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Sonja Zeman

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Institut für Deutsche Philologie, Post-Doc

Bamberg University, German Linguistics, Faculty Member

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Address: Institut für deutsche Philologie
der LMU München
Schellingstraße 3 / RG
D-80799 München
Germany
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Professur für Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft
Otto-Friedrich Universität Bamberg
96047 Bamberg
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Høgskolen i Østfold

Ruben Zimmermann

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam e.V.

Katharina König

University of Münster

Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Annika Hamachers

German Police University

Georg Weidacher

Silvia Ettl-Huber

University of Applied Sciences Burgenland

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Papers by Sonja Zeman

Narrativität als linguistische Kategorie

Zeitschrift für germanistische Linguistik, 2020

Parameters of Narrative Perspectivization: The Narrator

Open Library of Humanities 6/2, 28 [Special issue ‘The Language of Perspective’, herausgegeben von Corien Bary, Leopold Hess & Kees Thijs], 1–33., 2020

Narrations have traditionally been seen as linguistic artefacts that are mediated by someone who ... more Narrations have traditionally been seen as linguistic artefacts that are mediated by someone who is telling the story. As such, the narrator’s perspective constitutes a central parameter when exploring the possibilities of a unified approach to narrative perspective. With this in mind, this paper aims to take a closer look at the narrator from both theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Based on a review of the current state of the art with respect to narrative perspectivization in general, and the narrator’s perspective in particular, it leads to the conclusion that the narrator is best conceptualized as a covert viewpoint potential that can be actualized to different degrees. As such, the narrator’s perspective should not be identified with “plain narration”, but as a perspective that has to be established by linguistic cues. In a second step, this is supported by an empirical analysis of a specific narrative constellation in German which shows that the narrator’s perspective does not necessarily arise per default and examines which linguistic indicators are able to actualize the narrator’s point of view.

Textgrammatik in der dritten Dimension: Das mittelhochdeutsche Plusquamperfekt als Konnektor von mental spaces

Pasques, Delphine & Claudia Wich-Reif: Textkohärenz und Gesamtsatzstrukturen in der Geschichte der deutschen und französischen Sprache vom 8. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Weidler., 2020

Ausgehend von der methodischen Frage, auf welche Weise kognitive Ansätze der Diskursforschung auf... more Ausgehend von der methodischen Frage, auf welche Weise kognitive Ansätze der Diskursforschung auf historische Texte Anwendung finden können, rekonstruiert der Vortrag grammatische Muster zur Etablierung von Textwelten im Mittelhochdeutschen. Auf der theoretischen Grundlage der Text-Welt-Theorie (Werth 1999) und der théorie des espaces mentaux (Fauconnier 1984) wird das exemplarisch für den Bereich der Tempora durchgeführt.

Ut pictura poesis? The poetics of verbal imagery

How can verbal-cued poetry be ‘visual’, ‘pictorial’, and ‘vivid’? The chapter aims at looking beh... more How can verbal-cued poetry be ‘visual’, ‘pictorial’, and ‘vivid’? The chapter aims at looking behind such notions by isolating the basic semiotic mechanisms of vision, picture-viewing, and mental imagery and provides a descriptive model in order to investigate (i) the semiotic dimension of verbal imagery with respect to its ‘visual’ and ‘pictorial’ character and (ii) its relationship to the reader’s experience of mental imagery. Through exemplary analyses of visual poetry, onomatopoeia, figurative language, the historical present, and ekphrastic descriptions, it will be shown that the literary core concepts ‘visuality’, ‘pictoriality’ and ‘vividness’ refer to surface phenomena that are not directly linked to the phenomenal experience of visual perception and image-likeness. The results are discussed against the background of recent neuro-cognitive studies, leading to the conclusion that such notions should be given up in favor of a general model of representation in terms of poetic iconicity.

Episches Präteritum und Historisches Präsens

Huber, Martin & Wolf Schmid. 2017. Grundthemen der Literaturwissenschaft: Erzählen. Berlin / New York: de Gruyter., 2017

Ausgangspunkt des Beitrags bildet die These, dass es sich beim Epischen Präteritum (EP) und Histo... more Ausgangspunkt des Beitrags bildet die These, dass es sich beim Epischen Präteritum (EP) und Historischen Präsens (HP) um zwei komplementäre Perspektivierungsstrukturen handelt, deren Funktionen in literarischen Texten nur vor dem Hintergrund einer linguistisch fundierten Tempus-Theorie adäquat beschrieben werden können. Vor diesem Hintergrund liefert der Artikel eine grundlegende Klassifikation der Phänomene, die unter der Bezeichnung HP und EP diskutiert werden, und exemplifiziert deren Funktionen an konkreten Beispielen.

