Main Fields of Research Interests

Linguistics: Language typology/language universals, formal vs. functional linguistics, grammaticalization, language contact/areal typology.

Languages of interest: East and mainland Southeast Asian languages, Caucasian (Georgian and others), Austronesian (Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Yabêm) and Yoruba (with R. Sonaiya, Nigeria).

General: The consequences of contact situations for cultures and languages, social actors with their motivations and models of social networks, social processes at the micro level and their interrelation with the macro level.

Functions and Memberships

  • Editor of Trends in Linguistics, Mouton de Gruyter (with H.H. Hock and W. Winter)
  • Editor of Asian Linguistics, RoutledgeCurzon
  • Editor of Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft (since March 2007)
  • Since 2004 Member of the Review Board for Linguistics (DFG-Fachkollegium 104 “Sprachwissenschaften”)
  • Since 2006 Management Committee of COST 31A (European Science Foundation): Stability and Adaptation of Classification Systems in a Cross-Cultural Perspective
  • 2006/2007 Peer reviewer of the European Science Foundation (Pool 2007/2008 member)
  • 1996 – now: Head of the Landesgraduiertenförderung at the University of Mainz
  • since June 1999 Coordinator of the Collaborative Research Center “Cultural and Linguistic Contacts”