English German Research Articles

Introduction

Fritz Stern's laudatory remarks on the occasion of the awarding of an honorary degree to German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel by The New School. Stern's remarks were delivered half in English and half in German; his remarks in German have here been translated in to English.

Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone Receptor (MC1R) Genotype and Its Effects on Coat Color in Korean Jindo Dogs

The Jindo dog is a Korean natural monument and is recognized by the Federation Cynologique Internationale. A prominent feature is the diverse coat color within the breed. To analyze the genetic basis of variation in the Jindo coat color, we sequenced the protein-coding regions of the melanocortin I receptor gene (MC1R). The MC1R coding sequence was determined from 154 dogs in five breeds (Jindo, Labrador Retriever, English Springer Spaniel, Belgian Malinois, and German Shepherd). To confirm the genetic structure of sampled populations, we tested for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and computed F st . The sample populations did not significantly deviate from HWE. F st was 0.02 between white and fawn Jindo dogs; this was lower than F st between breeds. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the MC1R coding region. Among the six SNPs, five were non-synonymous (S90G, T105A, Q159P, M264V, and R306ter) and one was synonymous SNP (Y298Y). From the SNPs, we predicted four haplotypes (H1, H2, H3, and H4) for Jindo MC1R. Jindo dogs had different haplotypes corresponding to different coat colors. H1 was frequently observed in white Jindo dogs with an odds ratio of 5.03 (95% CI: 2.27-11.18, p<0.0001), whereas H2 and H4 were observed only in fawn Jindo dogs. Our findings indicate that SNP haplotype can influence coat color. Knowledge of MCIR haplotypes can help discriminate white and fawn coats in Jindo dogs. We hope this report will trigger more research into the genetics of this traditional Korean dog and will be a reference for dogs of Asian origin. Also, our results will provide a useful genetic marker for Jindo dog breeders who have selected for specific colors.

English as a Foreign Literature

Concepts travel (or fail to travel) within the disciplines as well as between them: The conceptual approach of any one subject can vary dramatically according to the institutional, national or historical culture of knowledge in which it is conducted, raising important questions about the role of academic context and community in influencing the aims and findings of research. The discipline of studies in English language and literature in Europe is a remarkable case in point: The increasing currency of English as an international lingua franca has – alongside the many political questions this raises – transformed continental European English Studies into a prime site in which concepts in literary and cultural studies have travelled between diverse national philological contexts. Yet there remains a considerable divide between the study of English Literature in the anglophone world and what might be called ‘English as a Foreign Literature’. Focusing in most depth on the relationship between ‘domestic’ English Literature and German Anglistik, this article considers the challenges and opportunities presented by increased mobility and exchange between differing conceptions of a discipline.

Syntactic priming in German–English bilinguals during sentence comprehension

A longstanding question in bilingualism is whether syntactic information is shared between the two language processing systems. We used an fMRI repetition suppression paradigm to investigate syntactic priming in reading comprehension in German–English late-acquisition bilinguals. In comparison to conventional subtraction analyses in bilingual experiments, repetition suppression has the advantage of being able to detect neuronal populations that are sensitive to properties that are shared by consecutive stimuli. In this study, we manipulated the syntactic structure between prime and target sentences. A sentence with a passive sentence structure in English was preceded either by a passive or by an active sentence in English or German. We looked for repetition suppression effects in left inferior frontal, left precentral and left middle temporal regions of interest. These regions were defined by a contrast of all non-target sentences in German and English versus the baseline of sentence-format consonant strings. We found decreases in activity (repetition suppression effects) in these regions of interest following the repetition of syntactic structure from the first to the second language and within the second language.Moreover, a separate behavioural experiment using a word-by-word reading paradigm similar to the fMRI experiment showed faster reading times for primed compared to unprimed English target sentences regardless of whether they were preceded by an English or a German sentence of the same structure.We conclude that there is interaction between the language processing systems and that at least some syntactic information is shared between a bilingual's languages with similar syntactic structures.

