The research axis Linguistic Diversity and its Sources (DiLiS), which is coordinated by Anetta Kopecka and Brigitte Pakendorf, resulted from the merger, in 2020, of two previous axes : “Description, Fieldwork, Typology” (DTT) and “History and Ecology of Language and Languages” (HELAN2). Members of this research axis conduct basic research in linguistic description, typology, and the history and ecology of languages, with data collection undertaken through fieldwork in different communities around the world (see the map below). In addition, documentation of endangered languages and archiving of the materials collected in the field for the use of future generations are important features of our work.

The main aims of our research are (1) to describe un- and underdescribed languages in order to contribute to our understanding of crosslinguistic diversity, (2) to identify typologically interesting features in the languages that we study and thus to contribute new data towards existing typologies, (3) to study the language-internal and -external factors that play a role in the emergence of linguistic diversity, and (4) to evaluate the consequences of the ongoing rapid loss of minority languages all over the world. Our research is structured around these four themes, with discussion of ongoing work and results in a regular research seminar.

  Origins of linguistic diversity
  Language description
  Linguistic typology
  Endangered languages

Languages studied by the team members