Perspektive / Fokalisierung

Huber, Martin / Schmid, Wolf (eds.). 2017. Grundthemen der Literaturwissenschaft: Erzählen. Berlin / New York: de Gruyter., 2017

Der Beitrag beschreibt Perspektivierung als kognitiv-linguistisches Grundprinzip. Diese Beschreib... more Der Beitrag beschreibt Perspektivierung als kognitiv-linguistisches Grundprinzip. Diese Beschreibung dient als Basis für eine Differenzierung unterschiedlicher Arten von Perspektivierung in Erzähltexten und eine Diskussion bestehender Modelle von Perspektive und Fokalisierung, deren Probleme anhand konkreter Beispiele literarischer Erzähltexte exemplifiziert werden.

Confronting perspectives: Modeling perspectival complexity in language and cognition

In search of a deeper understanding of perspective-taking, the paper aims at isolating the basic ... more In search of a deeper understanding of perspective-taking, the paper aims at isolating the basic components of complex perspectivization tasks. Based on the assumption that perspective is a relational concept constituted by the dynamic relation between a conceptualizer's point of view and a conceptualized object and, as such, a concept which is shared by both language and cognition, the paper draws a comparison between the developmental stages of cognitive perspectival capabilities, grammatical perspectivization, and viewpoint comprehension in narrative discourse. This comparison leads to a multi-stage model of degrees of perspectival complexity , whereby the most complex tasks in both language and cognition are characterized by a three-point constellation that integrates contrasting internal vs. external perspectives under a superordinated monitoring viewpoint. As a result, the paper argues that a concept of perspective 'taking' is not sufficient to capture the specific aspects of L(anguage)-perspectivization, but has to be complemented by a concept of 'confronting' perspectives.

Perspectivization as a link between narrative micro- and macro-structure

This chapter holds that the basic principle of narrative discourse structure can be deduced from ... more This chapter holds that the basic principle of narrative discourse structure can be deduced from cognitive-linguistic principles of perspectivization, which are manifested on different levels of linguistic structure in a recursive manner. This is shown in an analysis of point of view in grammar, on the sentential level as well as on the level of narrative discourse. In this connection, it is argued that the grammatical distinction between ‘speaker’ vs. ‘observer’ pervades the whole discourse and is reflected in the narratological differentiation between ‘narrator’ vs. ‘character’. Furthermore, it is argued against a background of ‘theory of mind’ that phenomena of focalization ought to be analyzed analogously to recursive embedding of epistemological levels of intentionality, i.e. hierarchical relations of propositional attitudes. As a consequence, it is the cognitive principle of perspectivization that can offer a tertium comparationis for an alignment of grammatical and textual levels and, thus, of narrative micro- and macro-structure. This line of analysis is illustrated in a final step by examining the perspectivization of Humbert Humbert’s reality in Nabokov’s Lolita.

Perspectives on narrativity and narrative perspectivization - Introduction

What makes a narrative text a narrative? This is the central question of the paper which functio... more What makes a narrative text a narrative?
This is the central question of the paper which functions as an introduction to the edited volume "Perspectivization on narrativity and narrative perspectivization" (2016, John Benjamins). Based on an overview of narratological and linguistic approaches to narrativity, it argues for a dynamic account that sees narrativity as a specific constellation of perspectivization that dynamically emerges from the interaction between the textual structure and the recipient’s interpretation.

The auxiliation of the verbum substantivum in German (plu)perfect constructions

The chapter addresses instances of 'war gewesen' (i.e. BE-PRET + BE-PARTII) in the colloquial reg... more The chapter addresses instances of 'war gewesen' (i.e. BE-PRET + BE-PARTII) in the colloquial register of Modern High German which display the form of a pluperfect but seem to be used in an absolute-deictic function of a general past tense. Based on an empirical analysis of the relationship between 'war gewesen' and the grammaticalization of (plu)perfect constructions, it is argued with respect to the auxiliation of 'sein' (BE) that the participle 'gewesen' functions as an extension mechanism such as described analogously for double perfect forms (DPF) and denotes the EXISTENCE of a state of being.

The Elementary Particles of Distance in Space, Time, Grammar, and Discourse

Barbara Sonnenhauser & Anastasia Meermann (eds.), Distance in Language. Grounding a Metaphor. , 2015

In order to explore the descriptive potential and explanatory power of the concept of distance, t... more In order to explore the descriptive potential and explanatory power of the concept of distance, the contribution aims at a unifying taxonomy that is able to account for different phenomena of distance on the level of the language system and its usage at the level of discourse. This goal is pursued in two steps: Firstly, an exemplary analysis of spatial and temporal localization will be used to show that distance, as a metaphorical concept accounting for the additional space between two spatial locations, seen from a third point linked to an evaluator’s stance, is a fundamental as well as a ubiquitous relation which lies at the bottom of linguistic perspectivization and conceptualization in general. Secondly, a comparison of grammatical and discourse distance leads to a matrix of micro-relationships of distance that serve as a descriptive taxonomy for complex configurations of distance on the different levels of linguistic structure. Such a microscopic view suggests that distance cannot be seen as a category by itself, but rather as a basic relation, which forms an ultimate constituent of linguistic substance in general, an elementary linguistic particle.

