Related Projects

Language Comprehension and Variable Word Order: Syntactic and Extra-Syntactic Factors in the Processing of German Sentences

(DFG; Ba 1178/4-3), second phase of the project since: 01.04.2002

Contact:

• Josef Bayer, Konstanz josef.bayer@uni-konstanz.de
• Markus Bader, Konstanz markus.bader@uni-konstanz.de
• Jens-Max Hopf, Magdeburg jens-max.hopf@uni-konstanz.de

Description: This project deals with language processing as a central part of human cognition. The longterm goal is the development of a theoretically sound and empirically valid model of language comprehension. This model should be able to answer the following two questions: (i) What is contributed to language comprehension by individual components of linguistic knowledge (Syntax, Semantics, Morphology, Phonology), and how are these constributions temporally ordered? (ii) Which cognitive architecture is most suitable for modelling these contributions.

At the heart of the project are experimental investigations into the processing of German sentences in which free word order and the morphology of Case play a central role. These experiments will provide the empirical basis for an answer to the questions in (i) and (ii). Given the complex nature of language processing, the project has an interdisciplinary orientation. Although its core domain is theoretical linguistics, its experimental part requires collaboration with the neighbouring fields cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

Publications: http://ling.uni-konstanz.de/pages/home/bayer/projekt_dfg_e.html