VL: Linguistic diversity and English(es) 

In this lecture class we will look at English(es) as it is used in communities of practice around the world. In discussions with guest speakers who will present relevant case studies, we will address issues of diversity, standardisation, and linguistic ownership to come to a post-colonial understanding of how English(es) today coexist(s) with other languages.
The class format depends much on student engagement. Using Salomone (2022) as our basic texts, we will look at how speakers use English and what value the use of English has to them. We will explore tensions between literate and standardized use (linguistic (in)equality) and informal use, language mixing, and super-diversity. Importantly, we will try and take the long view: English spoken in Scotland can look back at a long history and a relatively stable contact situation (Prof.' Gut). Globalization and mobility, by contrast, often are characterized by spurious contact in conjunction with great need.
We will welcome our invited speakers and their input, and we will take advantage of the opportunity to discuss their findings and other aspects of their work with them. During the second part of the semester, we will use reflection and in-depth reading of the Salomone chapters to sharpen our understanding of language commodification, language contact, and language change over time.

HS: The power of epistemes: the (re-)discovery of multilingualism

In this advanced seminar, we will look into ways that linguists have used to define language/languages and 'languaging'. We will look into notions from linguistic anthropology, psycholinguistics and bilingualism, as well as from sociolinguistics and language policy. In critically examining intellectual predispositions, we will practice critical reading and work on conceptualizing a point of view which takes multilingualism as its point of departure.

KO: Prüfungskolloquium

This class is a 'Prüfungskolloquium' and affords students the opportunity to discuss work in progress, receive peer feedback, and fine-tune planning of oral and written exams, as well as thesis work. Please use ILIAS to indicate your interests (you will find instructions and suggestions there).
Please make use of class time to discuss questions, ideas and concepts freely; our meetings are intended as a ‘safe space’ where you will have the opportunity to prepare for exams and tasks by discovering strategies to put your best foot forward. This will involve a collaborative approach and some initiative on your part; exams can be demystified and approached with calm planning. The colloquium is one place for doing so.
 

Prof. Dr. Bongartz

Office hours:

• Thursdays 9 - 10 a.m. in person in 1.007 (Philosophikum)
• Please wait in the area by the closed glass doors

Registration for office hours is via Scheduler only. 

In order to select topics for any exam you need to approach us in class, the office hours or contact us via email.

Oral exams:

• Registration opens 12 weeks before Klips exam date
• Registration closes 6 weeks before Klips exam date
• Zoom meeting 2 working days after registration ends (Candidates receive the link one day after the end of registration period)
• De-registration possible until 2 weeks before Klips exam date
• Exams phase I: two final weeks of lectures, first week of the break
• Exam phase II: last week of the break, first two weeks of lecture time

Written exams:

• Winter term: deadline 15th of March    
• Summer term: deadline 15th of September
• Registration opens 12 weeks before Klips exam date
• Registration closes 6 weeks before Klips exam date
• De-registration possible until 2 weeks before Klips exam date
• Grading takes 8-12 weeks

Please suggest the TWO topics you would like to discuss to Prof. Bongartz during class/ office hours/ via email. After Klips registration, you will receive an invite to a Zoom meeting where all formal requirements are explained, you can ask advice on your reading lists and a timeslot is assigned. For students that are registering for the first phase, oral exams will take place during the final two weeks of the semester. Exams in the second phase will usually take place during the first week of lectures. Note that the generic date given on KLIPS is not the date of the actual exam. The reading list is due ca. 4 weeks before the exam, the date for each phase will be given in the Zoom session. You may use the readings and materials from our classes on your reading list and will receive feedback on your reading list in a timely manner. You may hand in one introductory and one expert question per topic which you would like to address in the exam.

Reading lists are to be prepared in APA format. The list for each topic must contain at least 1 monograph and 5 (recent!) scientific articles/studies per topic. You select an exam area that the monograph is concerned with and use the articles to establish a focus for the exam (i.e. area: morphology, focus: compounding).

Exam topics

Prof. Bongartz generally welcomes exam topic from the fields of

• Core linguistics
• Applied linguistics
• Psycholonguistics
• Sociolinguistics

Both topics should derive from the class context but should be sufficiently distinct to form separate exam areas. If preferred, students can derive just one topic from the class and select one core area as their second topic. Core areas are:

• Syntax
• Morphology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Semantics

Students interested in submitting an argumentative essay based on our class readings as their written exam thesis will have to contact me during office hours. Upon request, I can take a look at your bibliography, outline, research questions and thesis statement.

FOR ALL EXAMS, make sure that you are registered for the MAP in KLIPS 2.0.

PLEASE post all content-related questions and commentary you might have in ILIAS. You may also email me or the rest of the class using ILIAS.

PLEASE talk to me during office hours in case you have any questions or concerns or just would like to talk things through.

Writing of homework: Please consult our style sheet for formal questions about writing term papers. For all other open questions, the style sheet of the English Seminar applies. Please note that written papers of any form will only be accepted if the corresponding cover page is available.

PLEASE note that the regulations regarding term papers requires you to have the official "Deckblatt für schriftliche Arbeiten" of the English Seminar signed and as your first page, followed by the body of the paper as one document.

You can find the official documents of the English Seminar available for downloading hier.

Deadline: The deadline for term papers is 15.03. in the winter semester and 15.09. in the summer semester. Term papers received after the deadline will not be corrected. Deadlines will not be extended.

Written papers will only be accepted after prior registration in KLIPS. An evaluation before the expiration of the KLIPS deadline (15.3. or 15.9.) is not possible. Please allow for at least 8 weeks for correction of your paper. Questions regarding content can be clarified in Prof. Bongartz consultation hours.

In case you need to have your term paper corrected by a certain date (deadline for submission of the examination office or similar), please allow for at least 10 - 12 weeks for correction.

Independent studies

Prof. Bongartz only supervises the work of students who have contributed to at least one of her seminars and ideally have taken a previous MAP with her. Students preparing to write their final thesis with Prof. Bongartz take precedence. Before registering on KLIPS, suggest your topic during the office hours and only sign up with specific agreement.

Final theses

Supervision and topcis for any final thesis (Bachelor's, Master's, Master's and State) must be agreed upon with Prof. Bngartz during the office hours. All written theses with Prof. Bongartz must have a clear content-related relationship to English linguistics. Simply writing the work in English without reference to an English linguistic topic is not enough. Likewise, topics of general linguistics without reference to the English language are not possible.