(C)Overt modality and its perspectival effects on the textual surface

Modes of Modality. Modality, Typology, and Universal Grammar, 2014

With an eye on the universal status of modality, the paper focuses on covert and overt grammatica... more With an eye on the universal status of modality, the paper focuses on covert and overt grammatical coding of epistemic modality and its perspectival effects on the textual surface. Based on a theoretical discussion concerning the core principle of root vs. epistemic modality, it is argued that the grammatical structure of epistemic modality is reflected on the sentence level, on the textual surface, and within narrative discourse, and thus is manifested in a recursive manner on different levels of linguistic structure. In consequence, it is claimed that the universal status of modality can be pinned down not only cross-linguistically, but also within the language itself. En passant, the alignment of linguistic micro- and macro-structure sheds light on the basic question what modality is about in its core meaning.

Historische Mündlichkeit. Empirische Erörterung einer theoretischen Problemlage

While there is common agreement that “orality” has to be considered a crucial factor in analyzing... more While there is common agreement that “orality” has to be considered a crucial factor in analyzing historical data, it is still an open question how this should be done in a theoretically as well as empirically satisfying manner. In this respect, the paper aims at a comparison of different empirical and theoretical approaches to “ancient orality” in order to determine the factors which have so far prevented an alignment of different perspectives: Taking particular “oral” phenomena as a point of reference, the main thesis of the paper claims that the traditional binary distinction “oral” vs. “written” is neither an absolute concept nor does it adequately account for the complex historical (and present-day) conditions. Instead, it is shown by means of a detailed empirical analysis of different “oral” phenomena that (at least) three different dimensions on two different levels of “orality” have to be taken into account. This leads to a three-dimensional model of “orality” which is discussed concerning its implications with regard to a theory of “ancient orality” and present spoken language.

Zur Diachronie der Modalverben: 'sollen' zwischen Temporalität, Modalität und Evidentialität

Funktionen von Modalität, 2013

Vor dem Hintergrund der allgemeinen Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Modalität und Temporalität disk... more Vor dem Hintergrund der allgemeinen Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Modalität und Temporalität diskutiert der Artikel exemplarisch die diachrone Ausprägung temporaler, reportiver und epistemischer Modalverblesarten des Modalverbs ‚sollen‘. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Verwendung von mhd. ‚suln‘ + Inf. zum Ausdruck zukünftigen Zeitbezugs, die aus zwei Perspektiven problematisiert wird: Während sich aus der Temporalitätsperspektive eine Beschreibung als „Futur-Periphrase“ als unzureichend erweist, um die Polysemie der Form erfassen zu können, greift gleichermaßen aus der Modalitätsperspektive eine Ableitung aus dem lexikalischen Quell-Konzept zu kurz. Unter Bezugsetzung der zeitreferentiellen Werte und modalen Bedeutungskomponenten wird dagegen argumentiert, dass sich futurische wie evidentiell-epistemische Lesarten unter Bezug auf eine ‚de dicto‘-Komponente aus der relationalen Struktur des Modalverbs ableiten lassen. Aus dieser Perspektive ergibt sich ein modifizierter Blick auf die „Futur-Periphrasen“, dessen Konsequenzen abschließend am empirischen Datenmaterial zu diskutieren sind.

Vergangenheit als Gegenwart? Zur Diachronie des Historischen Präsens

Sprachwandel im Neuhochdeutschen, 2013

Ausgehend von einer Problematisierung temporaler Beschreibungsansätze zur Erfassung des sogenannt... more Ausgehend von einer Problematisierung temporaler Beschreibungsansätze zur Erfassung des sogenannten Historischen Präsens geht der Beitrag dessen diachroner Vergangenheit nach. Auf der Basis einer terminologischen Differenzierung der unterschiedlichen Präsens-Varianten mit „Vergangenheitsbezug“ wird anhand von Belegen aus dem Mhd. und Frnhd. dafür argumentiert, dass die Verwendungsweise diachron nicht auf eine „Gegenwartsbedeutung“, sondern auf die evaluative Funktion metanarrativer „Erzähler“-Kommentare zurückführt.

More than ‘time’: The grammaticalization of the German tense system and the ‘frame of reference’ as a crucial interface between space and time.

