Interactional Grammar: Appositions and apposition-like constructions in spoken German as instances situated between interactional practices and syntactic patterns

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Evelyn Ziegler, since 10/2016
• Subject Area: Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
• Term: from 2014 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 245437051

The project is intended as a contribution to the definition of syntax in a narrow sense and conversational structure in a broader sense, with a special focus on those areas where syntax and conversational structure interact. Based on an empirical analysis of wide appositions and apposition-like constructions in spoken German (including multimodal interactions), it is asked to what extent these structures can be treated as syntactic phenomena - i.e. as patterns - and how far they have to be analyzed as open and adaptive conversational practices. In the latter case, the conversation analytic terminology (increment, repair, reformulation etc.) would be better suited to describe appositions. Besides the question of syntactic pattern vs. open conversational practice, it will also be asked how appositions are realized prosodically and multimodally, i.e. how gestures, mimics and body movement come into play when appositions are produced and whether these prosodic and multimodal aspects can help differentiate between various types of appositions. Furthermore, it has to be asked whether these prosodic and multimodal aspects are part of the syntactic definition of appositions or if they should rather be treated not as parts of the grammar of appositions but of their interactional management. In the project, the analysis of the functions of appositions and apposition-like structures play a crucial role, most of all those functions concerning the interactional management (sequential organization; talking-into-being of genres etc.). So far, there is no research on those interactional aspects of appositions.Based on the empirical analysis of appositions, the intended project is meant as a contribution to the development of an interactional grammar, focusing on how grammar-in-interaction can emerge between more or less fixed patterns on the one hand and open processes and practices on the other.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Professorin Dr. Susanne Günthner; Professorin Dr. Anja Stukenbrock
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Imo, until 9/2016