Hans-Georg Wolf, University of Potsdam

The nativization or, to use an alternative term, indigenization of (second) language varieties in different geographical contexts is a phenomenon that has been most prominently investigated with respect to English but also applies to other pluricentric languages like French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Changes at the levels of pronunciation, grammar, and lexicon – the traditional playing fields of a structuralist view of linguistics – constitute but the proverbial tip of the iceberg of nativization. Nativization, properly understood, goes beyond changes due to language contact, but involves, first and foremost, cultural contact. This course will show how culture is realized in different varieties of a given language and how this realization can be systematically studied by means of Cultural Linguistics / Cognitive Sociolinguistics. Due to my disciplinary background, most of the examples will come from the English language. However, the theoretical principles and analytic methods introduced in this course are universally applicable, and students will be invited to contribute findings from their own linguistic and cultural backgrounds.