Projects / Programmes
Theoretical and applied linguistic research: contrastive, synchronic and diachronic aspects
January 1, 2014
- December 31, 2016
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.05.01 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
Languages - research |
| 6.05.02 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
Theoretical and applied linguistics |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H350 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.02 |
Humanities |
Languages and Literature |
Researchers (28)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
In view of our research interests, as well as in view of the actual priorities of contemporary research in linguistics and in the humanities (in the Slovene and in the broadest international context), our research agenda is focused on investigating the rules and tendencies underlying the formal and functional components of language from the theoretical as well as from the system-oriented point of view, and an even greater emphasis is placed upon language use in concrete communicative situations. We strive to make our findings largely applicable to the fields of translation (including the majority of the studied languages and Slovene), lexicography (especially bilingual lexicography, i.e. Slovene-English/French/Spanish/Latin/Greek) and language teaching (of all the studied languages and Slovene). The research programme includes studies that are centred upon specific and general characteristics of English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek and Hittite, as well as studies that deal with contrastive aspects of these languages (with the exception of Hittite) in comparison with Slovene as the researchers' first language. The principal subfields of linguistics dealt with in our research are the following: text linguistics with discourse analysis and functional linguistics, stylistics and rhetoric, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, contrastive analysis, applied linguistics, historical and comparative linguistics of individual languages and in their relation to Slovene, word-formation, lexicology and lexicography, semantics, morphosyntax, phonetics, phonology and prosody, second-language teaching and learning, translation and interpreting research, corpus linguistics and language technology, generative grammar and naturalness theory.
Significance for science
Our research concerns principally those subfields of linguistics in which members of the research group have become internationally recognized experts. We expect that the results of their research will remain to be a useful contribution to the study of language in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Due to the role of English as the most important language of international communication, our work includes a substantial amount of research on the role of English as a foreign language in countries with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We are developing a methodologically clear and professionally sound approach to different aspects of English, in particular those that are internationally relevant with respect to its current function as aglobal language. Among the languages we investigate there are also various Romance languages as well as German, the latter being of particular importance in Slovenia both historically and at present. With regard to German and to those Romance languages that are important for Slovenia either as languages of international communication (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) or as languages of contact (Italian, Friulian), our principal contribution remains in the following areas: contrastive research of the functions of texts at all levels, from the systemic to the lexical and the phonological level, between these languages and Slovene; lexicological, lexicographic and translation projects; research of Italian-Slovene and German-Slovene bilingualism; research of language variation and change on the basis of observations of Slovene-Italian (also Slovene-Friulian) and Slovene-German language contacts as well as of Slovene-Spanish language contacts (among Argentinian Slovenes). A subarea of our research includes Romance loanwords of different origin in Slovene. In the field of general linguistics, our researchers contribute to the theory of natural syntax, morphology and phonology, as well as to the theory of universal grammar, generative grammar, language typology and psycholinguistics. The results are expected to be useful for further research of Slovene and for comparative linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and computer processing of language data. The general linguistic research encompasses topical aspects of language studies, either from a theoretical point of view or in connection with social and psychological variables (gender, age, social status, ethnic identity, cognitive capacity, perceptions, attitudes), whereas studies of the ancient languages, such as Hittite, combine classical comparative methods with modern approaches used in discourse analysis and in functional linguistics. The research work of our classicists, who study aspects of Latin and Greek at various stages of their development, make possible cross-fertilization between classical studies and contemporary approaches to text analysis. As far as Ancient Greek is concerned, an important lexicographic project has recently been successfully completed.
Significance for the country
We strongly believe that the political, economic and cultural development of Slovenia depends to a large degree upon our ability to communicate cross-culturally in effective ways, both in English as the primary lingua franca as well as in other languages which are important for the communication at the political, economic, cultural, scientific and educational levels. In order for Slovene speakers to be able to use foreign languages effectively, it is necessary to provide them with high-quality language teaching at all levels and to develop suitable language materials for different types of users and, above all, to carry out excellent research into foreign languages on their own and from the specific viewpoint of Slovene. Our aim has been to produce high-quality language manuals, dictionaries and textbooks as well as to contribute to contrastive research of language for specific purposes and to the improvement of foreign-language literacy. We have also worked on some lexicographic projects and continued to prepare for publication bilingual dictionaries in both paper and electronic format. To achieve these goals, we have carried on our contrastive research in all the languages studied by members of our research team. Great emphasis has been placed on the study of translation and interpreting, in order to better understand translation phenomena and to improve the practice of translation and interpreting. In Slovenia, the research on Romance languages is of exceptional importance for two reasons: first, because of its potential to contribute to the preservation of the global linguistic and cultural balance and because of the role these languages have played in Slovene cultural and general history. Second, for centuries there has been direct contact between Slovene on the hand and Italian and Friulian on the other; research on various contact phenomena should enable us to better understand the reality of bilingualism and biculturalism and to help their development. Of particular significance is also the research of German, which has for centuries been an important language of international communication in Slovenia. Our research on modern and classical languages has contributed, among other things, to the preservation of the classical Latin and Greek heritage through the enhancement of classical studies (mainly through lexicographic work) and will, hopefully, increase the awareness of the classical civilization as the basis of European culture and especially of their role in the study of modern languages.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2014,
2015,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2014,
2015,
final report
