The Department offers a Ph.D. program in Germanic linguistics. Students without an M.A. in German/Germanic linguistics or its equivalent earn an M.A. en route to the Ph.D. in Germanic linguistics. The program in Germanic linguistics offers a broad range of courses in contemporary (New High German and its dialects) and historical language (Gothic, Old High German, Old Saxon, Middle and Early New High German) and in the methods of German and Germanic linguistics, including recent directions in theoretical approaches such as cognitive models, corpus linguistics, and semiotics. The Bay Area German Project (BAG) offers the methods of linguistic fieldwork and socio-cultural analysis of German as it is spoken by native and first-generation German speakers in the Bay Area. Interdisciplinary courses in other Germanic languages, for example, Dutch, English, Scandinavian languages, as well as in non-Germanic languages, e.g., Slavic, Romance languages, and/or non-Indo-European languages are encouraged. Participation in the biennial Berkeley Germanic Linguistics Roundtable and the annual Semiotic Circle of California affords students a forum to present their linguistic and/or semiotic research.

M.A. Course Work
Students entering with a B.A. frequently take upper-division courses 170 (History of German Language), 171 (German Language Change and Societal Change), 173 (The Phonetics and Phonology of Modern German) and 174 (The Morphology and Syntax of Modern German) in order to give them an initial orientation into the discipline. A knowledge of Middle High German as well as proficiency in oral and written New High German are required. Metalinguistics, i.e., contemporary methods in Germanic linguistics, is integral to every German linguistics course in the curriculum. Courses at the 200 level and seminars in the 290 series with varying topics are intended to deepen the student's factual/data base and theoretical sophistication by focusing on issues and areas such as the Dialects of Modern German, German Semantics, German Morphology, Contrastive Grammars, German Syntax, The German(ic) Verb, Problems in German Phonology, Germanic Linguistics through Time and Space, and Semiotics.

M.A. Examination
Normally the M.A. examination is taken by the end of the second year of study; students are encouraged to consult closely with their adviser on their progress and to give thought well in advance to arranging and preparing for this examination. The M.A. examination is a three-hour written examination with an additional three hours for revision; it concentrates on the linguistic structure of the Modern German language, its genetic provenance, the history of the German language, and current linguistic methods in the study of Germanic linguistics.

Ph.D. Course Work
An M.A. in Germanic linguistics, or its equivalent, is a prerequisite for admission to the Ph.D. program. Students are expected to consult with the Germanic linguistics adviser in order to set up their best plan of study for the Ph.D. For their dissertation research, students may choose to concentrate on contemporary or historical German/Germanic language. They are expected to be knowledgeable in all periods of the history of the German language, in all components of its grammar—phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics—as well as in current theoretical linguistic theories. As part of their training, students are encouraged to participate in public lecture forums, both on and off campus, and to learn to write publishable research papers.

Ph.D. Language Requirement
Students must acquire a useful reading knowledge of two languages other than German or English (Option I) or demonstrate an exceptionally thorough knowledge of one language other than German or English (Option II), at the latest by the end of the semester before they take the Ph.D. qualifying examination. Choice of language(s) should take into consideration the research interests of the student.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination
The qualifying examination for students specializing in Germanic linguistics takes place at the end of the fourth semester of Ph.D. work. It consists of two three-hour written examinations, each of which may be extended by three additional hours for revision, and an oral examination of three hours. The examination deals primarily with advanced problems in the linguistic study of the German language, its contemporary and historical dialects and periods, comparative Germanic, and challenging and innovative methods in German and Germanic theoretical linguistics. Preparatory to the examination, each student will compile a reading list in consultation with his/her adviser. An outside complementary field selected by the student is examined as part of the oral examination.

For further information please contact Professor Irmengard Rauch irauch@berkeley.edu, Advisor for Germanic Linguistics.