Fine-tuned: Phonology and Semantics Affect First- to Second-language Zooming In

We investigate how L1 phonology and semantics affect processing of interlingual homographs by manipulating language context before, and auditory input during, a visual experiment in the L2. Three experiments contained German--English homograph primes (gift=German "poison") in English sentences and was performed by German (L1) learners of English (L2). Both reaction times and event-related brain potentials were measured on targets reflecting the German meaning of the interlingual homograph. In Experiment 1, participants viewed a pre-experiment English film, then half of the participants (n=16) heard noise and the other half (n=16) heard German pseudowords during the experiment; in Experiment 2, participants (n=16) viewed a pre-experiment German film then heard noise; and in Experiment 3, participants (n=16) viewed the pre-experiment English film then heard real German words. Those who had viewed the English film then heard noise during Experiment 1 showed no L1 influence. Those who saw the English film but heard German pseudowords during Experiment 1, or viewed the German film before and heard noise during Experiment 2, showed L1 influence as indicated by N400 priming of L1-related targets in the first half of the experiment. This suggests that a pre-experiment film in the L1 or the presence of L1 phonology during the experiment slowed down adjustment to the L2 task. In Experiment 3 with real L1 words in the background, N400 priming of L1 meanings was observed throughout the entire experiment for lower-proficiency participants. We discuss our findings in terms of context types that affect L1-to-L2 adjustment.

(Non-)Sense in note-taking for consecutive interpreting

The paper applies cognitive theories of text and language processing, and in particular relevance theory, to the analysis of notes in consecutive interpreting. In contrast to the pre-cognitive view, in which note-taking is seen mainly as a memory-supporting technique, the process of note-taking is described as the reception and production of a notation text. Adding the relevance-theoretical constructs of explicature and implicature to the general account of cognitive text processing as coherence building and the construction of a mental representation at local and global levels, this approach allows for the comparison of source, notation and target texts with respect to the underlying propositional representation, and shows how the sense of highly fragmentary notation texts is recovered in consecutive interpreting. The paper is based on an empirical study involving consecutive interpretations (English–German) by five trainee interpreters. The analysis shows that the interpreters operate relatively closely along micropropositional lines when processing the source, notation and target texts, with the explicature regularly having the same propositional form as the corresponding proposition in the source text.

A retrospective study on the prevalence of primary cataracts in two pedigrees from the German population of English Cocker Spaniels

Two pedigrees from the German English Cocker Spaniel population are presented to illustrate the familial occurrence of primary cataract (CAT) in single- and multicolored English Cocker Spaniels. The aim was to characterize similarities and differences in the prevalence and formation of CAT in these separately bred color variants of English Cocker Spaniels. The study was based on the veterinary records for presumed inherited eye diseases of 1232 English Cocker Spaniels which were provided by the German panel of the European Eye Scheme for diagnosis of inherited eye diseases in animals (DOK, <http://www.dok-vet.de>). Data included information on 615 single-colored and 617 multicolored English Cocker Spaniels. CAT was diagnosed in 92 (14.96%) of the single-colored and 34 (5.51%) of the multicolored English Cocker Spaniels. The pedigree of the single-colored English Cocker Spaniels included 40 ophthalmologically examined dogs with 18 unaffected and 22 affected dogs. The pedigree of the multicolored English Cocker Spaniels contained 16 ophthalmologically examined dogs with 11 unaffected and five affected dogs. In both color variants of the English Cocker Spaniels different forms of primary CAT with respect to location within the lens occurred among close relatives. Appearance of CAT was very heterogeneous without obvious sex differences. The sample pedigrees do not support the assumption of familial segregation of specific forms of primary CAT in English Cocker Spaniels.

The Germans in Sydney

From the beginning German-speaking people have played a small but significant part in the history of Sydney. In fact the colony’s first governor, Arthur Phillip, was of German–English parentage: his father, a German teacher in London, came from the Hessian town of Frankfurt. Phillip Schaeffer, the Supervisor of the First Fleet, was also of Hessian background, and so was Augustus Alt, the first Surveyor of Lands in New South Wales. Alt played an important part in the design and construction of Sydney during the first ten years. On retirement both men joined the ranks of the colony’s early free settlers.

