When discussing aspectuality, a distinction is normally made between grammatical and lexical aspe... more When discussing aspectuality, a distinction is normally made between grammatical and lexical aspect. Both are linked, to varying degrees, to the category of tense. The existence of grammatical aspect in a language is normally accepted if it is fully expressed in a grammatical category, preferably a verbal one, as seems to be prototypically encoded in some Slavic languages. Questions concerning aspect have been posed for Welsh, since perfectivity could be expressed by the verbal particle ro-in its older stages. However, Modern Welsh differentiates synthetically between six tenses for the verb bod 'to be' and four for all of the others (save defective verbs) in the Indicative, the category looked at here. It is little surprising, therefore, that the aspect dichotomy of perfectivity vs. imperfectivity is not expressed morphologically. However, based on field work, it has been established that issues of aspectuality in Welsh are typically expressed by employing its periphrastic VSO structure, i.e. verb-noun constructions with linking elements of varying synsemantica between the finite VS-and the "O-phrase" (complement).
This paper questions the voiceless-voiced distinction of Welsh consonants and claims that the for... more This paper questions the voiceless-voiced distinction of Welsh consonants and claims that the fortis-lenis distinction is more appropriate for the description of the language. Research results of theoretical as well as experimental investigations into Welsh, e.g. the vowel-coda length dependence discovered by Asmus and Grawunder (2017), advocated further research into that matter, seeing also that the fortis-lenis distinction establishes a firm link to focal properties of Welsh, such as morpheme-initial consonant mutations (mICM). It was, therefore, decided to look at potential phonetic features that would contribute to the postulated distinction. These features are aspiration, voicing, hold phase duration and the centre of gravity (abbreviated to CoG) in the articulation of Welsh plosives. It appears that the two series of plosives under review are different in terms of all features studied, but it is aspiration that is of major importance (thus confirming classifications of Welsh as an aspiration language). Published in Lublin: Linguistics Beyond and Within 6 (2020), 5-16
The aim of this paper is to challenge the often-claimed phonological voiced-voiceless distinction... more The aim of this paper is to challenge the often-claimed phonological voiced-voiceless distinction of Welsh consonants. This concept was recently doubted by Asmus/Grawunder, who revealed that final /b/ and /d/ are devoiced in monosyllables, but still distinct from /p/ and /t/. Applying the fortis-lenis divide links Welsh phonetics better to Welsh grammar, which features a fully developed morpheme-initial consonant mutation system for morphological, syntactical and semantic marking. In order to confirm our hypothesis, this paper discusses two potential phonetic correlates of a phonological fortis-lenis distinction, i.e. articulatory timing via the holding phase and aspiration of initial and final stops in Welsh.
In this article, major linguistic features of the Welsh language are introduced. It was published... more In this article, major linguistic features of the Welsh language are introduced. It was published in 2003.
This article presents basics of the Welsh pronominal system of language-focal pronouns. It is sho... more This article presents basics of the Welsh pronominal system of language-focal pronouns. It is shown that this system is very different from that of the SAE-languages and strongly linked to VSO-syntax, i.e. major pronoun categories in Welsh are determined by their syntactic use and should not be termed on the basis of Latin-orientated grammar terminology.
Based on extant recordings of northern and southern native speakers, we found complementary patte... more Based on extant recordings of northern and southern native speakers, we found complementary patterns of vowel-coda distribution all along the Welsh initial consonant mutation system and contest phonemic vowel lengths. In brief, lenis consonants require long vowels and fortis consonants short vowels. This holds also true for -l,-n, -r, which still show fortis and lenis variants. The fortis-lenis distinction is an essential feature of Welsh, the reason why dialectal differences in monosyllables can be neglected. Despite before -l, our findings and subsequent suggestions also make (the increasing number of) diacritics of all sort redundant. In a similar vein, the distinction into auto- and synsemantica is rather misleading than clarifying as is the restricted reliance on morphological extensions (in case the latter are possible at all).
This project investigates the relationship of vowel duration and coda duration in modern Welsh mo... more This project investigates the relationship of vowel duration and coda duration in modern Welsh monosyllabic words ending in a simplex consonant. Acoustic data from 16 native speakers from the two major dialectal varieties of Welsh were analysed. We found vowel duration highly predictive by coda duration, taking into account possible influences of phrase prosody, speaker and variety specific deviations. Also, prosodic prominence primarily appears to effect coda duration in Welsh.
