Dr Catharina Peersman
Lecturer
Telephone: (0114) 222 0637
Email: c.peersman@sheffield.ac.uk
Qualifications
BA French and Spanish, MA Linguistics, MA Medieval Studies, PhD French Linguistics (KULeuven)
Biography
As is often the case with Belgian academics, I did all my studies at the same university (KULeuven): I obtained a BA in French and Spanish (2001), an MA in French Linguistics (2003), a specialisation MA in Medieval Studies, my teacher's formation and a degree in the translation of French and English governmental texts (all in 2004) and finally a PhD (2009). Following the completion of my PhD on the rise of written vernaculars in medieval Flemish charters, I took up two postdoctoral fellowships: one from the Belgian American Educational Foundation at the University of Minnesota (2009-10) and another from the Research Foundation-Flanders, once again at the KULeuven (2009-2012). As a postdoc, I taught various classes and seminars ranging from the analysis of Béroul's Tristan over French historical texts to applied linguistics.
Research Interests
- Language perception and language use of medieval French, always in relation to other available languages (Latin and other vernaculars)
- The rise of written vernaculars in medieval Europe, specifically in non-literary texts (e.g. charters)
- Diachronic evolution of language and identity (non-literary and literary texts)
- Edition of Old French texts
- The Belgian language conflict; language use and perception in Belgian media
- Language use and identity
Current and Recent Research Projects
- Romance-Germanic Encounters in the Low Countries (thematic session at the 19th Sociolinguistics Symposium, Aug. 2012, Berlin)
- Edition of the Lai du Conseil, with J. Rider and B. Gregoriu
- Language perception and language use in the narration of the Franco-Flemish conflict (1297-1307); the sociolinguistic impact of 1302 (since 2009)
- Collaboration with the CNRS research unit UMR 8094 LATTICE, correcting the computerized morpho-syntactic labeling by SATO software of the Roman de la Rose ou de Guillaume de Dole (2010)
Key Recent Publications
- 2013. Rider, J. - Grigoriu, B.E. - Peersman, C. eds. Le Lai du Conseil. Liverpool Online Series - Critical Editions of French texts.
- 2012. L'essor des langues vernaculaires dans les chartes de Ninove. Perspectives sociolinguistiques sur l’essor et l’emploi de l’ancien français dans les chartes de l’abbaye 1137-1350. Presses Académiques francophones
- 2012. "Written Vernaculars in Medieval and Renaissance Times". In: J.M. Hernández-Campoy - J.C. Conde-Silvestre, The Handbook of Historical Sociolinguistics, Wiley-Blackwell, 639-654.
- 2011. "Se battre ou ne pas se battre: telle est la question? Perception langagière en Flandre". Romaneske 36 (1), 3-8.
- 2009. "Une approche actuelle de matériaux médiévaux: les chartes de l'abbaye de Ninove sous l'angle de la sociolinguistique historique". In: D. AQUINO, S. COTELLI, A. KRISTOL éds., Sociolinguistique historique du domaine gallo-roman. Enjeux et méthodologies, Peter Lang, 161-185.
- 2008. "Litteris vulgariter in lingua romana expositis : l'ancien français dans les chartes de l'abbaye de Ninove". In: Y.LEPAGE & C. MILAT éds., Pour s’onor croistre. Mélanges offerts à Pierre Kunstmann, Editions David, 289-301.
- 2008. "De opkomst van de volkstalen in de oorkonden van de abdij van Ninove. Case-study van een bewogen eeuw (1250-1350)". Handelingen van de Koninklijke Zuid-Nederlandse Maatschappij voor Taal-, Letterkunde en Geschiedenis LXI, 129-145.
- 2008. "French medieval charters: a lexicographic case-study". In: M. MOOIJAERT & M. VANDER WAL eds., Yesterday’s Words: Contemporary, Current and Future Lexicography, Cambridge Scholars Press, 241-251.
Professional Activities
- External examiner for the Université de Luxembourg (MA thesis, Les représentations de l’usage des langues au sein des familles bilingues vivant au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, Febr. 2012)
- Member of the University of Sheffield Centre for Luxembourg Studies
- Internal PhD examiner
- Member of the University of Sheffield Centre for Dutch Studies
Postgraduate Research
I am interested in supervising research in the following areas: French sociolinguistics, medieval French language and culture, language perception and language use in medieval Flanders and the Belgian media. Other topics can be discussed.
Teaching
Postgraduate
- tbc
Undergraduate
- FRE109/110 French Language and Commincation Studies
- MDL104 Introductory Linguistics for Modern Languages
- FRE113 Des Gaulois à de Gaulle: histoire pratique du français
- FRE114 The World of French Words
- FRE201/202 French Language and Communication
- FRE301/302 French Language and Communication
- FRE395/396 Etudes de cas sociolinguistiques du français I & II