Aufbaumodul

Corpus Linguistics: Investigations in the field of pragmatics and sociolinguistics

This undergraduate course offers an introduction to using corpora, i.e. electronic databases of naturally occurring language, in order to investigate research issues in pragmatics and sociolinguistics. We will introduce different kinds of corpora (e.g. static v. monitoring corpora) and annotation systems (e.g. tagging parts of speech v. pragmatic annotation) and give insights into how they have been applied in previous research. This course will seek answers to questions such as: Do speakers of British and American English differ in their use of apologies containing sorry? Are there any differences in the use of compliments across different age groups? Is there a North-South divide between speakers of Irish English regarding their use of discourse markers?
The course work will require you to conduct a small-scale empirical project within a relevant topic in pragmatics or sociolinguistics using a corpus linguistic methodology. With your group, you will collect and analyse data and present your findings on a poster. Additionally, you will write a short report on your study. The deadline will be 9 January 2021.

Schedule:

Fr., 06.11. 14-18 Uhr
Sa., 07.11. 10-16 Uhr

Fr., 04.12. 14-18 Uhr
Sa., 05.12. 10-16 Uhr

Fr., 08.01. 14-18 Uhr
Sa., 09.01. 10-14 Uhr