In support of the PhD project of Cormac Anderson on the typology of Irish vowels and consonants a... more In support of the PhD project of Cormac Anderson on the typology of Irish vowels and consonants a project on the Welsh vowel-coda dependence was launched and first introduced in this article.
The paper was written together with Siôn R. Williams and published in: Asmus, Sabine and Barbara ... more The paper was written together with Siôn R. Williams and published in: Asmus, Sabine and Barbara Braid (2014) "Unity in Diversity. Cultural and Linguistic Markers of the Concept", Cambridge: Scholars Publishing. After an overview over major developments in the social history of Welsh, structural weakness in Welsh institutions as well as an overdiversification of registers (whilst the standard is weak) and subsequent language forms are identified as major problems in its maintenance.
Some misconceptions on the Welsh colour term "glas" are addressed here, e.g. there is no "grue" c... more Some misconceptions on the Welsh colour term "glas" are addressed here, e.g. there is no "grue" category in Welsh (and not in Irish or other Insular Celtic languages). "Glas" is not untranslatable. The concept of "glas" is not unusual cross-linguistically. An article tackling these problem area will appear soon.
In this article, the singulative is linked to the system of Welsh diminutives. The article was pu... more In this article, the singulative is linked to the system of Welsh diminutives. The article was published in "PERSPECTIVES ON CELTIC LANGUAGES", edited by Maria Bloch-Trojnar in Lublin Studies in Celtic Languages, vol. 6, Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2009, 187-198.
Amongst others, a new categorisation of Welsh nouns is proposed, fully based on genuine Welsh mor... more Amongst others, a new categorisation of Welsh nouns is proposed, fully based on genuine Welsh morphology and including the singulative. Although productive in Welsh and well displayed in Breton (a P-Celtic sister language of Welsh) lexicography, this category has been largely ignored in Welsh linguistics. Published in Bloch-Rozmej, Anna, (ed.), Issues in Celtic Linguistics. Lublin Studies in Celtic Languages, vol. 5. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2008.
Most importantly this paper includes a detailed analysis of Welsh verbs.
Published in "Celtic Fo... more Most importantly this paper includes a detailed analysis of Welsh verbs.
This publication depicts largely the history of Welsh lexicography in its Celtic context, includi... more This publication depicts largely the history of Welsh lexicography in its Celtic context, including a dictionary-orientated description of Welsh. In this context, the need of phonetic transcription, morphologically orientated hyphenation and standardisation of the language are discussed. The book contains a corpus of Insular Celtic lexicographical works until 2002, i.e. dictionaries and vocabularies of Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, Breton and Welsh, of course.
Mae'r eirfa hon yn seiliedig ar eirfa y nofel Gymraeg Si Hei Lwli gan Angharad Tomos,. Ar wahan i... more Mae'r eirfa hon yn seiliedig ar eirfa y nofel Gymraeg Si Hei Lwli gan Angharad Tomos,. Ar wahan i esbonio'r geiriau sydd wedi cael eu defnyddio gan Angharad Tomos mae'r eirfa hefyd yn esbonio agweddau Gramadeg y Gymraeg, fel e.e. rhediad y ferf 'bod', rhediad ansoddeiriau ac ynganiad y Gymraeg. Dyma'r unig waith geiriadurol sy'n cynnwys yr IPA i egluro ynganiad geiriau Cymraeg.
This article sheds light on the status quo of the Celtic languages in Great Britain in 1999/2000 ... more This article sheds light on the status quo of the Celtic languages in Great Britain in 1999/2000 as well as on some of their historical and current socio-cultural context.
This article investigates the linguistic situation in medieval Wales and searches for interpreter... more This article investigates the linguistic situation in medieval Wales and searches for interpreters and translators as well as their potential tools there. The article was published in: Poppe, E. & H.L.C. Tristram (eds.), Übersetzung, Adaption und Akkulturation im insularen Mittelalter, Münster: Nodus Publikationen.
This article offers regularised translation strategies from Welsh into German for personal names ... more This article offers regularised translation strategies from Welsh into German for personal names in prose. It was published by Wacior, Slawomir; Grzegorz, Maziarczyk (eds.) in Literature and/in Culture. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, 2008.
This article uncovers the origins of the famous Welsh literary motif Blodeuwedd locating them in ... more This article uncovers the origins of the famous Welsh literary motif Blodeuwedd locating them in Mesopotamia. Thereafter, it displays diverging trends in the use of this motif in the literatures of Wales and England on the one hand and in the continental literature of Germany on the other.