Space and time in Languages and Cultures. Language diversity, 2012

As space and time are considered to be conceptually intertwined, it seems natural to ask to what ... more As space and time are considered to be conceptually intertwined, it seems natural to ask to what extent the spatial concept of “frame of reference” (Levinson 2003) can serve as a template for comparison of spatial and temporal localisation in language.
This question is pursued from a historical perspective by means of the Middle High German tense system. It is shown that the distinction of an ‘anaphoric’ vs. ‘deictic’ reference system is a crucial factor for the binary constitution of the Middle High German tense system. Taking into account the underlying frame of reference not only allows an appropriate semantic description but is also capable of explaining register variation which cannot be handled within a pure temporal approach. Against this background, possible correspondences between grammatical and sociocultural developments as the medial shift from orality to literacy are discussed

GIB - Glossar der Bildphilosophie, 2013

Glossar-Artikel zum Stichwort "Perspektivik"

'Mündlichkeit' ist nicht gleich 'Mündlichkeit': Implikationen für eine Theorie der Gesprochenen Sprache

Pragmatischer Standard , 2013

Ausgehend von der Problematisierung einer eindimensionalen Unterscheidung ‚gesprochen‘ vs. ‚gesch... more Ausgehend von der Problematisierung einer eindimensionalen Unterscheidung ‚gesprochen‘ vs. ‚geschrieben‘ ist es Ziel des Beitrags, anhand einer stigmatisierten Tempus-Verwendung exemplarisch die Mehrdimensionalität der unter dem Konzept von
‚Mündlichkeit' erfassten Phänomenbereiche aufzuzeigen. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden grundlegende Implikationen für eine pragmatische Erfassung der Interdependenz von Grammatik und
‚Mündlichkeit‘ und die damit verbundenen Konsequenzen hinsichtlich der theoretischen Erfassung eines 'Pragmatischen Standards‘ diskutiert.

‘Grammaticalization’ within pictorial art? Searching for diachronic principles of change in picture and language.

IMAGE - Zeitschrift für interdisziplinäre Bildwissenschaft, 2011

Based on theoretical and methodological considerations regarding the interrelationship between pi... more Based on theoretical and methodological considerations regarding the interrelationship between picture and language with respect to their diachronic development, the article deals with the question whether and to what extent the process of grammaticalization as a general principle of language change can be likened to the development of narrative pictures. Against this background, it is argued with respect to a broader perspective of image science that a level of comparison for picture and language can be found within a functional-relational semiotic account.

Textuelle Schnittstellen als Grammatikalisierungskatalysatoren für Vergangenheitslesarten

Schnittstellen. Diskussionsforum Linguistik in Bayern / Bavarian Working Papers in Linguistics 1, 2012

Against the background of the general discussion with regard to the interdependency of grammar an... more Against the background of the general discussion with regard to the interdependency of grammar and textual structure, the article deals with the question to what extent ‘textual interfaces’ (i.e. episodic boundaries, transitions from narrator’s to character’s speech and from ‘on-’ to ‘off-plot’) can be considered catalyzing the grammaticalization of past readings. In this respect it is argued that ‘textual interfaces’ display methodological windows on the initial moment of language change.

Narrativität als linguistische Kategorie

Zeitschrift für germanistische Linguistik, 2020

Parameters of Narrative Perspectivization: The Narrator

Open Library of Humanities 6/2, 28 [Special issue ‘The Language of Perspective’, herausgegeben von Corien Bary, Leopold Hess & Kees Thijs], 1–33., 2020

Narrations have traditionally been seen as linguistic artefacts that are mediated by someone who ... more Narrations have traditionally been seen as linguistic artefacts that are mediated by someone who is telling the story. As such, the narrator’s perspective constitutes a central parameter when exploring the possibilities of a unified approach to narrative perspective. With this in mind, this paper aims to take a closer look at the narrator from both theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Based on a review of the current state of the art with respect to narrative perspectivization in general, and the narrator’s perspective in particular, it leads to the conclusion that the narrator is best conceptualized as a covert viewpoint potential that can be actualized to different degrees. As such, the narrator’s perspective should not be identified with “plain narration”, but as a perspective that has to be established by linguistic cues. In a second step, this is supported by an empirical analysis of a specific narrative constellation in German which shows that the narrator’s perspective does not necessarily arise per default and examines which linguistic indicators are able to actualize the narrator’s point of view.

Textgrammatik in der dritten Dimension: Das mittelhochdeutsche Plusquamperfekt als Konnektor von mental spaces

Pasques, Delphine & Claudia Wich-Reif: Textkohärenz und Gesamtsatzstrukturen in der Geschichte der deutschen und französischen Sprache vom 8. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Weidler., 2020

Ausgehend von der methodischen Frage, auf welche Weise kognitive Ansätze der Diskursforschung auf... more Ausgehend von der methodischen Frage, auf welche Weise kognitive Ansätze der Diskursforschung auf historische Texte Anwendung finden können, rekonstruiert der Vortrag grammatische Muster zur Etablierung von Textwelten im Mittelhochdeutschen. Auf der theoretischen Grundlage der Text-Welt-Theorie (Werth 1999) und der théorie des espaces mentaux (Fauconnier 1984) wird das exemplarisch für den Bereich der Tempora durchgeführt.