(Non-) Sense in note-taking for consecutive interpreting

The paper applies cognitive theories of text and language processing, and in particular relevance theory, to the analysis of notes in consecutive interpreting. In contrast to the pre-cognitive view, in which note-taking is seen mainly as a memory-supporting technique, the process of note-taking is described as the reception and production of a notation text. Adding the relevance-theoretical constructs of explicature and implicature to the general account of cognitive text processing as coherence building and the construction of a mental representation at local and global levels, this approach allows for the comparison of source, notation and target texts with respect to the underlying propositional representation, and shows how the sense of highly fragmentary notation texts is recovered in consecutive interpreting. The paper is based on an empirical study involving consecutive interpretations (English–German) by five trainee interpreters. The analysis shows that the interpreters operate relatively closely along micropropositional lines when processing the source, notation and target texts, with the explicature regularly having the same propositional form as the corresponding proposition in the source text.

Why English Crown Courts and German District Courts are more than just dissimilar

Abstract In this paper we will look into different conceptual frames for the comparative study of courtrooms - interactional and epistemic. Accordingly, we offer two rounds of comparing English Crown Courts and German Landgerichte (translated here as District Courts) - with an emphasis on the last round. We will argue that courts appear in greater diversity once we take into account their roles in processes of knowing. The comparisons are grounded in two ethnographic studies on the micro-formation of criminal cases, conducted in England and in Germany.

Glossarium Bibliothecarii Multilinguale – Dictionary of Book and Librarianship (German–English–Russian–Georgian)

Glossarium Bibliothecarii Multilinguale – Dictionary of Book and Librarianship (German–English–Russian–Georgian)

The nature of the processing distinction between regular and irregular verbs: Evidence from an English–German bilingual aphasic speaker

The nature of the processing distinction between regular and irregular verbs: Evidence from an English–German bilingual aphasic speaker

Die Afrikaanse partikel ewe/effe(ns) in vergelyking met Nederlands even/effe(n), Duits eben en Engels even

The Afrikaans particle ewe/effe(ns), Dutch even/effen, High German eben and English even all developed from a common Germanic root. Dual root meanings can be distinguished, namely (i) 'equal' and (ii) 'level'. From these root meanings, various adverbial functions developed in the four languages, such as specifiers of time, place and degree, and illocutionary, focus and modal functions. German developed, in particular, the semantic value of 'categorical affirmation' from (i), but also certain values from (ii). Modern English mainly retains a scalar focus function from (i). Dutch developed a quantifying specification of degree with temporal and illocutionary applications; effe(n) is at present an informal variant of even. Afrikaans, derived from older Dutch, developed from (ii) the specifier of degree effe(ns) and an ironic-contrastive function ewe, of which the latter can be considered a new development.

Collection of Class Room Materials: European and International Law in the Field of Social Affairs; European and International Social Policies (Skriptum: Europaeisches und Internationales Sozialrecht. Europaeische und Internationale Sozialpoltik)

German Abstract:English Abstract: This class-room material collection, actually being used in the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Austria (March 2015) for newly entering ministerial employees, is being made available freely on-line to the public in Europe and beyond. It aims to present a broad and general introduction into the functionings and contents of European and international social policies and the institutional framework, which is at their basis.The basic theoretical framework is particularly influenced by the question of how to achieve a social convergence in the divergent continent. The class-room materials could be of special interest not only to students and academics, dealing with European studies, but also to the staff of ministries, regional and municipal entities in the new member states of the European Union, and in the accession countries and neighboring countries of Europe, and to staff of international bureaucracies and transnational corporations dealing with the European region.The materials present an overview of the decision making process at the level of the European Union, they introduce the logic and functionings of European law, and present the structures of the European parliament, the European Union Commission, the entry into force of the Lisbon contract etc.The presentation of the social policies of the European Union is connected with a more broader debate on the noble aims and dismal realities of the so-called EU-2020 process, by which the Union aimed in 2010 to make smarter and more growth-oriented.The materials remind readers of the importance of the United Nations, the ILO, the WTO, and the Council of Europe. Their socio-political agenda and basic structures are presented, all again in the theoretical framework of the economic and social convergence and divergence in Europe.

