Poster-Practice Doctoral colloquium HS22
| Lecturer(s) | Sarah Faidt & Marta Rodriguez Garcia |
| Date | Wednesday, 19th October 2022, 10:15 - 12:00 |
| Location | Spalenberg 65 Basel Switzerland |
In our first session of the doctoral colloquium this semester,
Marta and Sarah will discuss and practice their posters for the HPSL Day in Freiburg.
The session will take place on Wednesday, the 19th of October
Sarah Faidt (Basel, German Linguistics):
Unterwegs auf komplexen PFADen – Pleonastische Konstruktionen im Erwerb räumlicher Sprache im Deutschen
A less common lexicalization pattern for PATH marking has not been topic to research in greater detail, namely pleonastic constructions which are characterized by two semantically congruent adpositional slots with PATH/GROUND information (e.g., in das Haus rein ‘in the house into’). This project connects to research suggesting pleonastic constructions as supporting structures in children’s development of prepositional phrases (Bryant, 2012). Yet, figures on the use and function of pleonastic constructions in spontaneous speech are missing up to now. This study aims at filling this gap by addressing two main aspects: i) the frequency and development of pleonastic constructions in natural child-adult interaction, and ii) the question of pleonastic constructions as supporters. First results reveal that children use pleonastic constructions from early on in a comparable way as adults do. Hints to a
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supporting function were found in terms of correlated usage frequencies of pleonastic and prepositional constructions which speaks in favor of their status as precursor structures. The study’s results may contribute to effective teaching strategies in order to facilitate children’s development of spatial language and cognition. This is relevant considering that early competence in spatial language impacts mathematical understanding (Möhring et al., 2021) – and thereby later academic success.
Bryant, D. (2012). Lokalisierungsausdrücke im Erst- und Zweitspracherwerb. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider.
Lieven, E. & Stoll, S. (2013). Early communicative development in two cultures. Human Development, 56, pp. 178–206.
Möhring, W.; Ribner, A.; Segerer, R.; Libertus, M.; Kahl, T.; Troesch, L.M. & Grob, A. (2021). Developmental trajectories of children’s spatial skills: Influencing variables and associations with later mathematical thinking. Learning and Instructions, 75, 101515.
Marta Rodriguez Garcia (Basel, Spanish Linguistics):
Yanito among young adults in Gibraltar: bilingualism and identity
Gibraltar is a British territory located at the southern edge of the Iberian Peninsula in which a unique cultural and linguistic situation has evolved. Previous studies have shown interest in generational analysis, focusing special attention on linguistic changes and evolution. Those analyses register an almost-exclusive use of Spanish among the oldest generation and a drastic switch to English (official language) among the youngest generation. The use of English, not only in official and formal situations, but also in a familiar context, seems to be accompanied by the loss of Spanish among the young (Kellerman 2001; Moyer 1992; Weston 2013). However, not much research has been done on either a comprehensive analysis of bilingualism in young adults or its connection to the rising of a national identity. This project focuses on getting an understanding of the linguistic situation among the young population in Gibraltar. The aim is to determine if bilingualism and the vernacular language of the community: yanito/llanito continue to be part of the linguistic and cultural identity of the new generations aged between 18 and 35. For this purpose, the project conducts an analysis of two different objects using an online methodology: first, focus groups and daily conversations in search of speech patterns and pragmatic elements; secondly, ethnographic and language use questionnaires to account for differences among speakers’ yanito.