Nutzungsstatistiken von linguistischen Online-Ressourcen: Potentiale und Limitationen

Dictionary usage research views dictionaries primarily as tools for solving linguistic problems. A large proportion of dictionary use now takes place online and can thus be easily monitored using tracking technologies. Using the data gathered through tracking usage data, we hope to optimize user experiences of dictionaries and other linguistic resources. Usage statistics are also used for external evaluation of linguistic resources. In this paper, we pursue the following three questions from a quantitative perspective: (1) What new insights can we gain from collecting and analysing usage data? (2) What limitations of the data and/or the collection process do we need to be aware of? (3) How can these insights and limitations inform the development and evaluation of linguistic resources?

Die Sprachlandschaft des schulischen Raums

The study of signage in educational settings (‘schoolscape’) is a recent development in linguistic landscape research. Some approaches to schoolscapes focus on signs in schools of various types, which are coded for formal and functional characteristics, including language choice. Other approaches examine signs alongside spatial practices, e. g. the arrangement of furniture and classroom activities, thereby taking the viewpoints of teachers, students and parents into consideration. The research presented in this paper centers on school signs. We propose an analytical framework for schoolscape research which integrates the geosemiotic framework by Scollon and Scollon (2003), the classification of school signage by Gorter and Cenoz (2015), the notion of ‘sign genres’ from linguistic landscape studies and text linguistics, and a context-sensitive approach to spatial differences within educational institutions. Our framework includes four interlocking levels of examination: (a) discourses, i. e. knowledge-and-power configurations, indexed by a sign; (b) genres by which a discourse is materialized in space; (c) a sign’s precise spatial location, e. g. a classroom as opposed to the school foyer, and (d) the semiotic resources that are routinely deployed for various genres of school signage. Empirical evidence comes from a case study of a secondary school in Hamburg, with more than 550 signs photographed and coded. The paper presents an exhaustive analysis of this data in terms of seven discourses, each materialized by a number of genres and with a specific spatial distribution in the school. The potential of this framework for future schoolscape research is discussed.

Deko oder Didaktik? Mehrsprachigkeit in Schulbüchern für Sachfächer

In 2013 and 2015, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) passed resolutions based on theoretical and empirical research that called for the integration of multilingualism in textbooks for all subjects. The aim of these resolutions is to recognise and make use of all the resources, i. e. all the experience and skills, that students bring to the classroom to promote their development and to portray the great diversity of their environments. In the project SAMMELN, 33 textbooks for 17 subjects were quantitatively analysed, resulting in N=2,301 occurrences. The results show that, although multilingual elements regularly appear in textbooks across all subjects, these consist mainly of single words or phrases and are rarely included into tasks. Furthermore, the prevalence of languages that are frequently taught in German schools and of languages that are no longer spoken, is remarkable. In contrast, heritage languages that are commonly found in Germany, are rarely represented. These results suggest that multilingual elements present in textbooks are of predominantly decorative nature with little potential for multilingual pedagogy and without any connection to the language environment of the students.

„Ist es B2-Niveau genug?“

This contribution focuses on the use of the multifunctional German word form es in the learner corpora MERLIN and DISKO (1,452 texts; 3,700 manually annotated occurrences of es). These corpora cover a wide proficiency range (A1-C1), and they include an L1 control group. Due to its multiple functions, using es is assumed to be challenging for learners. After laying out its main functional features, this paper first addresses the question of whether the frequency patterns of es actually differ between L1 und L2 texts, which is shown to be true only for beginning learners, and whether differences related to learners’ L1 can be observed, which seems to be the case. Secondly, the study links the emerging use of different es types and their relative frequencies to CEFR proficiency levels. A third focus regards the accuracy of es usage, which is generally high but differs among the various es functions, with anaphoric es presenting the greatest challenge for learners. A closer look at interlanguage structures reveals that learners often omit compulsory es and that they use redundant es in peculiar syntactic slots. Furthermore, the use of anaphoric es without clear textual reference regularly encumbers the reading process of the texts.

Die Nativierung des Standarddeutschen

Presently, Standard German is in the process of becoming a nativized variety of German after centuries without native speakers. Over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first century, an increasing number of speakers have acquired Standard German as a first language, marking an important transitional phase in its social history. The article first discusses this from a theoretical and socio-historical perspective before providing empirical evidence for this change: Drawing on data from an apparent time study (involving 142 participants aged 20 to 90) and an experimental elicitation (from 35 kindergartners), it documents that at the present stage two typologically distinct systems can be observed in Southern Germany: Both a non-standard suprasegmental system that allows stressed syllables to be light and the Standard German system that requires stressed syllables to be heavy exist and are used simultaneously. The analyses show an ongoing shift towards the Standard German syllable system, proving that the Standard German syllable system is indeed undergoing a nativization process. The article closes with implications for language teaching, variational linguistics and the typological assessment of German that arise from these findings.

‚können‘ als kommunikative Ressource zur Markierung des Möglichkeitsraums bei Teilhabeeinschränkungen

To people with impairments, communicating their capabilities to participate in social life is a central issue. In this paper, we examine these very capabilities in the context of the use of the German modal verb können. We show that in the present data – group conversations from ‘Future Workshops’ embedded in the research project ‘Gut leben in NRW’ – the modal verb functions as a communicative resource which participants use to mark and articulate their own capabilities on a linguistic as well as interactional level, to negotiate them and to position themselves along with it. On the methodological level, concepts from two different disciplines are linked: the social science capability approach of Sen (2010) and Nussbaum (1999) and conversation analysis according to Deppermann (2008 [1999])