Ut pictura poesis? The poetics of verbal imagery

How can verbal-cued poetry be ‘visual’, ‘pictorial’, and ‘vivid’? The chapter aims at looking beh... more How can verbal-cued poetry be ‘visual’, ‘pictorial’, and ‘vivid’? The chapter aims at looking behind such notions by isolating the basic semiotic mechanisms of vision, picture-viewing, and mental imagery and provides a descriptive model in order to investigate (i) the semiotic dimension of verbal imagery with respect to its ‘visual’ and ‘pictorial’ character and (ii) its relationship to the reader’s experience of mental imagery. Through exemplary analyses of visual poetry, onomatopoeia, figurative language, the historical present, and ekphrastic descriptions, it will be shown that the literary core concepts ‘visuality’, ‘pictoriality’ and ‘vividness’ refer to surface phenomena that are not directly linked to the phenomenal experience of visual perception and image-likeness. The results are discussed against the background of recent neuro-cognitive studies, leading to the conclusion that such notions should be given up in favor of a general model of representation in terms of poetic iconicity.

Episches Präteritum und Historisches Präsens

Huber, Martin & Wolf Schmid. 2017. Grundthemen der Literaturwissenschaft: Erzählen. Berlin / New York: de Gruyter., 2017

Ausgangspunkt des Beitrags bildet die These, dass es sich beim Epischen Präteritum (EP) und Histo... more Ausgangspunkt des Beitrags bildet die These, dass es sich beim Epischen Präteritum (EP) und Historischen Präsens (HP) um zwei komplementäre Perspektivierungsstrukturen handelt, deren Funktionen in literarischen Texten nur vor dem Hintergrund einer linguistisch fundierten Tempus-Theorie adäquat beschrieben werden können. Vor diesem Hintergrund liefert der Artikel eine grundlegende Klassifikation der Phänomene, die unter der Bezeichnung HP und EP diskutiert werden, und exemplifiziert deren Funktionen an konkreten Beispielen.

Perspektive / Fokalisierung

Huber, Martin / Schmid, Wolf (eds.). 2017. Grundthemen der Literaturwissenschaft: Erzählen. Berlin / New York: de Gruyter., 2017

Der Beitrag beschreibt Perspektivierung als kognitiv-linguistisches Grundprinzip. Diese Beschreib... more Der Beitrag beschreibt Perspektivierung als kognitiv-linguistisches Grundprinzip. Diese Beschreibung dient als Basis für eine Differenzierung unterschiedlicher Arten von Perspektivierung in Erzähltexten und eine Diskussion bestehender Modelle von Perspektive und Fokalisierung, deren Probleme anhand konkreter Beispiele literarischer Erzähltexte exemplifiziert werden.

Confronting perspectives: Modeling perspectival complexity in language and cognition

In search of a deeper understanding of perspective-taking, the paper aims at isolating the basic ... more In search of a deeper understanding of perspective-taking, the paper aims at isolating the basic components of complex perspectivization tasks. Based on the assumption that perspective is a relational concept constituted by the dynamic relation between a conceptualizer's point of view and a conceptualized object and, as such, a concept which is shared by both language and cognition, the paper draws a comparison between the developmental stages of cognitive perspectival capabilities, grammatical perspectivization, and viewpoint comprehension in narrative discourse. This comparison leads to a multi-stage model of degrees of perspectival complexity , whereby the most complex tasks in both language and cognition are characterized by a three-point constellation that integrates contrasting internal vs. external perspectives under a superordinated monitoring viewpoint. As a result, the paper argues that a concept of perspective 'taking' is not sufficient to capture the specific aspects of L(anguage)-perspectivization, but has to be complemented by a concept of 'confronting' perspectives.

Perspectivization as a link between narrative micro- and macro-structure

This chapter holds that the basic principle of narrative discourse structure can be deduced from ... more This chapter holds that the basic principle of narrative discourse structure can be deduced from cognitive-linguistic principles of perspectivization, which are manifested on different levels of linguistic structure in a recursive manner. This is shown in an analysis of point of view in grammar, on the sentential level as well as on the level of narrative discourse. In this connection, it is argued that the grammatical distinction between ‘speaker’ vs. ‘observer’ pervades the whole discourse and is reflected in the narratological differentiation between ‘narrator’ vs. ‘character’. Furthermore, it is argued against a background of ‘theory of mind’ that phenomena of focalization ought to be analyzed analogously to recursive embedding of epistemological levels of intentionality, i.e. hierarchical relations of propositional attitudes. As a consequence, it is the cognitive principle of perspectivization that can offer a tertium comparationis for an alignment of grammatical and textual levels and, thus, of narrative micro- and macro-structure. This line of analysis is illustrated in a final step by examining the perspectivization of Humbert Humbert’s reality in Nabokov’s Lolita.