When discussing aspectuality, a distinction is normally made between grammatical and lexical aspe... more When discussing aspectuality, a distinction is normally made between grammatical and lexical aspect. Both are linked, to varying degrees, to the category of tense. The existence of grammatical aspect in a language is normally accepted if it is fully expressed in a grammatical category, preferably a verbal one, as seems to be prototypically encoded in some Slavic languages. Questions concerning aspect have been posed for Welsh, since perfectivity could be expressed by the verbal particle ro-in its older stages. However, Modern Welsh differentiates synthetically between six tenses for the verb bod 'to be' and four for all of the others (save defective verbs) in the Indicative, the category looked at here. It is little surprising, therefore, that the aspect dichotomy of perfectivity vs. imperfectivity is not expressed morphologically. However, based on field work, it has been established that issues of aspectuality in Welsh are typically expressed by employing its periphrastic VSO structure, i.e. verb-noun constructions with linking elements of varying synsemantica between the finite VS-and the "O-phrase" (complement).
This paper questions the voiceless-voiced distinction of Welsh consonants and claims that the for... more This paper questions the voiceless-voiced distinction of Welsh consonants and claims that the fortis-lenis distinction is more appropriate for the description of the language. Research results of theoretical as well as experimental investigations into Welsh, e.g. the vowel-coda length dependence discovered by Asmus and Grawunder (2017), advocated further research into that matter, seeing also that the fortis-lenis distinction establishes a firm link to focal properties of Welsh, such as morpheme-initial consonant mutations (mICM). It was, therefore, decided to look at potential phonetic features that would contribute to the postulated distinction. These features are aspiration, voicing, hold phase duration and the centre of gravity (abbreviated to CoG) in the articulation of Welsh plosives. It appears that the two series of plosives under review are different in terms of all features studied, but it is aspiration that is of major importance (thus confirming classifications of Welsh as an aspiration language). Published in Lublin: Linguistics Beyond and Within 6 (2020), 5-16
The aim of this paper is to challenge the often-claimed phonological voiced-voiceless distinction... more The aim of this paper is to challenge the often-claimed phonological voiced-voiceless distinction of Welsh consonants. This concept was recently doubted by Asmus/Grawunder, who revealed that final /b/ and /d/ are devoiced in monosyllables, but still distinct from /p/ and /t/. Applying the fortis-lenis divide links Welsh phonetics better to Welsh grammar, which features a fully developed morpheme-initial consonant mutation system for morphological, syntactical and semantic marking. In order to confirm our hypothesis, this paper discusses two potential phonetic correlates of a phonological fortis-lenis distinction, i.e. articulatory timing via the holding phase and aspiration of initial and final stops in Welsh.
In this article, major linguistic features of the Welsh language are introduced. It was published... more In this article, major linguistic features of the Welsh language are introduced. It was published in 2003.
This article presents basics of the Welsh pronominal system of language-focal pronouns. It is sho... more This article presents basics of the Welsh pronominal system of language-focal pronouns. It is shown that this system is very different from that of the SAE-languages and strongly linked to VSO-syntax, i.e. major pronoun categories in Welsh are determined by their syntactic use and should not be termed on the basis of Latin-orientated grammar terminology.
Based on extant recordings of northern and southern native speakers, we found complementary patte... more Based on extant recordings of northern and southern native speakers, we found complementary patterns of vowel-coda distribution all along the Welsh initial consonant mutation system and contest phonemic vowel lengths. In brief, lenis consonants require long vowels and fortis consonants short vowels. This holds also true for -l,-n, -r, which still show fortis and lenis variants. The fortis-lenis distinction is an essential feature of Welsh, the reason why dialectal differences in monosyllables can be neglected. Despite before -l, our findings and subsequent suggestions also make (the increasing number of) diacritics of all sort redundant. In a similar vein, the distinction into auto- and synsemantica is rather misleading than clarifying as is the restricted reliance on morphological extensions (in case the latter are possible at all).
This project investigates the relationship of vowel duration and coda duration in modern Welsh mo... more This project investigates the relationship of vowel duration and coda duration in modern Welsh monosyllabic words ending in a simplex consonant. Acoustic data from 16 native speakers from the two major dialectal varieties of Welsh were analysed. We found vowel duration highly predictive by coda duration, taking into account possible influences of phrase prosody, speaker and variety specific deviations. Also, prosodic prominence primarily appears to effect coda duration in Welsh.
