Marga Reis

Marga Reis is a linguist and emerita professor of German Linguistics at the University of Tübingen. Her research interests are the grammar of present-day and diachronic German linguistics, with a focus on syntax, word formation, and the relationship between grammar and pragmatics.

Biography

Reis received an MA in Latin philology from Bryn Mawr College in 1965, and earned a PhD in German at LMU Munich in 1970 with a dissertation entitled "Phonological theory and historical phonology. Studies of lengthening and shortening processes in German." ('Lauttheorie und Lautgeschichte. Untersuchungen am Beispiel der Dehnungs- und Kürzungsvorgänge im Deutschen'). In 1975, she completed a habilitation in German Philology at LMU Munich with "Presuppositions and Syntax" ('Präsuppositionen und Syntax').

Reis held positions as professor of German Linguistics at the University of Cologne (from 1975-1984) and the University of Tübingen (from 1984-2009). Since 2009, she is emerita professor at the University of Tübingen. Reis additionally held many visiting positions, including at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1972-1973), Université de Paris VIII (1979-1980, 1982-1983), and the Centre General Linguistics (ZAS) in Berlin, Germany (1999-2000). Awards

In 2010, Reis was named Honorary Professor at the Institute for German Language and Linguistics at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. In 2016, Reis was awarded the Wilhelm von Humboldt Prize for lifetime achievement in Germany.

Selected publications