Perspectives on narrativity and narrative perspectivization - Introduction

What makes a narrative text a narrative? This is the central question of the paper which functio... more What makes a narrative text a narrative?
This is the central question of the paper which functions as an introduction to the edited volume "Perspectivization on narrativity and narrative perspectivization" (2016, John Benjamins). Based on an overview of narratological and linguistic approaches to narrativity, it argues for a dynamic account that sees narrativity as a specific constellation of perspectivization that dynamically emerges from the interaction between the textual structure and the recipient’s interpretation.

The auxiliation of the verbum substantivum in German (plu)perfect constructions

The chapter addresses instances of 'war gewesen' (i.e. BE-PRET + BE-PARTII) in the colloquial reg... more The chapter addresses instances of 'war gewesen' (i.e. BE-PRET + BE-PARTII) in the colloquial register of Modern High German which display the form of a pluperfect but seem to be used in an absolute-deictic function of a general past tense. Based on an empirical analysis of the relationship between 'war gewesen' and the grammaticalization of (plu)perfect constructions, it is argued with respect to the auxiliation of 'sein' (BE) that the participle 'gewesen' functions as an extension mechanism such as described analogously for double perfect forms (DPF) and denotes the EXISTENCE of a state of being.

The Elementary Particles of Distance in Space, Time, Grammar, and Discourse

Barbara Sonnenhauser & Anastasia Meermann (eds.), Distance in Language. Grounding a Metaphor. , 2015

In order to explore the descriptive potential and explanatory power of the concept of distance, t... more In order to explore the descriptive potential and explanatory power of the concept of distance, the contribution aims at a unifying taxonomy that is able to account for different phenomena of distance on the level of the language system and its usage at the level of discourse. This goal is pursued in two steps: Firstly, an exemplary analysis of spatial and temporal localization will be used to show that distance, as a metaphorical concept accounting for the additional space between two spatial locations, seen from a third point linked to an evaluator’s stance, is a fundamental as well as a ubiquitous relation which lies at the bottom of linguistic perspectivization and conceptualization in general. Secondly, a comparison of grammatical and discourse distance leads to a matrix of micro-relationships of distance that serve as a descriptive taxonomy for complex configurations of distance on the different levels of linguistic structure. Such a microscopic view suggests that distance cannot be seen as a category by itself, but rather as a basic relation, which forms an ultimate constituent of linguistic substance in general, an elementary linguistic particle.

(C)Overt modality and its perspectival effects on the textual surface

Modes of Modality. Modality, Typology, and Universal Grammar, 2014

With an eye on the universal status of modality, the paper focuses on covert and overt grammatica... more With an eye on the universal status of modality, the paper focuses on covert and overt grammatical coding of epistemic modality and its perspectival effects on the textual surface. Based on a theoretical discussion concerning the core principle of root vs. epistemic modality, it is argued that the grammatical structure of epistemic modality is reflected on the sentence level, on the textual surface, and within narrative discourse, and thus is manifested in a recursive manner on different levels of linguistic structure. In consequence, it is claimed that the universal status of modality can be pinned down not only cross-linguistically, but also within the language itself. En passant, the alignment of linguistic micro- and macro-structure sheds light on the basic question what modality is about in its core meaning.

Historische Mündlichkeit. Empirische Erörterung einer theoretischen Problemlage

While there is common agreement that “orality” has to be considered a crucial factor in analyzing... more While there is common agreement that “orality” has to be considered a crucial factor in analyzing historical data, it is still an open question how this should be done in a theoretically as well as empirically satisfying manner. In this respect, the paper aims at a comparison of different empirical and theoretical approaches to “ancient orality” in order to determine the factors which have so far prevented an alignment of different perspectives: Taking particular “oral” phenomena as a point of reference, the main thesis of the paper claims that the traditional binary distinction “oral” vs. “written” is neither an absolute concept nor does it adequately account for the complex historical (and present-day) conditions. Instead, it is shown by means of a detailed empirical analysis of different “oral” phenomena that (at least) three different dimensions on two different levels of “orality” have to be taken into account. This leads to a three-dimensional model of “orality” which is discussed concerning its implications with regard to a theory of “ancient orality” and present spoken language.

