CCB: Professor Adli, you are a linguist, what do you research?
Prof. Dr. Adli: We analyse the connection between language and lifestyle. Language is an important element of lifestyle. So we take a close look at the linguistic means people use when they communicate and what other lifestyle indicators they implement in their everyday lives. From this, we systematically derive insights into which groups are setting new linguistic trends today and which new forms of expression could then catch on with the vast majority.
Professor Adli, the approval of a special research area on the topic of ‘prominence in language’ is still fresh in our minds. What exactly do you mean by ‘prominence in language’
The University of Cologne has truly lived up to its reputation as a centre of excellence – this is also evident from the fact that we linguists have been granted a special research area. This is one of the largest funding programmes offered by the German Research Foundation. Under the name ‘Prominence in Language’, we are shedding light on fundamental principles in language that help speakers and listeners to communicate efficiently and in a structured way, for example to understand what the important information in what is said is. We are investigating this with 30 postdocs and doctoral students and 16 professors, looking at a wide range of languages and phenomena, from sentence melody to text structure.
You once said that Cologne is a very interesting city for your research, why
Cologne is very international. That makes it very rich. We are lucky to be dealing with a variety of lifestyles and language styles, making it a truly dynamic city. Cologne is also a very established research location with a traditional university in a region with a high density of universities and research centres. You can be in Paris in less than half a day by train or in Brussels in half the time and work with colleagues there. It is something of a research hub and that makes Cologne incredibly attractive.