Martin Lehmannn – författare

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0 (A), Free University of Berlin (Institute for English Philology), course: Lexical Semantics, language: English, abstract: [...] Who are the speaker and the addressee? When and where didthe utterance take place?The tokens I , you , next week and here are deictic expressions. According to CharlesJ. Fillmore (FILLMORE 1997: 1) [d]eixis can be defined as the anchorage of an utterancein the extralinguistic context. Anderson s and Keenan s definition (1985) is similar toFillmore s: Following standard usage, we consider as deictic expressions (or deicticsfor short) those linguistic elements whose interpretation in simple sentencesmakes essential reference to properties of the extralinguistic context of theutterance in which they occur. 1 (ANDERSON and KEENAN 1985: 259)The most frequently quoted definition (LENZ 2003: VII) of deixis comes from John Lyons(1977): By deixis is meant the location and identification of persons, objects, events,processes and activities being talked about, or referred to, in relation to thespatiotemporal context created and sustained by the act of utterance and theparticipation in it, typically, of a single speaker and at least one addressee. (Lyons 1977: 637)The definitions show that deixis does not merely belong to the field of semantics. The use ofdeictic elements depends on a particular context. Thus, deixis is on the interface of semanticsand pragmatics. Since deixis is a universal phenomenon, typologists examine its variationsand similarities throughout the languages of the world. The initial example shows that we relyheavily on deictic elements in every-day language. We refer to places, objects, persons, times,and many more things by means of deixis. Therefore, the study of deixis is not onlyinteresting to linguists but to anyone who is engaged in language in general. My approach is to use deictic elements in English as a starting point. I will then move on tocompare the strategies of English with those of other languages. My aims are to show how wide the range of deictic elements in human language is and how much the concepts ofcertain languages vary from what we are used to. There are different types of deixis: The main categories are local deixis, person deixis, socialdeixis, furthermore time deixis and manner deixis. This paper concentrates on local deixis, the prototype of deixis (SENNHOLZ 1985: 168-169). Additionally, a general overview onperson and social deixis is provived.

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7 (A-), Free University of Berlin (Institute for English Philology), course: Theatre of the 1890s: Wilde and Shaw, language: English, abstract: Lady Bracknell: [...] How old are you?Jack: Twenty-nine. Lady Bracknell: A very good age to be married at. I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know?Jack: (after some hesitation): I know nothing, Lady Bracknell. Lady Bracknell: I am pleased to hear it. I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Sqare. What is your income? (IBE: 25-26)As this initial example points out, the function of the dialogue in Wilde s The Importance of Being Earnest ( The Importance ) is radically different than in a classical drama. Lady Bracknell s statements do not really serve to promote the plot. They are discursive, absurd and irrelevant to the context, but at the same time almost philosophical and extremely hilarious and entertaining. What makes The Importance a great play is not its sophisticated plot but the multitude of epigrams, paradoxes, non sequiturs and witty repartees which can be found throughout the text. Dialogue has a value in itself and is more important than plot. Therefore it is not surprising that the antagonisms between the characters are less central then in dramas which rely mainly on the plot. At first sight, the similarities between the main characters are quite obvious. Algernon and Jack are of the same sex and approximately the same age. They are both handsome bachelors who are in love with a young girl. Similarly, Gwendolen and Cecily also have a lot of things in common. They are young girls who desire to get married, both of them are very beautiful and have an obsession with the name of Ernest. The parallel structure is emphasized by the actions the characters take. At several times, one character simply repeats or puts into other words what someone else has just said. Even the sentence structure is mainly the same.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, Free University of Berlin, course: First and Second Language Acquisition, language: English, abstract: [...] This extract from the Book of Genesis is perhaps the oldest recorded attempt to explain the thrilling diversity of languages in the western societies. Moreover, the tale of the Tower of Babel is probably the best-known story about language among ordinary citizens. Though virtually everyone has heard about Babel at some point, only few would link it to the concept of 'multilingualism' or be able to give an exact definition of the term. Scholars, on the other hand, have not come up with a universally accepted definition so far, either. The term 'multilingualism' is used here synonymously with 'bilingualism' and therefore applied in its broadest sense. For the time being, we consider as multilingualism / bilingualism the competence in more than one language or, in other words, we "e;encompass both the individuals who are fluent in two languages only and those whose linguistic repertoire consists of three or more languages"e;. Admittedly, this definition is rather inaccurate and vague. In the course of this work we will therefore seek for a much more elaborate understanding of bilingualism / multilingualism. But let us go back to the biblical story for a moment. Unfortunately, a negative attitude towards different languages, which is implicitly expressed in the curse of Babel, is nowadays still widely held when it comes to judging bilinguals and bilingualism. Even in this day and age many people see the simultaneous occurrence of several languages in one place not as a blessing but as an aberration. To them, monolingualism is the norm and hence the natural way of life. However, if we direct our attention to facts rather than fiction, it becomes immediately clear that multilingualism is neither abnormal nor unnatural. Instead, as BHATIA / RITCHIE veraciously state, "e;[b]ilingualism, - more generally, multilingualism - is a major fact of life in the world today."e; For a start, let us consider the domain of economics. The process of globalisation as well as improved travel opportunities have been causing increased mobility throughout the world. It is thus becoming a smaller place and interactions between people of different nations and cultures are getting much more frequent than in the past. As a result, ever more individuals are required to speak two or more languages. Despite these recent developments, the need to communicate with people who do not speak the same language as oneself is probably as old as history itself. [...]