Dynamics of information structure in language contact
- Beginning
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2021
- Funding Period
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3 Years
- Principal investigator
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Prof. Dr. Sabine Zerbian, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Dr. Shanley Allen, Technical University of Kaiserslautern
Dr. Oliver Bunk, Humboldt University of Berlin
- Project team: University of Stuttgart
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Yulia Zuban, M.A., PhD student
- Student assistants: University of Stuttgart
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Marlene Boettcher, B. A.
- External cooperation partner: University of Stuttgart
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Prof. Dr. Tamara Rathcke, University of Konstanz
- Project team: Technical University of Kaiserslautern
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Tatiana Pashkova, M.A., PhD student
- Student assistants: Technical University of Kaiserslautern
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Leah Doroski, BA; Fiona Wong, BA; Hanna Kim, BA; Mark Murphy; Chris Allison, BA; Janie Johnson, BA.
- External cooperation partner: Technical University of Kaiserslautern
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Prof. Dr. Johanne Paradis, University of Alberta
- Project team: Humboldt University of Berlin
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Dr. Oliver Bunk, Humboldt University of Berlin
- Student assistants: Humboldt University of Berlin
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Erica Conti, BA; Birte Bravemann, BA; Guendalina Reul, BA; Myrto Rompaki, BA.
- External cooperation partner: Humboldt University of Berlin
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Prof. Dr. Jana Gamper, University of Giessen
Visit of the RUEG Ph.D Day (University of Potsdam)
The project is part of the Research Unit "Emerging Grammars in Language Contact Situations: A Comparative Approach" (RUEG2). This project investigates the dynamics in the linguistic expression of information structure in the repertoires of heritage language speakers. Its research questions directly emerge from pertinent findings from the first phase of the Research Unit “Emerging Grammars” (RUEG1). The project will investigate three areas relevant for information structure: (i) introduction of new referents, (ii) topic constructions, and (iii) focus and prosody. We will investigate these phenomena in selected subcorpora of the RUEG corpus, which comprises mono- and bilingual speakers of German, English, Russian, Greek and Turkish. The intricate interplay of (morpho)syntax and intonation for the expression of information structure has been shown to be open to new developments in the language contact contexts in which we collected data in RUEG1. In this project, we will make information structure the central focus of our research, investigating the interplay of information structure with syntax and intonation in a comparative perspective, and relating our research questions to the new Joint Ventures (short: ‘JV”) of the Research Unit:
- What linguistic developments characterise heritage speakers’ repertoires in the linguistic expression of information structure? (→ JV4)
- What role do different communicative situations play for linguistic patterns or variation in this domain? (→ JV5)
(iii) What impact does language contact and bilingualism have for the emergence of new linguistic means and/or patterns in the linguistic expression of information structure? (→ JV6)
Further information
Yulia Zuban
Research Associate (Project RUEG P8)