In support of the PhD project of Cormac Anderson on the typology of Irish vowels and consonants a... more In support of the PhD project of Cormac Anderson on the typology of Irish vowels and consonants a project on the Welsh vowel-coda dependence was launched and first introduced in this article.
The paper was written together with Siôn R. Williams and published in: Asmus, Sabine and Barbara ... more The paper was written together with Siôn R. Williams and published in: Asmus, Sabine and Barbara Braid (2014) "Unity in Diversity. Cultural and Linguistic Markers of the Concept", Cambridge: Scholars Publishing. After an overview over major developments in the social history of Welsh, structural weakness in Welsh institutions as well as an overdiversification of registers (whilst the standard is weak) and subsequent language forms are identified as major problems in its maintenance.
Some misconceptions on the Welsh colour term "glas" are addressed here, e.g. there is no "grue" c... more Some misconceptions on the Welsh colour term "glas" are addressed here, e.g. there is no "grue" category in Welsh (and not in Irish or other Insular Celtic languages). "Glas" is not untranslatable. The concept of "glas" is not unusual cross-linguistically. An article tackling these problem area will appear soon.
In this article, the singulative is linked to the system of Welsh diminutives. The article was pu... more In this article, the singulative is linked to the system of Welsh diminutives. The article was published in "PERSPECTIVES ON CELTIC LANGUAGES", edited by Maria Bloch-Trojnar in Lublin Studies in Celtic Languages, vol. 6, Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2009, 187-198.
Amongst others, a new categorisation of Welsh nouns is proposed, fully based on genuine Welsh mor... more Amongst others, a new categorisation of Welsh nouns is proposed, fully based on genuine Welsh morphology and including the singulative. Although productive in Welsh and well displayed in Breton (a P-Celtic sister language of Welsh) lexicography, this category has been largely ignored in Welsh linguistics. Published in Bloch-Rozmej, Anna, (ed.), Issues in Celtic Linguistics. Lublin Studies in Celtic Languages, vol. 5. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2008.
Most importantly this paper includes a detailed analysis of Welsh verbs.
Published in "Celtic Fo... more Most importantly this paper includes a detailed analysis of Welsh verbs.
This publication depicts largely the history of Welsh lexicography in its Celtic context, includi... more This publication depicts largely the history of Welsh lexicography in its Celtic context, including a dictionary-orientated description of Welsh. In this context, the need of phonetic transcription, morphologically orientated hyphenation and standardisation of the language are discussed. The book contains a corpus of Insular Celtic lexicographical works until 2002, i.e. dictionaries and vocabularies of Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, Breton and Welsh, of course.
Mae'r eirfa hon yn seiliedig ar eirfa y nofel Gymraeg Si Hei Lwli gan Angharad Tomos,. Ar wahan i... more Mae'r eirfa hon yn seiliedig ar eirfa y nofel Gymraeg Si Hei Lwli gan Angharad Tomos,. Ar wahan i esbonio'r geiriau sydd wedi cael eu defnyddio gan Angharad Tomos mae'r eirfa hefyd yn esbonio agweddau Gramadeg y Gymraeg, fel e.e. rhediad y ferf 'bod', rhediad ansoddeiriau ac ynganiad y Gymraeg. Dyma'r unig waith geiriadurol sy'n cynnwys yr IPA i egluro ynganiad geiriau Cymraeg.
This article sheds light on the status quo of the Celtic languages in Great Britain in 1999/2000 ... more This article sheds light on the status quo of the Celtic languages in Great Britain in 1999/2000 as well as on some of their historical and current socio-cultural context.
This article investigates the linguistic situation in medieval Wales and searches for interpreter... more This article investigates the linguistic situation in medieval Wales and searches for interpreters and translators as well as their potential tools there. The article was published in: Poppe, E. & H.L.C. Tristram (eds.), Übersetzung, Adaption und Akkulturation im insularen Mittelalter, Münster: Nodus Publikationen.
This article offers regularised translation strategies from Welsh into German for personal names ... more This article offers regularised translation strategies from Welsh into German for personal names in prose. It was published by Wacior, Slawomir; Grzegorz, Maziarczyk (eds.) in Literature and/in Culture. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, 2008.
