Esme Winter-Froemel

Prof. Dr. Esme Winter-Froemel holds the Chair of Romance Linguistics at the Institute of Modern Languages/Romance Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Würzburg. She previously served as Professor of Romance Linguistics at the University of Trier (2015-2019) and has been at Würzburg since 2019. Since October 2023, she serves as Pro-Dean for Early Career Researchers at the Faculty of Philosophy and has been Managing Board Member of Romance Studies since 2021.

• 1996-2004: Studied Romance Philology I and II, Comparative Literature and Philosophy at Tübingen, Nantes and Pisa
• 2009: PhD at Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
• 2014: Habilitation in Romance Philology/Linguistics at Eberhard Karls University Tübingen

Prof. Winter-Froemel's research centers on Historical Linguistics of French, language change in Romance languages, and the dynamics of wordplay as linguistic creativity. She examines how linguistic structures interact with cultural contexts, focusing particularly on ambiguity in speaker-hearer interaction, lexical borrowing (especially anglicisms), and discourse traditions. Her work bridges linguistics, literary studies, and rhetoric, revealing how language change manifests through creative linguistic practices. She has pioneered research on how wordplay functions as a manifestation of linguistic dynamics, creating surprising yet motivated connections between language elements.

Her recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward examining how linguistic structures interact with cultural traditions and discourse patterns. There's a growing emphasis on cognitive and pragmatic dimensions of language use, particularly in how ambiguity functions in communication and language change. Her work on discourse traditions represents a significant theoretical contribution to understanding how linguistic patterns persist and evolve across time.

• Editor of the open-access book series "The Dynamics of Wordplay" (De Gruyter, since 2015)
• Member of scientific committees for journals Cahiers de lexicologie (since 2018) and Neologica (since 2022)
• Member of the Société Internationale de Diachronie du Français (SIDF)
• Extensive peer review activities for major linguistics journals and research funding organizations

Prof. Winter-Froemel has been actively involved in mentoring and academic administration throughout her career. As Pro-Dean for Early Career Researchers and former Coordinator of the MAAS Master's program (2019-2024), she has shaped academic pathways for students and early-career researchers. She has served as a mentor in multiple programs including SelmaMeyerMentoring-Programm, KU Eichstätt, and Frauenspezifisches Mentoring Siegen. Her administrative roles have included equality officer positions at both the University of Tübingen (2013-2014) and the University of Trier (2015-2018).

Prof. Winter-Froemel co-founded and led the Forum Sprache und Kommunikation Trier (FSK) and has been instrumental in establishing research networks including the scientific network "Dynamics of Wordplay" funded by the German Research Foundation (2013-2018). She has organized numerous international workshops and conferences, including the upcoming "Wordplay and Exclusion" workshop (May 30-31, 2025) and the "Discourse Traditions" workshop (June 24-26, 2021).