Zur Diachronie der Modalverben: 'sollen' zwischen Temporalität, Modalität und Evidentialität

Funktionen von Modalität, 2013

Vor dem Hintergrund der allgemeinen Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Modalität und Temporalität disk... more Vor dem Hintergrund der allgemeinen Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Modalität und Temporalität diskutiert der Artikel exemplarisch die diachrone Ausprägung temporaler, reportiver und epistemischer Modalverblesarten des Modalverbs ‚sollen‘. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Verwendung von mhd. ‚suln‘ + Inf. zum Ausdruck zukünftigen Zeitbezugs, die aus zwei Perspektiven problematisiert wird: Während sich aus der Temporalitätsperspektive eine Beschreibung als „Futur-Periphrase“ als unzureichend erweist, um die Polysemie der Form erfassen zu können, greift gleichermaßen aus der Modalitätsperspektive eine Ableitung aus dem lexikalischen Quell-Konzept zu kurz. Unter Bezugsetzung der zeitreferentiellen Werte und modalen Bedeutungskomponenten wird dagegen argumentiert, dass sich futurische wie evidentiell-epistemische Lesarten unter Bezug auf eine ‚de dicto‘-Komponente aus der relationalen Struktur des Modalverbs ableiten lassen. Aus dieser Perspektive ergibt sich ein modifizierter Blick auf die „Futur-Periphrasen“, dessen Konsequenzen abschließend am empirischen Datenmaterial zu diskutieren sind.

Vergangenheit als Gegenwart? Zur Diachronie des Historischen Präsens

Sprachwandel im Neuhochdeutschen, 2013

Ausgehend von einer Problematisierung temporaler Beschreibungsansätze zur Erfassung des sogenannt... more Ausgehend von einer Problematisierung temporaler Beschreibungsansätze zur Erfassung des sogenannten Historischen Präsens geht der Beitrag dessen diachroner Vergangenheit nach. Auf der Basis einer terminologischen Differenzierung der unterschiedlichen Präsens-Varianten mit „Vergangenheitsbezug“ wird anhand von Belegen aus dem Mhd. und Frnhd. dafür argumentiert, dass die Verwendungsweise diachron nicht auf eine „Gegenwartsbedeutung“, sondern auf die evaluative Funktion metanarrativer „Erzähler“-Kommentare zurückführt.

More than ‘time’: The grammaticalization of the German tense system and the ‘frame of reference’ as a crucial interface between space and time.

Space and time in Languages and Cultures. Language diversity, 2012

As space and time are considered to be conceptually intertwined, it seems natural to ask to what ... more As space and time are considered to be conceptually intertwined, it seems natural to ask to what extent the spatial concept of “frame of reference” (Levinson 2003) can serve as a template for comparison of spatial and temporal localisation in language.
This question is pursued from a historical perspective by means of the Middle High German tense system. It is shown that the distinction of an ‘anaphoric’ vs. ‘deictic’ reference system is a crucial factor for the binary constitution of the Middle High German tense system. Taking into account the underlying frame of reference not only allows an appropriate semantic description but is also capable of explaining register variation which cannot be handled within a pure temporal approach. Against this background, possible correspondences between grammatical and sociocultural developments as the medial shift from orality to literacy are discussed

GIB - Glossar der Bildphilosophie, 2013

Glossar-Artikel zum Stichwort "Perspektivik"

'Mündlichkeit' ist nicht gleich 'Mündlichkeit': Implikationen für eine Theorie der Gesprochenen Sprache

Pragmatischer Standard , 2013

Ausgehend von der Problematisierung einer eindimensionalen Unterscheidung ‚gesprochen‘ vs. ‚gesch... more Ausgehend von der Problematisierung einer eindimensionalen Unterscheidung ‚gesprochen‘ vs. ‚geschrieben‘ ist es Ziel des Beitrags, anhand einer stigmatisierten Tempus-Verwendung exemplarisch die Mehrdimensionalität der unter dem Konzept von
‚Mündlichkeit' erfassten Phänomenbereiche aufzuzeigen. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden grundlegende Implikationen für eine pragmatische Erfassung der Interdependenz von Grammatik und
‚Mündlichkeit‘ und die damit verbundenen Konsequenzen hinsichtlich der theoretischen Erfassung eines 'Pragmatischen Standards‘ diskutiert.

‘Grammaticalization’ within pictorial art? Searching for diachronic principles of change in picture and language.

IMAGE - Zeitschrift für interdisziplinäre Bildwissenschaft, 2011

Based on theoretical and methodological considerations regarding the interrelationship between pi... more Based on theoretical and methodological considerations regarding the interrelationship between picture and language with respect to their diachronic development, the article deals with the question whether and to what extent the process of grammaticalization as a general principle of language change can be likened to the development of narrative pictures. Against this background, it is argued with respect to a broader perspective of image science that a level of comparison for picture and language can be found within a functional-relational semiotic account.

Textuelle Schnittstellen als Grammatikalisierungskatalysatoren für Vergangenheitslesarten

Schnittstellen. Diskussionsforum Linguistik in Bayern / Bavarian Working Papers in Linguistics 1, 2012

Against the background of the general discussion with regard to the interdependency of grammar an... more Against the background of the general discussion with regard to the interdependency of grammar and textual structure, the article deals with the question to what extent ‘textual interfaces’ (i.e. episodic boundaries, transitions from narrator’s to character’s speech and from ‘on-’ to ‘off-plot’) can be considered catalyzing the grammaticalization of past readings. In this respect it is argued that ‘textual interfaces’ display methodological windows on the initial moment of language change.

