The course in history of the German Language will be held in German.

Main aims of the course, according to the Dublin descriptors:

1. to focus on some main questions about the standardization of the language.

2. to gain relevant knowledge about German syntax, and about some relevant changes occurred to orthographical standards.

3. to enlarge conceptual understanding and methodological competence about working in German studies and modern research techniques.

4. to be able to critically evaluate current research, advanced research and scholarship in the discipline or area of professional competence.

5. to encourage intellectual independence and practical competence in this research field as well as ethical behaviour consistent with academic integrity and the use of appropriate guidelines and procedures for responsible conduct of research.

6. To sustain the communication of ideas, issues, and conclusions, both through a written essay and an oral examination.

The lessons of the teacher and the laboratory of the expert are fundamental to achieve the targets of the course.

The course will be divided into a series of lessons held by the teacher which will introduce the topics and methodologies to be used in group-works. The course will base on collaborative and research teaching methodology. The practical exercise of the German language will be provided also by the mother tongue expert. All the lessons will be held in German and all the communications with the teacher and the expert will be in German.

The course in History of the German Language will be entirely held in German. It is therefore needed to have a B2 level of competence in German language. If any student of other courses without German competences shoud be interested in attending the course, please get in contact with the teacher at the beginning of October 2022.

The course will focus on the process of standardization of the German language since 1600. Stylistic, rhetoric and syntactic peculiarities will also be examined as main interests for academic and professional writing.

Part of the course will be dedicated to the analysis of texts regarding some character of German history and folklore. The analysis will take different research perspectives into account trying to unfold different layers and peculiarities An anthology of different texts will provide the start-up discussion, in order to motivate and develop individual research skills that will be put at stake in a final research project (presentation and written papers) evaluated during the final exam.

The project of the individual or group research will be guided and followed by the teacher during the course and by the linguistic expert during the hours of laboratory.

A  History of the German language

1)    Karl-Heinz Göttert, Deutsch: Biographie einer Sprache, Ullstein, Berlin, 2010, pp. 400.

 

B Reading texts:

1)    Herfried Münkler, Die Deutschen und Ihre Mythen, Rowohlt Taschenbuch, Hamburg, 2010, Cap. 1.

 

2)    Friedrich De la Motte Fouqué, Undine, Reclam, Leipzig, 1998, pp. 102.

 

 

A reader of texts in German will be available on the web-page of STUDIUM and will be the starting point for the group works.

 

To write the final work we suggest to get information about the formal features in:

- H. Gruber, B. Huemer, M. Rheindorf, Wissenschaftliches Schreiben: Ein Praxisbuch für Studierende der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften, UTB, 2009, pp. 240.

 

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.          

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.

Language exercises will be scheduled during the course of the lessons in both oral and written form. The result of these exercises will be taken into account in the formulation of the final assessment. Students taking active part to the exercises will not take part to the official tests on the dates specified in the official calendar.

The final examination comprises an oral test and a written test.

The oral test will concern an individual research paper agreed with the lecturer during the course of the lectures, to be presented in German (accompanied by slides or handouts).

The written test involves the production of a short essay on an agreed topic to be handed in at the end of the course. Language property, linguistic and formal correctness, organisation of the material and the ability to present one's thesis and arguments clearly and convincingly will be assessed.

The assessment of the examination will take into account the candidate's mastery of the content and skills acquired, linguistic accuracy and lexical propriety, as well as his or her ability to argue. The form and critical apparatus of the final paper will also be assessed.

For non-attending students, there will be a final test to assess the linguistic competence achieved in the four basic skills (written production, textual comprehension, oral production, listening). The test will be administered on the dates specified in the official calendar published on the DISUM website.

For student taking active part to the course:
The oral and written presentation will be on a specific topic agreed with the lecturer. The following will be assessed: linguistic competence, organisation of materials, lexical property and language register. An additional point will be awarded for the quality and originality of the research.

For non-attending students:
A test of the 4 fundamental language skills according to the European Reference Framework for level C1 will be administered.
For the oral interview frequently asked questions will be:
Die wichtigsten Etappen der Standardiesierung der Deutschen Sprache.
Luthers Sendbrief vom dolmetschen.
Die Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaften
Fremdwörter und Lehnwörter.
Rechtschreibung im 18. Und 19. Jahrhundert.
Die neue Rechtschreibung
Sprachvarietäten des Deutschen
Wortfamilie, Wortstamm, Morphologie der Deutschen Sprache.