This article uncovers the origins of the famous Welsh literary motif Blodeuwedd locating them in ... more This article uncovers the origins of the famous Welsh literary motif Blodeuwedd locating them in Mesopotamia. Thereafter, it displays diverging trends in the use of this motif in the literatures of Wales and England on the one hand and in the continental literature of Germany on the other.
This draft paper looks at how vowel length in monosyllables ending in simplex codas could be cons... more This draft paper looks at how vowel length in monosyllables ending in simplex codas could be consistenly standardised in modern Welsh orthography, maintaining Welsh phonology. It is a continuation of studies conducted by Asmus/Grawunder and published in 2017 (https://www.academia.edu/34065828/Vowel_Length_in_Welsh_Monosyllables_its_Interrelation_with_Irish_and_other_Related_Problems). Hence, all charts used here were produced by prof Sven Grawunder, Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main (Germany).
This is a German-language update on a hotly disputed issues. It is often not seen in its actual r... more This is a German-language update on a hotly disputed issues. It is often not seen in its actual relevance (cf. e.g. Dryer on Welsh VSO) and full impact.
The category of aspect is a hotly disputed linguistic issue. It is normally linked to Slavic lang... more The category of aspect is a hotly disputed linguistic issue. It is normally linked to Slavic languages, but also discussed for others. In this draft version from 2019, ideas concerning Upper Sorbian and Welsh are discussed contrastively. Contrary to other Slavic languages, Upper Sorbian has not fully developed an aspect system. For Welsh, an Insular Celtic language, lexical aspect was identified.
These are some notes on the colour concept of the Celtic colour term 'glas'. A common assumption ... more These are some notes on the colour concept of the Celtic colour term 'glas'. A common assumption that this might be a 'grue' category is declined. Instead, an explanation based on colour terminology is offered and trends for the current uses of 'glas' in Welsh and Irish are identified.
This draft links Welsh latest findings in phonology to initial consonant mutations (ICM). It can,... more This draft links Welsh latest findings in phonology to initial consonant mutations (ICM). It can, however, also be read as a supplement to the book "Vowel Length in Welsh Monosyllables, its Interrelation with Irish and other Related Problems" by Asmus and Grawunder (2017) as well as a correction concerning the coda -m in our previous joint article on Welsh monosyllables.
This draft gives an overview over diminutives used in Welsh in order to alter the meaning of noun... more This draft gives an overview over diminutives used in Welsh in order to alter the meaning of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Such a change of meaning can be linked to a change in word class or grammar category, like the singulative, i.e. a number category.
This draft makes clear that the system of Welsh pronouns is very different from that of the SAE-l... more This draft makes clear that the system of Welsh pronouns is very different from that of the SAE-languages and strongly linked to VSO-syntax, i.e. major pronoun categories in Welsh are determined by their syntactic use and should not be termed on the basis of Latin-orientated grammar terminology.
This draft shows that hyphenation in Welsh used to be normal and propagates morphological hyphena... more This draft shows that hyphenation in Welsh used to be normal and propagates morphological hyphenation. This seems to be the historically developed system and most useful in order to stabilise the morphology of the language, to ease hyphenation, and thus to allow for the full use of the language, avoiding linguistic insecurity but promoting the language's use, health and prestige.
This draft discusses Welsh language policies, in particular the current strategy to have 1.000.00... more This draft discusses Welsh language policies, in particular the current strategy to have 1.000.000 Welsh speakers by 2050. It was discussed in a conference in Prague in 2020.
The ideas of this draft were discussed in a conference in Bangor/Wales in 2015. and triggered a l... more The ideas of this draft were discussed in a conference in Bangor/Wales in 2015. and triggered a lively discussion. A review of the socio-linguistic situation in Wales in 2020 did not reveal essential changes for the better.
This draft paper describes Welsh as a severely endangered network language and refers to its poor... more This draft paper describes Welsh as a severely endangered network language and refers to its poor health
This drafts gives an overview over major steps in the shift of use of society-building pagan conc... more This drafts gives an overview over major steps in the shift of use of society-building pagan concepts as displayed in Insular Celtic literature to their oppressive abuse by Norman-Christian conquerors. The re-interpretation of pagan concepts as expressed in literary motifs formed part of the ideological discourse to ensure the establishment of a much more hierarchical feudal society..
