skip to main contentskip to main menuskip to footer Universität Bielefeld Play
skip to main content
skip breadcrumb navigation to main content

  • Current research projects

    © Universität Bielefeld

Current research projects

This project aims to fill a research gap that exists in the field of World Englishes (WE) as well as Variational Pragmatics (VP). Taking Namibian English (NamE) as its primary research object, it will construct a pragmatic profile of this African variety of English that characterizes the unique aspects of the pragmatic norms and practices entertained by its speakers. The methodological framework for this endeavour will be developed specifically for the case of Namibia, taking into account its particular linguistic ecology. At the same time, we envision the framework as a valuable tool for future research on the pragmatics of WE, one that can be adjusted to the specific parameters of other varieties while maintaining its methodological viability and principles.

The research project addresses the following desiderata: First, it will update the still nascent body on the pragmatics of African Englishes in general and NamE specifically, adding much needed data to the endeavour of compiling a comprehensive account of the pragmatics of Englishes worldwide. Second, in this it will pay specific attention to the impact of pragmatic transfer from a variety of first and second languages spoken in Namibia, underlining the relevance of this factor for the pragmatic description of multilingual, post-colonial language ecologies such as found in Namibia. To this end, it will thirdly develop a research methodology that serves these goals by adapting a robust empirical framework to the specific characteristics of the Namibian linguistic ecology, carried out in close collaboration with local research partners. This centrally includes a systematic and synergistic combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, allowing us to adhere to the principle of contrastivity central to VP while properly taking into account the emic perspective and socio-cultural complexity of the language community in question. As a fourth point, this framework will function as a proposed blueprint for systematically introducing pragmatic inquiry into WE research, and establish a reliable starting point for further investigating the pragmatics of NamE, e.g. through natural language data or corpus methodology.

This project will start in October 2022.

Third-party funding: DFG – Individual Grants Programme | Project Number: 497900728

Authentic Englishes.nrw - Produktion von digitalen Lehr- und Lernangeboten zu verschiedenen Varietäten des Englischen für das Landesportal Digitale Hochschule NRW. Das Projekt wird finanziert in der Förderlinie OERContent.nrw und erfolgt in Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. Dr. Ilka Mindt (Universität Paderborn), Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gut (Universität Münster) und Dr. Peter Schildhauer (Universität Bielefeld). Die Fördersumme beträgt insgesamt ~500.000€.

Dieses Projekt läuft ab Oktober 2020 an.

Weitere Informationen zu diesem Projekt finden Sie hier.

Deskription des namibischen Englisch auf allen anderen Ebenen der linguistischen Beschreibung. In diesem Projekt bearbeiten wir einerseits soziolinguistische Fragestellungen zu Sprachgebrauch und Spracheinstellungen auf der Basis einer Fragebogenerhebung und mittels qualitativer Interviews, andererseits gewinnen wir fundierte Erkenntnisse zur Phonetik sowie der Grammatik des namibischen Englischen auf der Basis der aufgenommenen und transkribierten Sprachdaten. Projekt in Zusammenarbeit mit Dr. Sarah Buschfeld und PD Dr. Alexander Kautzsch (Universität Regensburg) sowie mit Prof. Dr. Markus Bieswanger (Universität Bayreuth).

Publikationen zu diesem Forschungsprojekt:

  • Schröder, Anne (ed.). 2021. The Dynamics of English in Namibia. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
  • Buschfeld, Sarah and Anne Schröder. 2020. "English and German in Namibia." In Raymond Hickey, ed. English in the German-speaking World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Kautzsch, Alexander and Anne Schröder. 2016. "English in Multilingual and Multiethnic Namibia: Some Evidence on Language Attitudes and on the Pronunciation of Vowels." In Christoph Ehland, Ilka Mindt, and Merle Tönnies, eds. Anglistentag 2015 Paderborn. Proceedings. WVT: Trier, 277-288.
  • Zähres, Frederic. 2016. Vowels in Namibian English: Investigating the NURSE-WORK Vowel Split. MA-Thesis, Bielefeld University. (Betreut von Anne Schröder und Alexander Kautzsch)

Vorträge zu diesem Forschungsprojekt:

  • Schröder, Anne and Marion Schulte. 2019. "From the Centre to the Periphery: Namibias Linguistic Landscapes in Windhoek and Swakopmund." Paper accepted for presentation at the 24th Conference of the International Association for World Englishes (IAWE), 20.6.-22.6.2019, Limerick.
  • Buschfeld, Sarah and Anne Schröder. 2019. "Structural Nativization in a Peripheral Non-postcolonial English: Investigating the Present Perfect in Namibian English." Paper accepted for presentation at the 24th Conference of the International Association for World Englishes (IAWE), 20.6.-22.6.2019, Limerick.
  • Schröder, Anne, Frederic Zähres and Alexander Kautzsch. 2018. "Ethnic Variation in Namibian English. A First Approach to Baster English." Paper presented at the International Congress of Linguists (ICL), 20, July 2-6, 2018, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Kautzsch, Alexander, Anne Schröder and Frederic Zähres. 2017. "The Phonetics of Namibian English: Investigating Local Features in a Global Context." Paper presented at the IAWE Conference, June 30 - July 2, 2017, Syracuse University, NY.

