Empirical English Linguistics - Detailseite

This course provides a broad but concise survey of empirical methods in English linguistics: introspection (diagnostics, minimal pairs), cross-linguistic/dialectal comparisons, corpus studies, experiments, and field work. It consists of three components: 1) lectures, 2) student presentations on a selection of topics that lie at the interface of grammar, pragmatics, processing and acquisition (in particular, negation and modality), and 3) hands-on experience of preparing a corpus study in groups (from reserach questions to the study design, the interpretation of the results and the report of the study) — In doing so, the students develop their ability to critically reflect on the subject areas, to uncover open questions and research gaps, as well as to collect data and evaluate existing analyses. Through the course, the students can acquire knowledge of English and it varieties, other languages in comparison as well as basic analytical and empirical skills, which are useful for the writing of term papers or BA theses in linguistics.