Area of Expertise

Basically, languages are a specific kind of sign system that are characterised most interestingly by their self-referentiality. Some signs of the language system refer directly to concepts outside of the language (e.g. ‘a chap in the lips'), while others refer to such concepts outside of the language in a transferred sense (‘Charles, old chap!”). Moreover, some signs have no concrete meaning, but rather an additional function ('a' denotes a somewhat abstract quality of the following noun, namely that it is a 'non-determined reference' (an existence assertion). However, some signs simply refer to something within the language ('-s' in ‘lips' denotes plurality) – not to mention the complex interaction between all these signs (see 'a chap in the lip-s'). This also includes the delimitation of verbal and non-verbal communication as different types of semiotic (sign) systems.

As it is possible to examine languages for their regularities, it soon becomes apparent that we can distinguish phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and textuality when the boundaries are blurred. This also includes research on the semantics and pragmatics of utterances.

• Phonetics: the system of possible speech sounds (in articulation, acoustics and perception)
• Phonology: the use of these speech sounds as phonetic characters
• Morphology: the study of word formation and word modification
• Syntax: the regularities within phrases and sentences
• Text: the organisational principles of utterances
• Semantics: the meaning of utterances
• Pragmatics: the functions of utterances in the context of human action

Similarities and differences between languages ​​are the subject matter of contrastive linguistics, linguistic universal research and typology (universal typology). In this context, linguistics often deals with languages that are not commonly taught in schools. In Graz, this includes e.g. Arabic languages, Basque, Bikol, Burmese, Huastec, Nepali, Pame, Tibetan, Hakka, sign language and ‘ancient' languages like Anatolian and Indo-Iranian languages. The complex possibilities of language as a sign system are described by means of various linguistic models.

That, however, may not be the most important thing. Primarily, language serves a social function. Most of the time, language does not actually aim to exchange information about the world, as is often assumed, but rather to form, change or affirm social bonds through language. "Nice weather today!" is not a serious transmission of information, it is a signal that you are being friendly to someone else ‒ had you said nothing at all, that would have also had a meaning ... "It's draughty!" or "Can you tell me what time it is?”, on the other hand, means something different than what was actually said ... (pragmatics). And if someone says, "Viennese sounds awful," that does not really tell us anything about the Viennese dialect, but rather about the speaker or speakers.

The same is true for several languages: All people are 'multilingual' and the use of 'dominant languages' or minority languages ​​('language variation') has strong social implications. Whether we are talking about the difference between sociolect (or dialect) and standard language or real multilingualism (Romani/German, Basque/Spanish, Pame/Spanish, Persian/Arabic etc.) is irrelevant. There are also differences in the approaches towards language forms and the use of language based on different parameters (gender, age, shift, etc.). These role expectations as well as the fulfilment of social roles in discussions (and their effects) are examined in the discourse analysis.

The ontogenetic development of speech ('lifelong language development'), speech processing in the brain in general and the deconstruction of faculty of speech (loss of speech, for example through brain damage) are the subject matter of psycholinguistics. The fundamental research of speech processing in the brain and the connection between cognition and speech are just as important as developing therapies for, for example, aphasia (loss of speech) and speech disorders in children (speech impediments, dyslexia etc.). If we observe and analyse the language development of children and adults, written language acquisition, speech disorders and speech loss, we can find out how this highly complex system called ‘speech’ is processed in the brain. Furthermore, we can then compare categorisations and conceptualisations (in different languages).

Language typology deals with the characteristics of language and languages – their analysis, comparability, distribution and frequency. In language documentation, the linguistic repertoire of languages, usually those that have not, or not sufficiently, been described is collected, processed scientifically and analysed descriptively, typologically, in terms of language history, literary studies or even sociolinguistics. This involves research into phonological, morphological, semantic and syntactic structures of different languages and varieties, as well as recording and archiving linguistic corpora and creating databases.

The history of linguistics deals with the history of knowledge about grammar and linguistic connections including the development of terminology and concepts, while also covering the origins of knowledge about linguistic-cognitive connections.

In particular, the Institute of Linguistics Graz focuses on Wilhelm von Humboldt and 19^th century modern linguistics (Hugo Schuchardt) as well as the contributions of typologically distinct languages (Basque, Huastec etc.) to the European understanding of language and grammar.

There are several practical applications of linguistics in the areas of phonetics, computer science/telematics, forensics, in the medical field and in language didactics. Cross-connections exist for all individual philologies (German, Romance, Slavic and Near Eastern language studies etc.) and for translation studies (most notably in the field of sign language).