This is a summary of some basic facts of Celtic mythology for those interested who have no Englis... more This is a summary of some basic facts of Celtic mythology for those interested who have no English. It is largely based on my own article "Afterlife and Celtic concepts of the Otherworld", published under the name Heinz, but was much expanded..
This book was co-edited by dr hab hab Sabine Asmus, prof US, and dr Jaworska-Biskup. It discusses... more This book was co-edited by dr hab hab Sabine Asmus, prof US, and dr Jaworska-Biskup. It discusses issues of Welsh literature, history, and the vernacular language of the devolved region of Wales (as part of the United Kingdom of Northern Ireland and Great Britain). In this context, the volume sheds light on various aspects of the identity construction of a small nation with an endangered language, which is a P-Celtic tongue, known for exhibiting many features alien to Indo-European and SAE-languages. All the issues tackled here are presented in diachronic and synchronic perspective, allowing for correlations to be drawn with similar problems faced by other cultures.
This is a collection of short stories by the Irish-language writer Micheál Ó Conghaile, which was... more This is a collection of short stories by the Irish-language writer Micheál Ó Conghaile, which was translated directly from Irish into Polish. The project was started at the University of Poznan and finished at Szczecin University (printed in 2020). It includes an introduction commenting on the context of the stories.
The book offers insight knowledge into the development of German Celtic Studies until 1945, but a... more The book offers insight knowledge into the development of German Celtic Studies until 1945, but also the into the closure of the only chair of Celtic Studies in German-speaking countries in 1998. The developments are clearly depicted as part of their political context.
This article looks at the early concept of the celtic colour term glas in Welsh and Irish and its... more This article looks at the early concept of the celtic colour term glas in Welsh and Irish and its later semantic diversification. The article was co-authored by Sabine Asmus (Usz) and Mark Ó Fionnáin (KUL)
This paper is a continuation of comprehensive studies on Welsh and Irish phonology, which were st... more This paper is a continuation of comprehensive studies on Welsh and Irish phonology, which were started in 2012 involving the universities of Leipzig and Szczecin as well as the former Department of Linguistics in the Max-Max-Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. Resulting publications have shed light on the nature of predominantly the Welsh language system, e.g. its lexicon (cf. Asmus and Anderson, 2015), and the length of vowels in Welsh monosyllables ending in simplex codas (cf. Asmus and Grawunder, 2017). During the course of investigation, desiderata concerning the analysis and interpretation of mutation patterns as well as the nature of Welsh consonants emerged. The aim of this article, therefore, is to tackle some of the issues involved in these problem areas, i.e. the notion of lenition and the contrast of aspiration/deaspiration vs voicing/devoicing in consonants.
This paper examines samples of Welsh read speech acoustically with a view to determining the exte... more This paper examines samples of Welsh read speech acoustically with a view to determining the extent of allophonic variation exhibited by the spirantised trill /r̥ʰ/. Being a sound of extraordinary complexity, /r̥ʰ/ is probably more susceptible to phonetic change than plain trills. It further follows that, in connected speech, this segment is likely to be replaced with various sounds that represent a lesser degree of articulatory complexity. Since the informants come from different parts of Wales, an attempt is made to establish whether the substitutions made by speakers of North Welsh differ from those produced by southerners. Finally, the Welsh spirantised /r̥ʰ/ is compared to the Czech fricated /r̝/ and the Russian palatalised /rʲ/ with respect to their susceptibility to phonetic reduction.
The article summarises presentations by poets of minorised languages, like Sorbian, Welsh and oth... more The article summarises presentations by poets of minorised languages, like Sorbian, Welsh and others, and their unique literary expressions like the Welsh englyn and cynghanedd (Meirion McIntyre Huws). We would like to thank Elija Lutze for having translated the article into Calan, whose poetry was also celebrated. The article was published in: L'Aiguadolç. Revista de Literatura. Núm. 47: Dossier: La traducció literària: un pont entre les cultures. Primavera 2018.
While the teaching of grammar has sparked controversy about the objectives, course contents and m... more While the teaching of grammar has sparked controversy about the objectives, course contents and methodology of intervention in the classroom, extreme examples of the practice can be found in languages going through the standardization process. Even more extreme is the context of teaching such languages in exolinguistic situations, that is, as a foreign language outside of the territories where they are spoken.
