Department of Linguistics/Philosophy

Learning a foreign language has always been rather demanding job. Learning our mother tongue, we have already acquired certain patterns of behavior that language units exhibit and when learning a new language we first notice the differences in these patterns. We become particularly aware of the differences between the patterns of our mother and second language because we memorize new language by contrasting it to the first one. However, when it comes to similarities between the languages, we do not tend to be so careful. We usually take them for granted and imply that if two language units exhibit similarity they also exhibit equality. This false similarity then misleads us into false equality. We tend to believe that words that are pronounced similarly have the same meaning, which is not always the case. The same implies to phonemes. We are well aware of the English phonemes that do not exist in our own language and believe that those existing in both languages are equal. However, ...

Key words: English, nouns, meaning, number, alteration ABSTRACT Exceptions to the rules phenomenon within a language system have always been a problem in the process of learning a foreign language. There are prescribed rules about the use of language and there are exceptions to these rules which cannot be found in grammar books. As language changes from one minute into another, so do the rules it is governed by. Such is the case of English nouns. English plural invariable nouns which according to the grammar rules can only have plural form also have their singular forms existing in English and they have different meaning from their plural form. This paper addresses this teaching and learning challenge raising awareness of the nouns which change their meaning when they are used in their singular form. The methodology used in the paper is giving the necessary theoretical background and semantic analysis of the example nouns. The results of the analysis show that there is a considerabl...

Konversationsanalyse, die deutsche Übersetzung für „Conversation Analysis“, bezeichnet zumeist jene Forschungsrichtung, die eine Gruppe amerikanischer Soziologen um Harvey Sacks und Emanuel Schegloff in den 1960er Jahren initiiert hat, mit dem Ziel Harold Garfinkels Ethnomethodologie zu konkretisieren und anzuwenden. Diese strikt empirisch arbeitende Konversationsanalyse (KA) untersucht soziale Interaktion als einen fortwährenden Prozess der Hervorbringung und Absicherung sinnhafter sozialer Ordnung (Bergmann 2007, 525) und siedelt sich an der Schnittstelle von Soziologie und Linguistik an (Schegloff 1991). Besonders im deutschen und romanischen Sprachraum trifft man allerdings auch auf linguistische Analysen von Gesprächen, die sich als konversationsanalytisch bezeichnen, ohne im ethnomethodologischen Paradigma verhaftet zu sein. Unter „Konversation“ kann weiters sehr Unterschiedliches verstanden werden. Emanuel Schegloff präferiert überhaupt „talk-in-interaction“, um soziale Interaktionen als Untersuchungsobjekt der Konversationsanalyse vom Gespräch in seiner umgangssprachlichen Bedeutung zu unterscheiden (zuletzt Schegloff 2007, XIV). Unter dem konversationsanalytischen Etikett hat sich folglich eine Reihe von – nicht immer völlig kompatiblen – Forschungsansätzen entwickelt, die mitunter auch ihre Unterschiede und Gegensätzlichkeiten streitbar diskutieren. Für den deutschen Sprachraum ist außerdem zu beachten, dass sich als Gesprächs- oder Diskursanalyse bekannt gewordene Ansätze mit dem konversationsanalytischen Programm überschneiden können (Kallmeyer 2005, 1213; Gülich 2001, 197).

This contribution draws on the preliminary results of a project that uses translanguaging and plurilingual texts during an intervention (of six months) in one primary and one lower secondary school class in Vienna. Although Viennese pupils’ linguistic repertoires are highly diverse, pupils usually barely get a chance to use their respective repertoires at school, because of a focus on highly prestigious languages, such as German or English. We assumed that pupils would positively experience the use of their plurilingual competences to gain self-efficacy. Moreover, we expected that group dynamics would improve due to the use of translanguaging. Results of the ethnographic observations and interviews we conducted with one teacher at each school at the end of the intervention are discussed in this article. They support the conclusion that school classes that are linguistically diverse benefit from intervention at the socioemotional level. However, it is crucial that teachers pay partic...

ABSTRACT This contribution positions Breton minority language education, as supplied by Diwan, against the background of European and French language policy. Since intergenerational language transmission is practically non-existent in Brittany today, education is crucial for the future of the Breton language, which can be considered a part of the endangered linguistic heritage of Europe. The schools of Diwan are particularly renowned for producing highly proficient Breton speakers. The article adopts a critical perspective towards the ideological positions taken by Diwan by addressing language minority schooling as a type of multilingual education. In going beyond the additive-subtractive opposition of multilingual education, it is argued that Diwan is actually situated in a transitory phase between a monoglossic and a heteroglossic ideological frame. Monoglossic ideologies originating in the diglossic lens prevailing at the time Diwan was founded are characterized by the strict separation of languages as well as by linguistic and cultural essentialism. Apparently, these ideologies are a substantial part of Diwan's pedagogic program and practice. On the other hand, and particularly against the background of global multilingualism, a certain plea for more flexibility and dynamism can be identified within Diwan, which might impact upon the schools' profile in the future.

Abstract This contribution begins with a terminological discussion of 'receptive multilingualism'and related concepts. Subsequently, approaches to developing receptive competences in Romance languages in general, and Italian in particular, as well as their ...

This overview of six years of research on language learning and teaching in Austria covers a period of dynamic development in the field. While all the studies reviewed here illustrate research driven by a combination of local and global concerns and theoretical frameworks, some specific clusters of research interest emerge. The first of these focuses on issues connected with multilingualism in present-day society in terms of language policy, theory development and, importantly, the critical scrutiny of dominant discursive practices in connection with minority and migrant languages. In combination with this focus, there is a concern with German as a second or foreign language in a number of contexts. A second cluster concerns the area of language testing and assessment, which has gained political import due to changes in national education policy and the introduction of standardized tests. Finally, a third cluster of research concerns the diverse types of specialized language instruc...

Konversationsanalyse, die deutsche Übersetzung für „Conversation Analysis “, bezeichnet zumeist jene Forschungsrichtung, die eine Gruppe amerikanischer Soziologen um Harvey Sacks und Emanuel Schegloff in den 1960er Jahren initiiert hat, mit dem Ziel Harold ...