Biographical Information

since February 2019: Research Assistant and PhD Student at the Research Training Group 1808: Ambiguity – Production and Perception, Tübingen University
10/2018: First State Examination in History
Fellowship: Friedrich-Ebert-Scholarship (2015–2019)
4/2018: First State Examination in English
2014-2015: Foreign Language Assitant, Lichfield UK
2012–2019: Studies in English and History at Tuebingen University
Student research assistant (2012–2019) Tuebingen University

Research Interests

Rhetorical questions
Questions
Pragmatics

Abstract: Questions and Communicative Functions in Political Speech (working title)

Gricean approach to communication as a form of rational action views the speaker and listener as rational and cooperative conversation partners who optimize their utterances to transfer information efficiently. Following this assumption, one could assume that speakers in political settings should use precise wording to avoid any form of misunderstanding. In this project, I investigate the functions of rhetorical questions (henceforth RQs) in Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign speeches 2015-2016. According to the empirical investigation of 16 speeches and over 700 ordinary and rhetorical questions of Donald Trump, I can show that neither ambiguous nor vague expressions e.g., coded words, are avoided, but rather intended to reach communicative goals other than the efficient transfer of information. I argue for an adapted speech act approach which is influenced by Daniel Harris’ (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), Craige Roberts’ (2018) and Jennifer Saul’s (2018) observations of speech acts and their perlocutionary force in context. Previous speech acts theories neither include strategic ambiguity nor the relation of ambiguity and RQs in speeches and cannot explain the persuasive power and different functions of RQs in political speech (Han 2002, Ilie 1994, Molnar & Winkler, Roberts 2018, Rohde 2006, Searle 1975).

Papers

“Questions in Political Speech: Speech Act and QuD-Based Approaches” 19.01.2021, Research Colloquium (Prof. Susanne Winkler): Research Topic Topics at the Syntax-Pragmatics Interface. University of Tuebingen.
“Questions and Communicative Functions in Political Speech” 01.02.2021, Text (Prof. Regine Eckhardt), Universität Konstanz.
“When is it Great Again? Vagueness and Ambiguity as Communicative Strategies in Rhetorical Questions” 01.07.2021, Panel: How vague and ambiguous are vagueness and ambiguity? (organized by Ilaria Fiorentini, Chiara Zanchi), 17th International Pragmatics Conference 27 June – 2 July 2021 Winterthur, Switzerland.
“Speech Acts in Discourse Context by Craige Roberts (2018)”, 06.07.2021, Research Colloquium (Prof. Susanne Winkler): Research Topic Topics at the Syntax-Pragmatics Interface. University of Tuebingen.
“Rhetorical Questions as Speech Acts in Political Speeches Communicative Functions and Effects” 09.12.2021, New Zealand Discourse Conference 8. University of Canterbury.
“Dog Whistles in Rhetorical Questions” Tandem Talk with Jennifer Saul (University of Waterloo) 20.01.2022, Research Colloquium: Ambiguity: Production and Perception. University of Tuebingen.

Workshops (Organisation)

“Information Structure and Ambiguity: The Process of Integrating Sentences into Discourse”. Internationaler Workshop. 7.-8.10.2019, Universität Tübingen.

Publications

Reppert, Thorsten; Maren Rohleder; Joshua Seger, Anna Steinmeier (2019) "Abgesicherte Freiheit in einer digitalen Arbeitswelt" In: Neue Gesellschaft Frankfurter Hefte 11/2019.