Standards, Margins, New Horizons II. Canons for 21st-century Teaching. Internationale Konferenz an der Universität Bielefeld am 31.03. und 01.04.2022.

Call-for-Papers_New-Horizons_Deadline: 30. Juni 2018

Flyer -Standard s- Margins - New-Horizons; 4./5. April 2019

Plakat - Standard s- Margins - New-Horizons; 4./5. April 2019

Call-for-Papers_New-Horizons-II_Deadline: 01. Juli 2021.pdf
 

Publikationen zu diesem Forschungsprojekt:

  • Anne, Schröder, Peter Schildhauer and Jochen Sauer. 2020. Standards - Margins - New Horizons. Teaching Language and Literature in the 21st Century. PraxisForschungLehrer*innenbildung. Zeitschrift für Schul- und Professionsentwicklung (PFLB).

Untersuchung pragmatischer Phänomene des namibischen English im Vergleich mit anderen Varietäten des Englischen. Zunächst auf der Basis des von Klaus Schneider und Anne Barron entwickelten Fragebogens Questionnaire on English Usage (QEU), später aber auch auf der Basis umfassenderer Daten aus Rollenspielen, Focus-Group-Discussions, Interviews, Radio, Korpora u.a., vergleichen wir systematisch Responses to Thanks, Requests, Small Talk u.ä. und können das Verhältnis des namibischen Englisch zu anderen L2-/bzw. Lernervarietäten einerseits und zu L1-Varietäten andererseits und damit pragmatische Besonderheiten des namibischen Englisch beschreiben. Projekt in Zusammenarbeit mit Prof. Dr. Klaus P. Schneider (Applied English Linguistics, Universität Bonn).

Dieses Projekt wird unter 'A Pragmatic Profile of Namibian English (PraProNE): Exploring norms of communicative behaviour in a multilingual ecology' weitergeführt.

Publikationen zu diesem Forschungsprojekt:

  • Schneider, Klaus P. and Anne Schröder Fc. "Small Talk in Namibia." In: Susanne Mohr, Klaus P. Schneider, eds. Communicative Action and Interaction in Africa. Pragmatics & Beyond. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
  • Schröder, Anne and Klaus P. Schneider. 2021. "A variational pragmatic approach to responses to thanks in Namibian English: From quantitative to qualitative analysis." In: Anne Schröder, ed. The Dynamics of English in Namibia. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 195–215.
  • Kauschke, Daniela. 2019. Small Talk in Namibia, Canada, and the USA. MA-Thesis, Bielefeld University (Supervised by Anne Schröder and Klaus P. Schneider)
  • Schröder, Anne and Klaus P. Schneider. 2018. "Variational Pragmatics, Responses to Thanks, and the Specificity of Namibian English." English World-Wide 39:3, 338-363.

Vorträge zu diesem Forschungsprojekt:

  • Kern, Friederike, Anne Schröder and Klaus P. Schneider. 2018. "Variational Pragmatics meets Contrastive Pragmatics: English and German Responses to Thanks in Namibia." Paper presented at the 4th International Conference of the American Pragmatics Association (AMPRA). 1.-3.11.2018, Albany, New York.
  • Schröder, Anne and Klaus P. Schneider. 2018. "New Perspectives on the Pragmatics of Namibian English. From Quantitative to Qualitative Analysis." Paper presented at the International Congress of Linguists (ICL) 20. 2.-6.7.2018, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Schröder, Anne and Klaus P. Schneider. 2017. "Local and Global Perspectives on the Pragmatics of Namibian English." Paper presented at the 22nd Conference of the International Association for World Englishes (IAWE). 30.6.-2.7.2017, Syracuse, N.Y.
  • Schneider, Klaus P. and Anne Schröder. 2016. "The Pragmatics of Namibian English: A Focus on Requests." Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference of the American Pragmatics Association (AMPRA). 4. - 6.11.2016, Bloomington, Indiana.
  • Schröder, Anne and Klaus P. Schneider. 2015. "Variational Pragmatics and the Specificity of English in Namibia." Paper presented at the 21st Conference of the International Association for World Englishes (IAWE). 8.-10.10.2015, Istanbul.
back to top