This contribution explores the special problems arising from the fact that the languages being taught are still in the grip of the standardization process and adopting norms. It focuses especially on the following particularly problematic areas: (a) the variations, contradictions, errors and gaps in description and hence prescription; (b) the contradictions and differences between descriptive (or, if they exist, prescriptive) grammars and the uses found among native speakers and so-called newspeakers; (c) the additional difficulties resulting from the sociolinguistic situation. It also deals with the problem of having to highlight, at an early stage of foreign language acquisition, problematic aspects such as ambivalent description or sociolinguistic matters that are often ideologically charged. The examples discussed are drawn from experience in teaching Ibero-Romance (Catalan and Galician) and Celtic languages (Welsh) in Germany and Poland.
This paper addresses problems, which minority cultures face, when they try to enter established m... more This paper addresses problems, which minority cultures face, when they try to enter established markets, here the publishing business. The article was published in A470, 3/2002.
The Chair of Celtic Studies at the Humboldt-University of Berlin was closed shortly before its ce... more The Chair of Celtic Studies at the Humboldt-University of Berlin was closed shortly before its centenary. This paper, which forms the foreword of the book "Die Deutsche Keltologie und ihre Berliner Gelehrten bis 1945. Proceedings of the international conference on “Celtic Studies at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-University before and during the Nationalist Socialist Period” at the Humboldt-University of Berlin, 1998, Berlin, Peter Lang Verlag, pp. 5-11, introduces the fate of this historical Chair of Celtic Studies in the wake of the unification of the two German countries GDR and FRG.
This article gives a rough overview over the societal background of the establishment of Celtic S... more This article gives a rough overview over the societal background of the establishment of Celtic Studies in Berlin (Germany) at its historical university, i.e. the Humboldt University, formerly Friedrich-Wilhelms-University. It includes ideological driving forces and, by passing, discusses the duties and responsibilities of researchers. If taken seriously, seemingly unimportant or minor research can predict major developments like the desintegration of the UK, oublished in Klaus D. Dutz (ed.), Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft 8/1998, Münster Nodus Publikationen, 105-124
This is a short review of the Grammtikübungsbuch by Bernhard Maier. It is suggested that ongoing ... more This is a short review of the Grammtikübungsbuch by Bernhard Maier. It is suggested that ongoing language description from within Wales is also considered.
Some misconceptions on the Welsh colour term "glas" are addressed here, e.g. there is no "grue" c... more Some misconceptions on the Welsh colour term "glas" are addressed here, e.g. there is no "grue" category in Welsh (and not in Irish or other Insular Celtic languages). "Glas" is not untranslatable. The concept of "glas" is not unusual cross-linguistically. An article tackling these problem area will appear soon.
The review was published by Dziadosz, Dorota and Agniezska Krzanowski (eds.) in Świat Sƚowian w j... more The review was published by Dziadosz, Dorota and Agniezska Krzanowski (eds.) in Świat Sƚowian w języku i kulturze XV.
This review warns of the negative impact of language descriptions that are based on individual im... more This review warns of the negative impact of language descriptions that are based on individual impressions and assumptions, but published by an influential publishing house. The result of at least 20 years reduced language descriptions is described in the the drafts 'Welsh: acquisition of distorted language as an obstacle to cultural continuity or home-made language shift' and 'Drohende sprachliche Diskontinuität des Walisischen'.
The review was published in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, 51/1999.
This review reflects on developments in the area of Celtic Studies in Russia in the 1990s and the... more This review reflects on developments in the area of Celtic Studies in Russia in the 1990s and the situation of the Welsh language at that time. The review was published Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft 9/1999
The review was published in Journal of Folklore Research 46, Nov 2009: 2. URL: http://www.indiana... more The review was published in Journal of Folklore Research 46, Nov 2009: 2. URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~jofr/review.php?id=950,
This work investigates various markers of identity, which, if ignored, may harm the development o... more This work investigates various markers of identity, which, if ignored, may harm the development of the healthy identity of cultural groups at the cost of a progressively instable unity. This is made clear when looking at various areas of linguistics, particularly translation and socio-linguistics, but also when studying cultural and political developments. This book, therefore, constitutes a rich repository for linguists, especially of minority languages and specifically in translational studies and sociolinguistics, and for scholars of cultural and political, as well as literary studies.
