German Linguistics

Objective

Specializing allows students to focus their studies on one of the linguistic disciplines. German Linguistics is one of the specialization options. The module builds on the knowledge acquired in the compulsory modules and is complemented by elective courses and the practice module. The master's thesis is written in the subject area of the specialization module.

Course content

In this specialization option, basic questions of German Linguistics are addressed, both from a synchronic and a diachronic perspective. German is investigated as the language of study but also as the language of specialized discourse. In order to achieve more precise results in the analysis of the German language in written or spoken form, students will get an in-depth look into analytical techniques on the morphology and syntax of German as well as functional aspects. Basics of structural and functional analysis of German are presented in the lecture, which are then coordinated with the practical where students practice with their own analyses. The seminars will focus on individual aspects of synchronic or diachronic German Linguistics. For the basic seminar, topics on the structural analysis of German are selected (phonology, morphology, syntax, text linguistics, etc.); for the advanced seminar, more advanced topics (variation and change in German, spoken and written German, etc.) are covered. In both seminars, students develop their own research questions for small projects, which they work on independently (research-based learning). The results are then presented in the form of short presentations in the first seminar and elaborated on in a written paper (practical assignment) in the second.

Learning outcomes

Students will have practiced in-depth morphological and syntactic analysis of German word forms and sentences, and will have acquired precise analytical skills that form an important basis for study projects in the elective areas (lecture + exercise). In addition, they will have become acquainted with basic questions of German variation linguistics as well as questions of spoken language research and written linguistics on the basis of German as a language of study (seminars). In independent study projects, they will have worked out research results largely autonomously according to the approach of research-based learning. Furthermore, the methodological skills acquired in Module 1 will be perfected and adapted to German Linguistics (e.g. working with German-language corpora). In the face-to-face courses, discursive and argumentative skills will be acquired, enabling students to argue linguistically (using specialized terminology), to reflect critically on approaches and theories, and to develop and defend their own point of view.