Università Roma Tre

Introduction to the German Language

The module aims to introduce students to the systematic study of the German language. During the first semester, the main focus will be on phonetics and phonology. The approach adopted will be of a contrastive nature, with a comparative analysis of the main differences between the German and Italian language systems. The aim is to improve students' pronunciation. Sound production processes, phonological rules, accentuation and the phoneme-grapheme relationship (thus also spelling) will be addressed. In addition, teaching methodologies will be explored and fundamental language learning strategies introduced.
In the second semester, after a brief excursus on the history of the German language, the concept of linguistic variation, both diachronic and synchronic, will be addressed. The main difficulties of the German language will be analysed, such as phrasal construction (in particular the position of elements), grammatical cases and lexical compounds. Valence theory, the study of word formation, the concept of the ‘Satzklammer’ (phrasal parenthesis) will also be introduced.

S. Lippert (2023) Studiare il tedesco. Un'introduzione, Firenze, Le Lettere.
S. Lippert (2004) Aspetti contrastivi tedesco-italiano, in: S. Lippert, Metodi e strategie dell’apprendimento linguistico. Aspetti contrastivi Tedesco-Italiano, Roma, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, p. 77 – 109 (PDF fornito dall'autrice).