Young academics

Current dissertation projects

Translation Studies/Linguistics

Theoretical Foundations and Practical Elaboration of Frame Based Terminology

In my dissertation I analyse Frame-Based Terminology (FBT), a terminological theory that proposes to organise terms in a domain using frames. Frames highlight the role of terms as well as their relationships to other terms within a domain and form the basis for semantic networks and terminological definitions. The aim of my dissertation is to provide a practical guide to the general steps involved in creating frames. To this end, I will examine the theoretical foundations of FBT and apply it to represent different domains.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr Pius ten Hacken
Secondary supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr Paul Danler
Irene Jiménez Alonso irene.jimenez-alonso@student.uibk.ac.at

Compounds at the Interface between Form, Meaning and Use: A Contrastive Analysis of German, Russian and Polish

Compounds are a central word formation mechanism in German, whereas their position is much less prominent in Slavic languages, which raises the question of how compounds are stored differently in the mental lexicon of speakers of these languages. In my dissertation, in addition to creating a cross-linguistic working definition, I will carry out an empirical data analysis on the topic of composition in German and its realisation in the two Slavic languages Russian and Polish, before finally investigating the question of how the meanings of the expressions discussed are determined and stored in the mental lexicon.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr Pius ten Hacken
Second supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr Jürgen Fuchsbauer
Lisa-Marie Lang Lisa.M.Lang@student.uibk.ac.at

Dealing with polysemy from a cognitivist perspective in online dictionaries for learners

This dissertation project investigates the handling of polysemy in lexicography. The aim is to find out how ambiguous words can be presented in a dictionary in such a way that they are semantically and cognitively comprehensible for the user (cf. extension of meaning, metaphor, etc.). The description and differentiation of meaning is achieved by working with corpora: The context is decisive here - which is why the lexicon entries do not consist of individual lexemes but of phraseological units.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Laura Giacomini
Secondary supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr Pius ten Hacken
Laura Rebosio Laura.Rebosio@uibk.ac.at

Knowledge Bases for Under-Resourced Languages

Knowledge bases, e.g. in the form of knowledge graphs, enable the storage and representation of knowledge in different languages, facilitate the deployment of multilingual applications, and promote a community-driven ecosystem for all. The aim of this PhD project is to provide new insights into how knowledge representation and reasoning can be used to support under-resourced languages. This will be shown by providing the example of Quechua.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Laura Giacomini
Elwin Huaman Elwin.Huaman@uibk.ac.at

Interpreting science

Testing the effectiveness of exercises in interpreting training

The dissertation project is dedicated to the role of specific exercises for prospective conference interpreters. The theoretical basis is formed by findings from interpreting science, learning psychology, cognitive load theory and memory research. The empirical part of the dissertation analyses the effectiveness of subtask training in interpreter training.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Martina Behr
Vladimir Balakhonov Vladimir.Balakhonov@uibk.ac.at

Interpreting in easy language

This dissertation focuses on simultaneous interpreting into plain language. Existing rules for plain language are analysed and supplemented by recommendations for improving comprehensibility in spoken language. In addition, an analysis of explanatory videos in plain language will be carried out with the aim of gaining insights and deriving recommendations for interpreting into plain language in order to make communication services easily accessible.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Martina Behr
Monika Bomm Monika.Niederhofer@student.uibk.ac.at

A comparison of interpreting didactic approaches

This dissertation compares interpreting didactic approaches from East and West Germany in order to provide an overview of the main differences in interpreter training. After an introductory literature review, a comparative analysis of the curricula for interpreter training at seven Russian and seven German/Austrian universities is carried out. In-depth interviews with interpreting lecturers from Russia will complete the findings.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Martina Behr
Ruth Mauritz Ruth.Mauritz@student.uibk.ac.at

Speaker pauses and the interpreter's cognitive load during simultaneous interpreting

This dissertation project is intended as process research and is primarily concerned with listening comprehension during simultaneous interpreting and the associated cognitive load. A particular focus is on the role of the speaker and his/her pauses and their significance for simultaneous interpreters.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Martina Behr
Mariia Siemer Mariia.Siemer@student.uibk.ac.at

The role of preparation in conference interpreting

The aim of the dissertation "The role of preparation in interpreting" is to find out how interpreters today prepare for their interpreting assignments, into which phases the preparation can be divided and whether there is a structured preparation or whether such a preparation is possible at all. The dissertation deals with the questions of which types of knowledge are more important in which phase of preparation, how interpreters acquire the necessary knowledge and what role priming plays in this, especially for expectations/participation. Among other things, the questions of what role new media play in preparation and whether interpreters suffer from information overload will be addressed.

Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr habil. Martina Behr
Sonja Trzin Berta Sonja.Trzin-Berta@student.uibk.ac.at

In addition to the theses mentioned above, habilitated INTRAWI staff members are supervising dissertations currently being written at other universities as second supervisors.

Cultural studies relevant to translation

Autriche in the Encyclopédie - a contribution to the clarification of Franco-Austrian cultural relations in the 18th century

My dissertation project is loosely connected to the broad-based academic project DECAF (Dictionnaire des échanges culturels Autriche-France - Dictionary of Austro-French Cultural Exchange, funded by the FWF for the Brenner Archive at the University of Innsbruck and by the ANR for the Université de Lorraine, site de Metz), which will record Franco-Austrian cultural relations from the beginning of Maria Theresa's reign to the present day in a dictionary with predominantly prosopographical articles. As part of such a project, it is important to reflect, among other things, on what ideas and attitudes exist towards the other country and its people and how these change over time under the influence of changing political and intellectual-historical circumstances. Accordingly, I will address the question of the extent to which Austria is represented in the Encyclopédie (with the full title Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une société de gens de lettres. Mis en ordre & publié par M. DIDEROT, de l'Académie Royale des Sciences & des Belles-Lettres de Prusse ; et quant à la PARTIE MATHÉMATIQUE, par M. D'ALEMBERT, de l'Académie Royale des Sciences de Paris, de celle de Prusse, & de la Société Royale de Londres), the monumental reference work of the French Enlightenment by Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean Le Rond D'Alembert (1717-1783). The study is thus concerned with the image that the intellectual avant-garde of the French Enlightenment associated with the concept of Autriche and which, due to censorship, was often hidden in inconspicuous and ideologically unsuspicious articles. This is done against the background of the French dictionary landscape of the 18th century, including its social influencing factors and taking into account the practices that were common in encyclopaedic writing at the time.

For further information: https://www.uibk.ac.at/fsp-kultur/nachwuchs/texte/mayer-translationswissenschaft-autriche.html

Main supervisor: Professor Emeritus Dr Sigurd Paul Scheichl, Department of German Studies
Second supervisor: former university professor Dr Gunda Barth-Scalmani, Institute of History and European Ethnology
Martina Mayer Martina.Mayer@uibk.ac.at