Lehrende/r: Dr. Matthias Eitelmann
Veranstaltungsart: Seminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan: 05.601.320
Semesterwochenstunden: 2
Credits: 8,0
Unterrichtssprache: Deutsch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 30
Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches: Course requirements are regular attendance, active participation, weekly reading assignments (20-25 pages), homework assignments and a short oral presentation. To obtain a Schein, you need to write a term paper (see "Guidelines for Writing Seminar Papers" on our English linguistics homepage).
Inhalt: One of the puzzling facts about language is that the linguistic system, in many respects characterised by efficiency and economy, allows for what might be perceived as a fair amount of redundancy, insofar as language does not conform to an unequivocal form-to-function mapping. On the contrary, violations of a clear 1:1 correspondence can be attested on all levels of linguistic analysis. In these cases, language users are confronted with the choice between several options which constitute functionally equivalent variants: (1) semi-reflexive verbs: He hid himself in the woods. vs. He hid ø in the woods. (2) comparative alternation: prouder vs. more proud (3) participial forms: a lighted candle vs. a lit candle (4) THAT vs. ZERO-complementation: He knew that he would win. vs. He knew ø he would win. The decision as to which variant is preferred is not made randomly but governed by a wide array of factors. In the course of this seminar, we will investigate the impact of various determinants, such as phonological influences (Principle of Rhythmic Alternation), frequency, processing complexity, horror aequi and end-weight. Additionally, we will discuss the role of grammatical variation within the larger context of language change: With functionally equivalent variants co-existing over centuries of time, which factors contribute not only to their long-term retention but also to their ultimate refunctionalisation?
Empfohlene Literatur: Rohdenburg, Günter & Britta Mondorf (eds.) (2003) Determinants of Grammatical Variation in English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
