Course syllabus

Welcome to German Linguistics! This course is taught concurrently, i.e. stage 2 and 3 are taught together. (And this year, stage 4 also, with German 735.)

course outline

GERMAN 213/313/735
"Introduction to German Linguistics"

points
15

prerequisites
German 102 for stage II (= German at A2 level)
German 201 for stage III (= German at B1 level)

convenor
Dr Anna Bauer -- a.bauer@auckland.ac.nz

course aims & objectives
This course introduces students to the structure of Modern German from a linguistics point of view. Alongside literature and culture studies, linguistics is one of the major pillars in the study of a modern language, and it enables students to engage with the language they are learning on a different level. Approaching German from a linguistic point of view affords the students a view of how Modern German works as a system, how interdependencies influence the system and determine its path during change. This effects a deeper understanding of the language and its system and makes the students more conscious of the linguistic patterns they encounter on a daily basis, both in German and in English. Additionally, students gain an insight into how their own language learning processes work, what stages they go through during their learning, and how they can approach and overcome difficulties.

weekly topics
1 - Introduction
2 - Semantics
3 - Syntax
4 - Morphology
5 - Phonology
6 - Corpus linguistics
7 - Language acquisition
8 - Interlanguages
9 - Language change I
10 - Language change II
11 - Language change III
12 - Varieties of German

teaching format
3 hours per week, thereof:
- 2 hours concurrently taught seminar for all (in English)
- 1 hour seminar per stage (stage II in English, stage III and above in German)

workload
10 hours per week (=15 points)

learning resources
all available via talis on Canvas

assessments
stage II
70% coursework
- 4 exercise assignments @ 15% each = 45%
    of these top three are counted = 3 x 15%
- 1 written essay (1,000 words) @ 10% prep + 15% essay = 25%
30% final exam
- 1 two hour written exam @ 30%

stage III
100% coursework
- 4 exercise assignments @ 15% each = 45%
      of these top three are counted = 3 x 15%
- 1 written essay (3,000 words) @ 15% prep + 40% essay = 55%

stage IV
100% coursework
- 4 exercise assignments in German @ 10% each = 30%
       of these top three are counted = 3 x 10%
- 1 response paper in German (500 words) @ 10%
- 1 presentation in German (10 minutes) @ 10%
- 1 written essay in German (3,000 words) @ 10% prep + 40% essay = 50%