In May 1921, Ireland was partitioned under British law by the Government of Ireland Act, which cr... more In May 1921, Ireland was partitioned under British law by the Government of Ireland Act, which created Northern Ireland. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire on 11 July 1921 and the Irish War of Independence (Cogadh na Saoirse) came to an end. The post-ceasefire talks led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, as a result of which the Irish Free State was created. Our conference will celebrate the centenary and re-invigorate Celtic Studies at Leipzig University (conducted in the Department of Sorbian Studies) after the Corona crisis.
In co-operation with Szczecin University, the Department for Sorbian Studies and the Department f... more In co-operation with Szczecin University, the Department for Sorbian Studies and the Department for Slavic at Leipzig university announce the Xth Celto-Slavica and invite papers. The conference will take place in Leipzig from the 26th to the 29th of October 2022, with academic sessions on the 27th and 28th. The Leitmotif is “Highlights in Celtic and Slavic: Comparanda and Inspirations”. The conference is open to anybody interested in the fields of linguistics, literature, culture (past and present) in Celtic and Slavic areas, in particular when touching upon cross-border issues.
The following schedule is planned (https://www.philol.uni-leipzig.de/sorabistik/institut/celto-slavica-conference#c684686):
Wednesday, 26th of Oct, evening céili (https://www.philol.uni-leipzig.de/sorabistik/institut/celto-slavica-conference#c684686)
Thursday/Friday, 27th/28th of Oct, academic sesions, venue: Albertina/Leipzig university (https://www.philol.uni-leipzig.de/sorabistik/institut/celto-slavica-conference#c684686);
Amongst others with Prof. John Koch and his plenary talk on "Some implications for Celtic origins of recent archaeogenetic evidence for Late Bronze Age migrations in western Europe" and Prof. Séamus MacMathúna and "Reflections on some Celtic, Scandinavian and Slavic Comparanda"
Saturday, 29th of Oct, trip to sound archive in Berlin (Humboldt-University) by bus
The voiced-voiceless and fortis-lenis distinction are often equalled. Recent research points to d... more The voiced-voiceless and fortis-lenis distinction are often equalled. Recent research points to differences between voicing and non-voicing languages. The aim of the research conducted here is a contribution to this discussion by suggesting that the voiced-voiceless distinction is inappropriate for Welsh, confirming that the fortis-lenis divide as phonologically distinctive (see mICM) and fully language-structuring in this P-Celtic language and offering the first two phonetic correlates of such a phonological distinction in Welsh.
Uploads
Published in Bloch-Rozmej, Anna, (ed.), Issues in Celtic Linguistics. Lublin Studies in Celtic Languages, vol. 5. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2008.
Published in "Celtic Forum (2005)"
Published in Bloch-Rozmej, Anna, (ed.), Issues in Celtic Linguistics. Lublin Studies in Celtic Languages, vol. 5. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2008.
Published in "Celtic Forum (2005)"
This contribution explores the special problems arising from the fact that the languages being taught are still in the grip of the standardization process and adopting norms. It focuses especially on the following particularly problematic areas: (a) the variations, contradictions, errors and gaps in description and hence prescription; (b) the contradictions and differences between descriptive (or, if they exist, prescriptive) grammars and the uses found among native speakers and so-called newspeakers; (c) the additional difficulties resulting from the sociolinguistic situation. It also deals with the problem of having to highlight, at an early stage of foreign language acquisition, problematic aspects such as ambivalent description or sociolinguistic matters that are often ideologically charged. The examples discussed are drawn from experience in teaching Ibero-Romance (Catalan and Galician) and Celtic languages (Welsh) in Germany and Poland.
Klaus D. Dutz (ed.), Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft 8/1998, Münster Nodus Publikationen, 105-124
The review was published in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, 51/1999.
The following schedule is planned (https://www.philol.uni-leipzig.de/sorabistik/institut/celto-slavica-conference#c684686):
Wednesday, 26th of Oct, evening céili (https://www.philol.uni-leipzig.de/sorabistik/institut/celto-slavica-conference#c684686)
Thursday/Friday, 27th/28th of Oct, academic sesions, venue: Albertina/Leipzig university (https://www.philol.uni-leipzig.de/sorabistik/institut/celto-slavica-conference#c684686);
Amongst others with Prof. John Koch and his plenary talk on "Some implications for Celtic origins of recent archaeogenetic evidence for Late Bronze Age migrations in western Europe" and Prof. Séamus MacMathúna and "Reflections on some Celtic, Scandinavian and Slavic Comparanda"
Saturday, 29th of Oct, trip to sound archive in Berlin (Humboldt-University) by bus