Language Variation and Language Change is concerned with synchronic and diachronic variation in a great variety of Indo-european and Finno-Ugric languages. From their different language backgrounds, members of this group address their research questions using the ''bottom-up approach'', i.e. starting with the collection and analysis of a solid body of data and examining its implications for theoretical claims. They thus contribute both to a better understanding of the language families they specialize in and to a number of current theoretical issues, which are specified below.
In the plan period 2005-2009 Language Variation and Language Change will concentrate on the following areas (note that most researchers are involved in more than one area):
Synchronic variation
Researchers in this area concern themselves with the study and analysis of phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic variation in various languages and dialects. Topics include the encoding of tense, mood and aspect (Ancient Greek, German, Scandinavian); impersonal constructions (Finno-Ugric); markedness and definiteness (Ancient Greek); semantic structures (Hungarian); dialect geography (Slavic, German); lexicography (English, Balto-Finnic); communicative strategies (Romance) language attitudes (Finno-Ugric, Slavic).
Diachronic variation
Researchers in this area are primarily concerned with morphosyntactic changes such as grammaticalization, deflexion, changes in the encoding of tense, mood and aspect (German, Scandinavian, Finno-Ugric and Romance). Some are also engaged in the reconstruction of older stages of dialect groups and languages (Dutch, Slavic).
Language contact in past and present times
Researchers in this area focus on contact-induced language change (Finnic, Scandinavian, Romance); the dialect-standard language continuum (in the province of Groningen and on both sides of the Dutch-German border); the influence of High and Low German on neighbouring languages and language families (Sorbian, Kashubian, Scandinavian and Balto-Finnic).
Planned publications include several PhD dissertations in each of the above-mentioned areas, monographs (e.g on tense and aspect in Ancient Greek and a new edition of a handbook of German dialects), conference volumes and lexicons (e.g. on Older Germanic loans in Baltic languages and both a monolingual and a bilingual dictionary of English).
Recent international conferences include "The 6th International Colloquium on Greek Linguistics" (June 2007) and "Language contact in times of globalization" (September 2006).
