Reading group

The objective of the reading group, which was established in the winter term of 2017/18, is to read and discuss recent literature on information structure. This activity is meant to spur collaborative work between the involved scholars and at the same time to contribute to the training of advanced master and doctoral students in the field.

Statistics

Statistics is vital for all (aspiring) scientists who want to conduct empirical research. In our reading group (“The stats-enthusiasts”), we approach this topic in a low-threshold manner, reading state-of-the art literature and taking our time to discuss all puzzles we encounter. Right now, we are finishing a modern and linguistics-centered introduction by an experienced empirical researcher (Bodo Winter), but we are already looking forward to what comes next. Our ideas so far are: “statistical power”, “statistical tests and when to use which”, “what are degrees of freedom”, and Bayesian statistics.

We meet about once a week, always making sure that whoever wants to join, actually has time to join. If you are interested in joining, please feel free to contact us at maya.cortez-espinoza(at)uni-graz.at

Reading/learning group "The syntax and prosody of discourse-configurational languages"

The reading group will deal with questions of word order, the permutability of word order and the optionality of syntactic operations as well as information structure and prosody. Of particular interest will be the issue of syntactic movement and prosodic recontouring as alternative means of encoding the same semantic interpretation, which will be examined in the context of specific argument structure configurations. The focus will be mainly on theoretical discussions, although some experimental prosodic studies will also be analyzed. We will focus on (East) Slavic languages as a case study and draw cross-linguistic comparisons with Germanic languages where appropriate. No prior knowledge of syntax is required for participation. We will start with an overview of the necessary basics in several sessions to bring everyone up to the same level.

Start: January 2024, date and time to be announced.

Contact person and discussion leader: Svitlana Antonyuk (svitlana.antonyuk(at)uni-graz.at; Institute of Slavic Studies & Institute of German Studies).