English Department
English Department

Culture in Language - Variation in Research

 July 18-20, 2014

Venue Altes Heizhaus Accommodation Information Questionnaire and Registration 2011 Conference 2012 Conference 2013 Conference

This small international conference combines three perspectives:

  • Chemnitz students present their BA and MA projects to a wider audience,
  • international ERASMUS partners add their own specific approaches to widen the perspective, and
  • partners from a DAAD project on "Academic Writing for SE Europe"  will discuss their work.

Over the last few years, our conference has been honoured by the presence of scholars who stay has been funded by the Alexander-von-Humbold Foundation, we aknowledge their generous support, esp. for the buffet and excursion.

Together we would like to show that empirical studies in language variation are a fascinating topic when they emphasize cultural dimensions of English around the world. We try to combine socio-, corpus- and cognitive-linguistic perspectives and stress multiple methodological approaches to current research and applications, especially in English language teaching and academic writing.

 Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket 

Programme

Friday, 18 July
13:00 Welcome & Conference Opening
  Exploring Variation in Language World-Wide, Focus on Africa
(Chair: Michael Hinner, Freiberg )
13:15 Tunde Opeibi (Lagos, Nigeria / AvH Chemnitz)
The Nexus between New Media Technologies and Civic Engagement in Nigeria
14:00 Monika Kopytowska (Lodz):
Identity in cyberspace: political blogs in Kenya
14:45 Thorsten Brato (Chemnitz)
The Historical Written Corpus of Ghanaian English (HC-GhE): Methodological and theoretical considerations
15:30 Coffee Break
16:00 Exploring Variation in English World-Wide
(Chair: Monika Kopytowska, Lodz)

Zeenat Sumra (Tanzania / Chemnitz)
When Structure Matters as much as the Argument: a Study of Academic Writing by Tanzanian University Students

Dunlop Ochieng (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania / Chemnitz):
The Indirect Influence of English on Kiswahili in Tanzania

Cornelia Neubert (Chemnitz):
Sotho Sounds: a Socio-Phonetic Description of an English Variety in South Africa

Adeiza Isiaka (Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria / Chemnitz):
Phone-Phonology of Nigerian Englishes: A Sociophonetic Study of Ebira Variants

Feedback (Matthias Hofmann / Josef Schmied, Chemnitz)
18:00 African Buffet Dinner
Saturday, 19 July
9:00 MA Student Workshop
(Chair: Tunde Opeibi, Lagos, Nigeria / AvH Chemnitz)

Jessica Küchler:
"It is Hoped that the Paper May be of Great Significance for Readers"- (CC11UMATPML) Usages of May and Will in Chinese and German Student Writings- a Corpus-Based Comparison

Diana Gerhardt:
Assessing the Auditory and Acoustic Status of /t/ in three Varieties of African Englishes: The Case of Tanzanian, Ghanaian and Black South African English

Valeza Islami:
Intercultural Communication in the Automotive Industry

Sviatlana Karatkova:
Article Usage in EFL Writing by Russian Native Speakers

Nataliia Boiko:
Identification and Comprehension of English Idioms
11:00 Coffee Break

11:30

BA Student Workshop (PL Research proposal)
(Chair: Cornelia Neubert, Chemnitz)

Lisa Wagner:
Captain America vs. the ‘Evil’: a Diachronic Study of Discourse and Manipulation in Inaugural Speeches of the President of the USA

Anne Klante:
?#@*&%!  You Call them Swearwords, I Call them Sentence Enchanters! - a Corpus Linguistic Analysis -

Annemarie Franz:
Scots for Scotland?
13:00 Lunch Break - Syrian Buffet
14:00 Academic Writing for SE Europe Workshop (DAAD Project "Stabilitätspakt")

Josef Schmied (Chemnitz):
Introduction to Comparative Research on Academic Writing

Zorica Trajkova (Skopje, Macedonia):
Expressing Commitment and Detachment in Non-Native English BA Graduate Papers

Bisera Kostadinovska (Bitola, Macedonia):
Teaching Academic Writing to EFL Students in Macedonia: The Process Approach

Jasmina Djordjevic (Montenegro and Novi Sad, Serbia):
The Use of Digital Resoursces in Writing in a Legal English Course

Armela Panajoti (Vlore, Albania):
Authorial Identity in PhD Theses in Albania(n)

Yllkë Paҫarizi (Kosovo):
Teaching writing: a reflection

Helen Forbes (Chemnitz):
English Vocabulary Profile: The "quick and dirty" corpus analysis for EAP teachers and learners
16:30 Coffee Break

17:00

Academic English in a wider Context
(Chair: Helen Forbes, Chemnitz)

Susanne Wagner (Oxford, UK / Chemnitz)
"Women are Uncertain, Natural Sciences are Objective" – Demystifying Academic Writing Clichés

Jacinta Edusei (Kumasi, Ghana / KAAD Chemnitz):
Academic Writing in Ghana: Hedging in Advanced L2 Users of English

Caterina Allais (Milano, Italy):
Lexical Innovation in Art Blogs


Summarizing Discussion
Sunday, 20 July
09:00 Departure International Guests for Karlovy Vary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlovy_Vary)