Our department maintains a strong program of research and teaching in Germanic linguistics with a particular focus on modern synchronic linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax) and historical linguistics. We collaborate closely with colleagues in Germanic philology, in the Departments of Linguistics and Second Language Studies at Indiana University, and abroad.

The focus of Tracy Alan Hall’s research is the phonology of modern standard German and modern German dialects, sound change, and general phonology. He teaches classes at the undergraduate and graduate level on German phonology, German morphology, and the history of Germanic and general phonological theory. Professor Hall is the editor of the Journal of Germanic Linguistics.

Chris Sapp’s work straddles the boundary between philology and theoretical linguistics. He is primarily interested in syntactic variation and change, and his current major project is the development of a syntactically parsed historical corpus of High German, spanning the years 1150-1950. In addition to courses in Philology, he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on German syntax and historical linguistics.

Rex Sprouse conducts research on second language acquisition and the structure and history of the Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages of Western Europe. Sprouse is a professor of Second Language Studies, adjunct professor of Linguistics and Germanic Studies, and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Second Language Studies.

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