Linguistic Summer School of the German Association of Romance

Host Institution: University of Konstanz
Coordinating Institution: University of Regensburg
Website: https://www.ling.uni-konstanz.de/en/1/translate-to-englisch-drv-sommerschule-an-der-universitaet-konstanz/

Dates: 05-Aug-2025 - 08-Aug-2025
Location: Konstanz, Germany

Minimum Education Level: B.A.

Focus: Romance languages from a phonetic and phonological perspective, segmental aspects and prosody (intonation, rhythm), language acquisition, foreign language learning, interfaces

Description:

This year’s Linguistic Summer School of the German Association of Romance focuses on Romance languages from a phonetic and phonological perspective, emphasising not only segmental aspects but also prosodic ones. Although the phonetic side is undisputedly an essential component of every spoken language, syntactic perspectives often dominate linguistic theorising and discussion, while suprasegmental aspects such as rhythm and intonation in particular are often ignored. In recent years, however, it has become clear that research into these aspects is of central importance for a better understanding of first language acquisition and foreign language learning. On the other hand, research into phonetic and phonological issues also has a social relevance that should not be underestimated, as the way in which people realise their language(s) phonetically largely reflects their social identity and origin.

During the summer school from 5 to 8 August at the University of Konstanz, we offer young researchers not only an opportunity to present their own work and receive feedback from renowned experts from four countries, but also to get to know the latter personally and benefit from their experience.

The concept of the summer school therefore provides for a variety of practice-orientated and interactive workshops on methods, techniques and typical research problems in addition to expert lectures. For example, frequently occurring difficulties in the application of common annotation systems such as ToBI will be discussed and participants will learn how to visualise sound data with R as well as other workflows that elegantly and innovatively link acoustic analyses with statistical models and thus enable objective quantitative data evaluations. The summer school also gives career planning an important place with a round table and expert mentoring on personal and content-related goals. The content of the programme is rounded off by a social setting that offers participants the opportunity to network even better.

Invited experts
Aviad Albert (Universität zu Köln), Massimiliano Canzi (Universität Konstanz), Elisabeth Delais-Roussarie (Université de Nantes), Christoph Gabriel (Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz), Andrea Pešková (Freie Universität Berlin), Stephan Schmid (Universität Zürich), Maria del Mar Vanrell (Universitat de les Illes Balears)

Participants
The summer school offers space for 12 participants from the sub-disciplines of linguistics and Romance studies and is aimed at young researchers (from advanced students to doctoral and post-doctoral researchers) who are working on phonetic aspects of Romance languages. We are particularly interested in work that interfaces with other linguistic fields, for example the interaction of intonation with information structure and syntax, morphophonology or the effects of language contact and language acquisition. We also encourage the submission of early-stage projects.

Participation is free of charge, travel and accommodation are to be organised by the participants themselves. The social dinner and lunch will be covered for lecturing participants.

Application deadline: 18 May 2025
Announcement of acceptance: 30 May 2025

For further information (schedule, programme etc.) see
https://www.ling.uni-konstanz.de/linguistische-sommerschule-2025-konstanz/

Contact
Organisers: Jonas Grünke (Regensburg), Laura Hund (Konstanz), and Svenja Krieger (Konstanz)
If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to: [email protected]

Tuition: Free

Linguistic Field(s): Phonetics
Phonology

Subject Language(s): Catalan (cat)
French (fra)
Italian (ita)
Portuguese (por)
Spanish (spa)

Language Family(ies): Romance
Registration Open until 18-May-2025

Apply by Email: [email protected]
Apply on the web: https://www.ling.uni-konstanz.de/en/1/translate-to-englisch-drv-sommerschule-an-der-universitaet-konstanz/

Registration Instructions:
To apply, applicants must submit a one-page letter of motivation (in German, English or a Romance language) in which they briefly introduce themselves, their research interests and their project to be presented in a 20-minute talk (+ 10 minutes of discussion). Applicants who do not wish to present may also apply (in this case, please mention this in the letter of motivation and describe the reasons for participating in the summer school).

Applications (*.docx and *.pdf file) must be submitted to [email protected] by 18 May 2025. Acceptance will be announced by 30 May 2025.

Application deadline: 18 May 2025
Announcement of acceptance: 30 May 2025