Language Variation and Change

Dozent/in:

Valentin Werner

Angaben:

Seminar, 2 SWS, ECTS: 8

Termine:

Di, 14:00 - 16:00, OK8/02.04
Einzeltermin am 27.6.2020, 8:00 - 18:00, KR12/00.02
All students are expected to take part in an introduction to research methods (unless they have already participated in the Übung "Methods and Theories in Linguistics"). Due to the Corona situation, the regular timing and format of the course may be subject to change. To coordinate course dates and times, please register for the following Virtual Campus course (https://vc.uni-bamberg.de/course/view.php?id=39254) as soon as possible. Via the Virtual Campus, you will receive notice about the timing of the course as soon as we can plan ahead.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

1. Modules:
BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA GY: Vertiefungsmodul Sprachwissenschaft: Seminar (8 ECTS)
LA GY: Wahlpflichtmodul Englische Sprachwissenschaft bei Kombination mit dem Fach Russisch Seminar (6 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Master Module English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Profile Module English Linguistics I-VI: Seminar (8, 6, 5 or 4 ECTS)
MA English and American Studies: Consolidation Module English Linguistics I-IV: Seminar (8, 6, 5 or 4 ECTS)
Erweiterungsbereich Anglistik/Amerikanistik im Rahmen anderer MA: Master Module or Profile Module I or III English Linguistics: Seminar (8 ECTS)
Erasmus and other visiting students: Seminar (max. 8 ECTS)

2. Registration and Deregistration:
Registration via FlexNow from 30 March 2020, 10:00h, to 23 April 2020, 23:59h.
Deregistration via FlexNow from 30 March 2020, 10:00h, to 30 April 2020, 23:59h.

For students transferring to the University of Bamberg, for Erasmus students and for those who need the credit to register for their upcoming final exams a few places will be reserved. If the course is fully booked please contact the lecturer personally.

3. Requirements for successful completion of the course:
4 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation with handout
5/6/8 ECTS in MA English and American Studies Consolidation Module English Linguistics I/II/III: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + oral exam
5 ECTS in other programmes or modules: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + assignment of 2500-3500 words
6 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 3000-4000 words
8 ECTS BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik Vertiefungsmodul: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 3500-4500 words
8 ECTS in other programmes or modules, and visiting students: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper of 4500-6000 words

4. Language of instruction:
English

Inhalt:

Variation and change are central properties of all languages. Thus, rather than speaking of one "English", it is more adequate to conceive of multiple "Englishes" or at least of English as a pluricentric language. In this class, we'll take a synchronic and diachronic look at the fact that English is by no means a monolithic entity, but has evolved and changed in the course of time, leading to present-day variation on all linguistic levels.

More specifically, we'll consider general processes at work in language change (such as language contact, standardization and grammaticalization), have a look at different present-day varieties of English (such as standard varieties, traditional dialects and postcolonial Englishes) and corresponding sociolinguistic factors, and analyze the influence of sociohistorical developments. In addition, we'll critically assess views of language change as language decay and, by way of considering key studies in the field, examine different research methods used.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Burridge, Kate & Alexander Bergs. 2017. Understanding language change. London: Routledge.
Bybee, Joan. 2015. Language change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chambers, Jack K. & Natalie Schilling, eds. 2013. The handbook of language variation and change. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Schreier, Daniel. 2014. Variation and change in English: An introduction. Berlin: Schmidt.

Media Linguistics: Exploring the Language of Journalism

Dozentinnen/Dozenten:

Valentin Werner, Hendrik Michael

Angaben:

Seminar/Übung, 2 SWS, ECTS: 6, Studium Generale

Termine:

Di, 10:00 - 12:00, U5/02.18

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

Anmeldung über FlexNow vom 30.03.2020, 10:00 Uhr bis zum 23.04.2020, 23:59 Uhr.
Abmeldung über FlexNow vom 30.03.2020, 10:00 Uhr bis zum 30.04.2020, 23:59 Uhr.

Bitte beachten Sie die verschiedenen Anmeldemöglichkeiten in FlexNow: Wenn Sie sich die Veranstaltung als Seminar anrechnen lassen möchten, melden Sie sich bitte ausschließlich für das Seminar an ("Media Linguistics: Exploring the Language of Journalism (Seminar)"). Für eine Anrechnung als Übung melden Sie sich bitte ausschließlich für die Übung an ("Media Linguistics: Exploring the Language of Journalism (Übung)").

Mehrfachanmeldung für Seminare führt zum Verlust des Platzanspruchs. Dies gilt nicht für Wartelisten.

Begrenzte Teilnehmerzahl: 15

Für Studienortwechsler, Erasmusstudenten sowie Studierende, die den Leistungsnachweis zur baldigen Prüfungsanmeldung benötigen, werden im begrenzten Umfang Plätze freigehalten. Bei Überbuchung des Seminars fällt die Entscheidung über die Teilnahme in Rücksprache mit dem Dozenten.

Scheinanforderungen:
2 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation
4 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + short assignment
6 ECTS: regular active participation in class + oral presentation + seminar paper
3/4/6 ECTS (BA Ergänzungsmodul in combination with the course Methods and Theories in Linguistics, 1 ECTS): regular active participation in class + oral presentation + oral exam (20 min)

8 ECTS sind nur für BA-Studierende nach Absprache mit dem Dozenten vor Semesterbeginn möglich.

Modulanbindungen:
Diese Lehrveranstaltung ist für alle Studiengänge der englischen Sprachwissenschaft (Lehramt, BA, MA usw.) geeignet, in denen 2, 3, 4 oder 6 ECTS erforderlich sind.

Modulzugehörigkeit Kommunikationswissenschaft:
Für die Studierenden der Kommunikationswissenschaft gilt folgende Modulanbindung: Seminar, 2 SWS, benoteter Schein, ECTS-Studium, ECTS-Credits max.: 6, Studiengangzuordnung: BA I-c, BA V-b

Anmeldung für Studierende der Kommunikationswissenschaft:
Bitte beachten Sie: Für das Sommersemester 2020 findet ein Online-Anmeldeverfahren für die Lehrveranstaltungen in der Kommunikationswissenschaft statt. Dieses läuft vom 01.03.2020 bis zum 15.03.2020. Nähere Informationen finden Sie in den News auf der Homepage des Instituts.

Inhalt:

Journalistic media are an everyday resource, providing information about events outside of our immediate horizon of experience. Hence journalism is regarded as the most important textual system of modernity.

This course approaches journalism from a linguistic perspective to explore what exactly the features of this textual system are. Throughout the semester we will contrast the compositional structure of different journalistic genres (e.g. news, feature, interview, and commentary), and discuss how their communicative modes differ depending on the publishing context. We will illustrate how journalistic language differs between various newspapers (e.g. the THE GUARDIAN or THE SUN), and how communication is shaped by technological variables, if we compare print to broadcast or online journalism.

In order to explore these aspects hands-on, this course will familiarize students with qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis (such as (critical) discourse analysis and register analysis), and will introduce them to relevant broader concepts (such as audience design, multimodality, and general principles and features of written and spoken communication).

Empfohlene Literatur:

Burger, Harald & Martin Luginbühl. 2013. Mediensprache. Eine Einführung in Sprache und Kommunikationsformen der Massenmedien. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Available online: https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/14491
Busà, Maria Grazia. 2014. Introducing the Language of the News: A Student's Guide. London: Routledge.

Weitere Literatur wird im VC zur Verfügung gestellt.