Talk by Kathryn Barnes, Thursday – October 31, 4-6 pm

by Anke Himmelreich Comment Closed
We are happy to announce a talk by Kathryn Barnes. Please find an abstract below. Title: Modals in Malay Room: IG 4.301 Date: October 31 Time: 4pm - 6pm Abstract: Crosslinguistic research into modal systems outside of Europe has revealed systematic variation in how modal force, strength and flavour are grammaticalised in different languages. This talk aims to give an initial analysis of the grammaticalisation of these features in modality in Malay, looking specifically at the necessity modals mesti (must) and perlu (need). The data collected through semantic fieldwork with speakers of Malay found that the modals display previously observed behaviour with regard to flavour; mesti varies between epistemic and root modal flavour, with perlu being restricted to root modality. However, both modals vary between weak and strong necessity readings and their root readings are also gradable, with perlu consistently being stronger than mesti. The use of a degree-based analysis of necessity modals, initially put forward by Portner & Rubinstein (2016), to interpret mesti and...
Read More

Ab- und Antrittsvorlesungen / farewell and inaugural lecture Phonologie

by Anke Himmelreich Comment Closed
On July 3rd we celebrated Prof. Caroline Féry's retirement at the end of september and Prof. Frank Kügler's appointment as her successor. It was a wonderful and festive event, and here you can find a collection of short pieces for Caroline written by various friends and colleagues that were presented to her at the event: Tweets 'n Greets for Caroline Féry. Caroline has contributed immensely to the success of the Institute in Frankfurt and we are all very lucky, both professionally and personally, to have been her colleagues, so: thank you, Caroline!...
Read More