The Enlightenment in Translation: Regional and European Aspects1

During the eighteenth century modern European languages obtained a new wealth of literary, scientific and philosophical idiom through translation. Translations from Latin into French, Italian, Spanish, English and German, and to a lesser degree between these languages, multiplied steadily. This marked rise in inter-lingual renderings, within the general growth of the book market, paralleled a growing awareness of the complexities of translation, and novel attempts at its theorising. This paper offers a survey of the main centres, trajectories, genres and practitioners of translations associated with the Enlightenment. It examines the limits of the status of French as the eighteenth-century lingua franca, and dwells on such notable cultural links as the English–German translation route. Quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of translations are presented, and a layout is offered for comparisons between disparate cultures of Enlightenment in respect of approaches to translation. Relatively under-researched topics are mentioned, such as mistranslation and ‘oral translation’. Translation is discussed as a tool of both inter-cultural affinity and cultural particularism. By way of preliminary mapping of a broad scene, an argument is made for the eighteenth-century transformation from a ‘republic of letters’ dominated by erudite bilinguists or multilinguists, to a budding ‘democracy of letters’ encompassing masses of monolingual readers. Résumé: Au cours du dix-huitième siècle, les langues européennes obtinrent une nouvelle richesse d'idiomes littéraire, scientifique et philosophique en traduction. Du Latin en français, italien, espagnol, anglais et allemand et dans une moindre mesure entre eux ces langues se multiplièrent. Cette montée en puissance de la traduction et du marché du livre en général voyait une croissance égale dans la perception des problèmes de la traduction et de nouvelles tentatives à sa théorisation. Cet article se penche sur les centres principaux, les trajectoires et les praticiens de la traduction de l'ère des Lumières. Il examine les limites du français en temps que lingua francas du dix-huitième siècle et se penche sur des liens culturels tels que ceux entre l'anglais et l'allemand. Des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives pour l'étude des traductions sont présentées et une structure comparative permettant la comparaison des cultures des lumières. Des sujets peu étudiés tels que les mauvaises traductions et la traduction orale sont mentionnés. La traduction est présentée à la fois comme un outil d'affinité interculturelle et de particularisme culturel. En vue de l'analyse de ce contexte élargi cet article présente les traductions comme un des outils de la transformation d'une république des lettres dominée par des érudits multilingues en une démocratie des lettres naissante composée de masses de lecteurs monolingues.

Language Activation in the Thinking Processes of a Multilingual Language User

The present study looks at the levels of activation of different languages a trilingual language user operates in at the moment of text construction in one of these languages. Forty-eight Portuguese advanced users of English (L2) and intermediate in German (L3) were asked to perform a translation task. The subjects were divided into two subgroups: Group 1 was exposed to the input text in L1 (Portuguese) to be translated into L3, while Group 2 were to translate the same from their L2 into L3. The data collected through simultaneous introspection was compared in terms of languages activated on the level of conceptualisation: macroplanning (content) and microplanning (form), i.e. verbalised thoughts (object-regulation), formulation (encoding: selection of syntactic, lexical and morphological information – object and other regulation) and articulation (the final output – self-regulation). The levels of activation of L1, L2 and L3 were observed as well as intentional versus unintentional switches between languages. It was assumed that the language of input would determine the choice of languages activated in the process of translation. Also language proficiency, learning profiles and mode of language instruction were believed to influence text construction and strategies used.

Variable Plural Marking With Measure Nouns in Non-Standard English and Low German Dialects

Variable Plural Marking With Measure Nouns in Non-Standard English and Low German Dialects

Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts, Scribes and Authors from the Collections of the Bavarian State Library in Munich

Article Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts, Scribes and Authors from the Collections of the Bavarian State Library in Munich was published on December 18, 2005 in the journal English and American Studies in German (volume 2005, issue 2005).

Cultural Contact and Racial Presences: African Americans in German Literature about the United States of America, 1815–1914.

Article Cultural Contact and Racial Presences: African Americans in German Literature about the United States of America, 1815–1914. was published on December 18, 2005 in the journal English and American Studies in German (volume 2005, issue 2005).

Masculinities: Conceptions of Maleness in the Works of Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence

Article Masculinities: Conceptions of Maleness in the Works of Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence was published on December 18, 2005 in the journal English and American Studies in German (volume 2005, issue 2005).