MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingual Research

MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingual Research
Abbreviation MAZEM
Formation 2011
Type NGO, GmbH
Purpose Research
Location
Director
 Sonja Withopf
Affiliations University of Mannheim, Mannheim School of Humanities
Staff
 50
Website mazem.de

The MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingual Research (in German: Mannheimer Zentrum für Empirische Mehrsprachigkeitsforschung) in Mannheim, Germany is an linguistic and social research institute and member of the University of Mannheim.[1] Under the leadership of Sonja Withopf,[2] president of the Institute, MAZEM employs a staff of about 50 researchers and support staff. The MAZEM was established in Mannheim in 2011 and is still headquartered there. It is the central state-aided institution for conducting interdisciplinary linguistic research activities in the fields of language contact at the Mannheim School of Humanities, which was founded in 2011 as a non-profit company (NGO). It is registered under the legal form of a gGmbH.[3]

Research

One of the major established and interdisciplinary research focuses consists in the investigation of sociopolitical and educational challenges in the fields of multilingual communication, language system and variation, as well as language acquisition. In this field, the MAZEM coorporates with media and communication scientists and with the internationally renowned IDS – Institute of German Language (Institut für Deutsche Sprache), which stands in close ties with the University of Mannheim at institutional level through joint appeal proceedings, for instance.

The MAZEM originated from the 2002 founded "Research and Contact Area for Multilingualism (Forschungs- und Kontaktstelle Mehrsprachigkeit) and transfers knowledge from linguistic research to pedagogical practice. The research focus on multilingual communication and language acquisition also provides links to linguistic and cultural-scientific research projects in the field of 'migration and integration'. Moreover, the structure of the interdisciplinary Master Program 'Language and Communication' is oriented towards this established research focus, to link the master and doctoral studies to an even greater extent, according to the specific profile of Mannheim humanities.[4]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingual Research". phil.uni-mannheim.de. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "MAZEM Team: Sonja Withopf". MAZEM. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingual Research: Profile". Firmenwissen.de. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "University of Mannheim: MAZEM Founding". University of Mannheim. Retrieved 7 June 2014.