistics and can work scientifically and independently on a certain topic.

Insights into variation linguistics on the topic of language and aging. Capacity to collect and analyse data

Is it "mit langem roten" or "mit langem rotem Bart"?

Is the plural of "pizza" Pizze, Pizzen or Pizzas?

How does "Atlantik" sound in the genitive case? Is it des Atlantik or des Atlantiks?

...

These are all cases of "speakers' doubts".

We talk about a "speakers' doubt" every time mothertongue competent speakers have doubts when they have to decide which one of the two alternatives for the same expression is the correct one in the standard language (Klein 2003: 7).

In our seminar, we will analyse a small selection of "speakers' doubts" occurring in todays German. We will take a look at the judgements found in grammars and we will investigate the use of the two variants by conducting an empirical analysis in large text corpora.

Only on a few occasion we will be able to decide which variant is the correct one - in most cases they are both accepted or acceptable, at least in some contexts.

What interests us the most is the question of how and when these alternatives came into being. How come that there are two variants for the same expression? Is one of the variables new or have they been coexisting for a long time already? Can we predict whether one of the variants will supplant the other one in the future?

By working on "speakers' doubt", we will at the same time investigate the mechanisms of language change and the tendencies of contemporary German.

Frontal lecture; discussion; group/partner exercises; empirical analysis

group assignments, written term paper, active participation in the class

Datenbank sprachlicher Zweifelsfälle (ZweiDat). http://kallimachos.de/zweidat/index.php/Hauptseite

Dudenredaktion; Henning, M. (Hrsg.) (2016): Das Wörterbuch der sprachlichen Zweifelsfälle. Richtiges und gutes Deutsch. 8. Auflage. Berlin: Dudenverlag.

Klein, W. P. (2013). Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle als linguistischer Gegenstand. Zur Einführung in ein vergessenes Thema der Sprachwissenschaft. Linguistik Online, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.13092/lo.16.793

Klein, W. P. (2018). Sprachliche Zweifelsfälle im Deutschen. Theorie, Praxis, Geschichte. Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter. https://bibsearch.uibk.ac.at/AC15192047

Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache: "Grammatik in Fragen und Antworten". Grammatisches Informationssystem grammis. https://grammis.ids-mannheim.de/fragen

Compulsory module 3.

The course will be held in person, if the situation allows it.

Please note: "3G-Regel" applies!

Please sign up for one of the parallel groups if you cannot participate in person.