Alexander WERTH

Prof. Alexander WERTH is the Chair of German Linguistics (W3) at the University of Passau since 2021. He holds a PhD (Dr. phil.) from the University of Marburg (2009) and has held academic positions at institutions including the Universities of Augsburg, Bonn, and Erlangen-Nuremberg. His research focuses on German dialectology, historical linguistics (especially the Early Modern period), syntax, phonology, and sociolinguistics. He has authored monographs on topics like the definite article in personal names and perceptual foundations of prosody. WERTH serves on numerous academic committees, including the Franconian Dictionary Project and the Society for the History of Germanic Languages. He is the founding Dean of Studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Cultural Studies (2023) and oversees double-degree programs in Media and Communication at the Turkish-German University of Istanbul.

Education:

• Master's degree (Mag. Artium) in German Linguistics, Political Science, and Media Studies (Universities of Marburg and Hamburg, 2000-2005)
• PhD in German Linguistics from the University of Marburg (2009)

Research Interests: WERTH’s work bridges theoretical linguistics and empirical research, emphasizing dialectological, historical, and psycholinguistic approaches. Key areas include morphosyntactic variation, onymic Movierung, and the interaction between language and society. He co-edits the Journal of Language Variation and Sociolinguistics and has led projects funded by the DFG and EU.

Grants & Projects:

• DFG-funded project on auxiliary variation in German (2023-2026)
• DAAD-supported programs in Istanbul and České Budějovice

Labs/Teams: Director of the Department of Linguistic Research at the Institute for Cultural Research of Eastern Bavaria (since 2021).