| Kommentar |
By comparing two languages with each other one can gain a better understanding of each one of the languages under comparison. This is one of the main objectives of contrastive linguistics. In this course, we will carry out a detailed comparison of English and German, focusing on those aspects of analysis that reveal interesting differences between the two languages: Phonology, inflectional morphology, tense and aspect, grammatical relations, word order, active vs. passive voice and non-finite subordination. We will also find that many of the contrasts seem to be connected to each other. For example, rich inflectional morphology in German goes together with flexible word order and semantically constrained grammatical relations, whereas English displays the opposite tendency of reduced inflectional morphology, fixed word order and grammatical relations that can express almost any semantic role.
Apart from students with a more theoretical interest, the course also addresses students who want to improve their structural knowledge of English and know more about difficulties for learners of both languages under consideration. The course is therefore highly recommended to students of 'Englisch Lehramt'. The focus is going to be on comparing linguistic structures and not on didactic issues, however.
The book chapters we will read, as well as all types of exam (written test, term paper, oral or written state examination) take for granted basic knowledge of English grammar, phonetics and linguistic terminology, as it was introduced in the Introduction to Linguistics (I + II) and the module Phonetics.
This course will have the format ONLINE PLUS. The current plan is to combine screencasts, to be watched at home, on the one hand, and in-person meetings for discussion. If social distancing rules are maintained, you will be divided into two groups that will successively attend one 45-minute session. Further details will be announced when registration is completed. It now looks as if face-to-face teaching with 3G and masks will be possible without distancing rules. This would mean regular 90-minute sessions with the entire group.
According to Article 22 of a new ordinance of the State of Thuringia (Revised version of the Thuringian SARS-CoV-2 Ordinance on Infection Protection Measures https://www.tmasgff.de/covid-19/verordnung), only people who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 or have been tested are permitted to attend face-to-face courses and examinations. In German this is referred to as the “3-G Principle”, for “geimpft/genesen/getestet” (vaccinated/recovered/tested). In other words, get vaccinated (https://www.uni-jena.de/en/Impfung_Studierende)! |
| Literatur |
Gast, Volker (2012). 'Contrastive analysis: Theories and methods'. In Kortmann, B. (ed.): Dictionaries of Linguistics and Communication Science: Linguistic theory and methodology. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Hawkins, John A. (1986). A Comparative Typology of English and German: Unifying the Contrasts. London/Sydney: Croom Helm.
König, Ekkehard & Volker Gast (2018). Understanding English-German Contrasts. 4th ed. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag. [You can also use the 3rd edition] |
| Bemerkung |
Assessment: Written test or term paper (your choice)
Term paper deadlines: 25 March 2022 (1st attempt) + 27 May 2022 (2nd attempt)
Written test dates: 10 February 2022 (1st attempt) + 18 March 2022 (2nd attempt)
This course requires good knowledge of German. Non-native speakers are welcome.
Admitted students not attending the first session will be replaced by students who have been waitlisted.
Staatsexamen: Please ask me for manual admission if you want attend this course as a Vorbereitungsmodul. Register via the module catalogue and choose the "Belegweg" LG.AA.SE.1 or LG.AA.SE.2 before you select the name of the module, and then write me an email and then write me an email! The number of places for written and oral state exams is limited. Registration is only possible via manual admission before the start of the lecture period, and only if you are not at the same time enrolled for another linguistic Vorbereitungsmodul. If you want to know more about what to expect in this seminar before making a decision, feel free to check the references provided above or send me an email. Since the topic of the module has turned out to be quite popular as a potential state examination topic (at least for the first few weeks of the semester), the strategy of registering for a number of potential modules and making a decision later in the semester will not be possible here.
Because of a great demand for oral exams in "Cognitive Linguistics" and "Contrastive Linguistics", registration for oral Staatsexamen is no longer possible in these two courses. Please choose a different course from WP2 Linguistics.
Lehramt Gymnasium: Im aktuellen Flyer (erhältlich auf Moodle: "The Hub" > "Infos zum Studium") finden Sie die Festlegung der Themengebiete für die Zweitthemen, schriftliche und für die mündliche Prüfung, im Bereich Sprachwissenschaft.
Lehramt Regelschule: Im aktuellen Flyer (erhältlich auf Moodle: "The Hub" > "Infos zum Studium") finden Sie weitere Informationen zur Prüfung. Beachten Sie, dass der zweite sprachwissenschaftliche Themenbereich in der schriftlichen Prüfung "Phonetics" und in der mündlichen Prüfung "Phonetics" oder auf Wunsch "Introduction to Linguistics I" ist. |
