Reading and learning groups
The aim of the reading groups founded in the winter semester 2017/2018 is a joint in-depth reading of current research literature on information structure. On the one hand, this is intended to stimulate collaboration between the participating researchers and, on the other, the reading group contributes to the training of advanced MA students and doctoral candidates.
Reading group (formal) semantics
What does it actually mean for sentences to be true? How are meanings composed of smaller parts? And how can such questions be examined precisely using formal means?
We are starting a reading group on formal semantics and will
work together on texts at the intersection of linguistics,
philosophy and logic. The focus will be on questions of meaning,
truth, reference and compositionalism, as well as the formal tools used
to investigate them.
We will read the texts slowly and together, explain key
terms and take time for discussion and questions. The aim is to really understand the
content – not to get through as much material as possible.
The reading group is aimed at students and anyone interested in
linguistics, philosophy or related subjects. Prior knowledge is
helpful but not a prerequisite.
Location:
Language lab, Institute of German Studies,
Mozartgasse 8
Date:
As we are starting our reading group in the summer semester of 2026, we
can use a survey to find a common
weekly date.
Interested? Please contact us at one of the following email
addresses:
anlu.gruber@edu.uni-graz.at
anna.gruber@uni-graz.at
To the reading group "The Stats Enthusiasts"
Statistics is an important tool for all (aspiring) scientists who want to conduct empirical research.
In our reading group ("The Stats Enthusiasts"), we approach this topic in an accessible way by reading current literature and taking the time to discuss any puzzles we encounter.
We are currently finishing a modern and linguistics-focused introduction by an experienced empirical researcher (Bodo Winter), but we are already looking forward to what comes next. Our ideas so far for future literature are: "statistical power", "statistical tests and when to use which ones", "what are degrees of freedom" and Bayesian statistics.
We meet about once a week and make sure that everyone who wants to participate actually has time to join. Contact us anytime at maya.cortez-espinoza(at)uni-graz.at.
The syntax and prosody of discourse-configurational languages
The reading group will address issues of word order, permutability of word order and optionality of syntactic operations as well as information structure and prosody.
Of particular interest will be the issue of syntactic movement and prosodic recontouring as alternative means of encoding the same semantic interpretation, which will be examined in the context of specific argument structure configurations.
The focus will be mainly on theoretical discussions, although some experimental prosodic studies will also be analyzed. We will focus on (East) Slavic languages as a case study and draw cross-linguistic comparisons with Germanic languages where appropriate.
No prior knowledge of syntax is required for participation. We will start with an overview of the necessary basics in several sessions to bring everyone up to the same level.
Start: January 2024, date and time to be announced.
Contact person and discussion leader:
Svitlana Antonyuk, Department of Slavic Studies & Department of German Studies
Email: svitlana.antonyuk(at)uni-graz.at