Universität Wien

122048 PS Proseminar Linguistics 2 (2013W)

Discourse Markers

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung

Discourse markers are words like well, you know, like etc. They are often referred to as fillers by laymen, as they do not seem to have meaning and do not fulfill any obvious function. Also in linguistics this view was held and these items were sometimes called mystery particles, as their characteristics were hard to pin down even for experts.
In recent years the study of these mysterious words has become immensely popular and, after numerous investigations of discourse markers, there is now widespread consensus that they are characterized by a complex meaning and serve multiple functions in discourse. Despite, or maybe because of this plethora of research, there are many definitions of what discourse markers are and many different approaches to their investigation. The aim of this course is to give an overview of these different approaches. In doing so we will address the following questions: (i) how can discourse markers be defined and how do definitions given in the literature differ from one another? (ii) how do discourse markers come into being historically? (iii) which methods and what kind of data can be used to investigate them? (iv) how are discourse markers used by language learners?
While the course will focus on English, we will also discuss examples from other languages and we will spend at least one session discussing discourse markers in (Austrian) German.

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").

Details

max. 25 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

  • Montag 07.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 14.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 21.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 28.10. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 04.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 11.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 18.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 25.11. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 02.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 09.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 16.12. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 13.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 20.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Montag 27.01. 16:00 - 18:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

Discourse markers are words like well, you know, like etc. They are often referred to as fillers by laymen, as they do not seem to have meaning and do not fulfill any obvious function. Also in linguistics this view was held and these items were sometimes called mystery particles, as their characteristics were hard to pin down even for experts.
In recent years the study of these mysterious words has become immensely popular and, after numerous investigations of discourse markers, there is now widespread consensus that they are characterized by a complex meaning and serve multiple functions in discourse. Despite, or maybe because of this plethora of research, there are many definitions of what discourse markers are and many different approaches to their investigation. The aim of this course is to give an overview of these different approaches. In doing so we will address the following questions: (i) how can discourse markers be defined and how do definitions given in the literature differ from one another? (ii) how do discourse markers come into being historically? (iii) which methods and what kind of data can be used to investigate them? (iv) how are discourse markers used by language learners?
While the course will focus on English, we will also discuss examples from other languages and we will spend at least one session discussing discourse markers in (Austrian) German.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

Students will be assessed on the basis of an oral presentation, their reading responses (see above), and a short term paper.

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

The aim of the course is to introduce participants to the study of discourse markers from a variety of perspectives.

Prüfungsstoff

In-class presentations and discussions, reading responses (short written texts in response to the texts to be prepared), hands-on exercises analyzing language data, term paper.

Literatur

To be announced in the first session.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Studium: BA 612;
Code/Modul: BA06.1;
Lehrinhalt: 12-2042

Letzte Änderung: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33