In my research program, I combine the latest methodological and theoretical insights of modern linguistics comparatistically with a detailed description of (a few) languages in order to gain a universal picture of the structure of language. I examine this central interest from different perspectives.
Main research topics
- Basics of linguistics
- Semantics / Pragmatics
- Syntax / Morphology
- Prosody / discourse and information structure
- Historical linguistics
- German - contrastive
Research associations
SFB 1252 Prominence in Language
In the Collaborative Research Center "Prominence in Language" (SFB 1252), over sixty researchers from the University of Cologne have been working in an interdisciplinary team since 2017 on a comprehensive description and modeling of celebrity relations in language.
CLIP: Center for Language, Information and Philosophy
The interdisciplinary Center for Language, Information and Philosophy at the interface between linguistics and philosophy focuses on intensive collaboration in the fields of linguistics, formal semantics and pragmatics as well as logic and analytical philosophy of language.
CCLS: Cologne Center of Language Sciences
The CCLS is a cross-institutional teaching and research center of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cologne. It acts as an interface between all linguistically working institutions of the university.
Conference series
RED: Referential Expressions in Discourse
In annual international workshops, the RED series deals with various semantic and pragmatic effects of referential expressions. Taking into account current research results, models of discourse structure as well as various methods of interpreting referential expressions are examined.
GAKT: Germanistische Linguistik zwischen Köln und Tokio (German Linguistics between Cologne and Tokyo)
The GAKT conference series is a cooperation between the University of Cologne and the University of Tokyo, in which selected linguistic phenomena of German and Japanese are examined from a contrastive perspective, compared and embedded in a theoretical discussion.
The Research Network for Referential Categories in Spanish and other Romance Languages is an international network in the field of reference categories in Romance languages. Special interest is focused on the syntax-semantics interface with regard to the grammatical implementation of animation, specificity, definiteness and related categories.
Completed cooperations & networks
- 2016-2017: Workshop series Cologne Ankara Discourse Meeting (CADiM)
- 2014-2016: Founding member and speaker of the Emerging Group Dynamic Structuring in Language and Communication, which was supported by the University of Cologne with approx. 1 million euros as part of the Excellence Initiative.
- 2013-2015: Involved in the inter-institutional and inter-faculty project Sprache im Labor, which was funded by the Rectorate's "Innovation in Teaching" program from summer semester 2013 to winter semester 2015.
- 2012-2014: Member of the research network Questions in Discourse
- seit 2009: Foundation of the network Semantik und Pragmatik im Südwesten and organization of a first conference (SPSW1) in Stuttgart
- 2008-2012: Founding director and speaker of the interfaculty Research network Linguistics and Cognition (FSK) at the university of Stuttgart
- 2001-2003:Member of the Center for Young Researchers (since 2007 Zukunftskolleg) at the University Konstanz