15.06.2021

Borrowed words and shared objects

Colloquium by Dr. Nikolas Gestrich & Prof. Dr. Henning Schreiber

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Time: Tuesday, 15th June 2021, 11am sharp

Speaker: Dr. Nikolas Gestrich (Frobenius-Institute University of Frankfurt) and Prof. Dr. Henning Schreiber (University of Hamburg)

Project: „Lehnwörter und Tauschobjekte: Archäo-linguistische Netzwerkanalyse und -modellierung der kulturellen Verflechtungen entlang des Nigers, zwischen Sahara und Regenwald (700-1500 n. Chr.)"

Title: Borrowed words and shared objects

Abstract: 
This talk will present preliminary findings of a joint linguistic and archaeological research programme that focuses on the middle reaches of the Niger River in the medieval period. The project examines the nature of cultural contact and cultural change by combining the evidence from loanwords and from the distribution of archaeological objects. In this talk, we will discuss ceramics from the Dogon country as a case study, and show a method that employs elements from cognitive linguistics in a modification of the words-and-things approach.

We welcome you all to join us via Zoom and we will send around the specific link on the day before the talk.