Die Zukunft von Grammatik - Die Grammatik der Zukunft

Die Zukunft von Grammatik - Die Grammatik der Zukunft, 2018

Der Band umfasst Beiträge zu einem Symposium über die „Zukunft von Grammatik – Die Grammatik der ... more Der Band umfasst Beiträge zu einem Symposium über die „Zukunft von Grammatik – Die Grammatik der Zukunft“, das vom 12. bis 13. Februar 2016 zu Ehren des 80. Geburtstags von Werner Abraham an der LMU München abgehalten wurde. Thematisiert wird der Stellenwert von Grammatikschreibung, Grammatiktheorie und Universalgrammatik in einer Zeit, die sich zunehmend von der Beschreibung und Erklärung grammatischer Strukturen sowie von übereinzelsprachlichen Generalisierungen abwendet, was einer Entwissenschaftlichung von Linguistik gleichkommt. Der Band zeigt, dass die Grammatik der Zukunft weiterhin auf Generalisierungen auf hohem analytischen Niveau angewiesen ist; exemplarisch wird das in Beiträgen zu Modalität, Passiv, Auxiliarselektion, zur Grammatik der Sprechakte und nicht zuletzt am Beispiel der Kodierung von Zukunft in der Grammatik sowie weiteren grammatischen Kategorien, Phänomenen und Subdisziplinen (Insubordination, Diminutivbildungen, quantitativer und qualitativer Dialektologie) aufgezeigt. Es wird deutlich, dass Sprachtheorien optische Instrumente darstellen, mit denen sprachliche Daten mit höherer Auflösung wahrgenommen werden können als mit theoriefernen und vermeintlich datennahen Ansätzen in Teilströmungen der aktuellen Linguistik.

Perspectives on Narrativity and Narrative Perspectivization

by Natalia Igl and Sonja Zeman

Reviewed in: Discourse Studies 19,2 (2017), p. 236-237 (Yunfeng Shi). URL: http://journals.sagep... more Reviewed in: Discourse Studies 19,2 (2017), p. 236-237 (Yunfeng Shi).
URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461445617691706a.

The book offers a novel approach to the question of how to model narrativity against the background of perspectivization. By bringing together contributions from neuro- and cognitive linguistics, literary studies, and picture theory, the volume uncovers basic mechanisms of perspectivization that are common to the different levels of linguistic structure, literary novels, and narrative pictures. As such, it is also a book on narrative perspectivization since its contributions examine in detail the perspectival principles in medieval, romantic and postmodern literature, in the micro-linguistic structure of language, narrative pictures, literary novels, dramatic texts, and everyday stories. In doing so, it contributes both to the theoretical debate on the core definition of narrativity and offers new empirical investigations on perspectival principles in specific historical, medial, and genre constellations. This volume will be of interest to scholars and students of cognitive linguistics, narrative research and (transmedial) narratology, cognitive poetics, and stylistics.

Tempus und Mündlichkeit im Mittelhochdeutschen. Zur Interdependenz grammatischer Perspektivensetzung und „Historischer Mündlichkeit“ im mittelhochdeutschen Tempussystem

Review: Evans, Vyvyan. 2013. Language and Time. Cambridge.

Review: Buchwald-Wargenau, Buchwald-Wargenau, Isabel (2012): Die doppelten Perfektbildungen im Deutschen. Eine diachrone Untersuchung. Berlin / New York: De Gruyter [= Studia Linguistica Germanica 115].

LinguistList, 2013

What is a Narration – and why does it matter

Despite the increasing interest in textual structure and the specific use of linguistic means in ... more Despite the increasing interest in textual structure and the specific use of linguistic means in narratives, the concept of Narration has so far not been an issue of theoretical concern within linguistics and has been rather used than defined or problematized. In this respect, the chapter aims at a closer look at the concept of Narration itself. Starting point is the basic assumption that the analysis of Free Indirect Discourse (FID) – a phenomenon which seems to be restricted to Narration only – will offer insights with respect to characteristics of the underlying narrative structure when read “against the grain”. In this regard, the alignment of formal approaches of context shift and cognitive approaches of perspectivization leads to the conclusion that the narratological differentiation between narrator and character can be seen as a projection of the grammatical differentiation between speaker vs. observer, which is reflected on the different linguistic levels in a recursive manner. In consequence, it is argued that it is the complex unfolding of different layers of discourse that allows for poly-perspectival resp. metarepresentational effects on the textual macro-structure and hence constitutes a core characteristic of Narration. Against this background, the proposed model is not only able to align micro- and macro-structural accounts of Narration, but also allows for a new perspective on the specific use of grammatical means in narrative discourse mode. In this respect, it will become clear that Narration does indeed matter for linguistics.