The German-Speaking World: A Practical Introduction to Sociolinguistic Issues

by Stevenson; Patrick

• ISBN13: 9780415129855
• ISBN10: 0415129850
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1997-06-26
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The German-Speaking Worldinvites readers to investigate and reflect on issues about the status and function of the German language in relation to its speakers and its role in societies around the world. Patrick Stevenson examines the forms and functions of individual features of the language, identifying features of regional speech forms, analyzing similarities and differences between written and spoken German, and looking at the social meaning underlying different forms of address. He also explores the relationship between the German language and the nature of "Germanness", concentrating on people's attitudes towards the language, the ways in which it is changing, and their views on what it represents for them.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	ix
Acknowledgements	xii
Introduction	xv
How to use this book	xix
Part one THE POSITION OF GERMAN IN THE WORLD
German: Language, people, place	3	(16)
Das Wort deutsch	4	(2)
Language, state and nation	6	(3)
Delimiting the language: what exactly is 'German'?	9	(4)
Identifying `German-speakers'	13	(1)
The German-speaking countries	14	(2)
Conclusions	16	(1)
Further reading	17	(2)
German in contact with other languages	19	(24)
Multilingual speech communities: Switzerland and Luxembourg	20	(2)
Perceptions of ethnolinguistic difference	22	(9)
Managing conflict	31	(3)
Outcomes of contact: language maintenance and language shift	34	(1)
Language choice: the speech behaviour of individuals	35	(6)
Further reading	41	(2)
German as an international language	43	(18)
Communicating across languages	44	(1)
Languages as commodities	45	(2)
Measuring the value of the German language	47	(7)
The German language in Europe	54	(3)
Further reading	57	(4)
Part two EXPLORING LINGUISTIC VARIATION
Regional variation in spoken German	61	(22)
The nature of regional variation in German	62	(3)
Identifying German dialects	65	(3)
Distinctive features of German dialects	68	(6)
Practical tasks	74	(7)
Further reading	81	(2)
Written German, spoken German	83	(22)
Classifying texts	84	(2)
Constraints on the production of written and spoken texts	86	(1)
Some fundamental contrasts in the forms of written and spoken German	87	(4)
Blurring the boundaries in modern German	91	(7)
What do we mean by `right' and `wrong'?	98	(4)
Further reading	102	(3)
Public language	105	(20)
Textual patterns	106	(1)
Styles and registers	107	(5)
Addressing the public	112	(2)
Speaking the news	114	(7)
Public speaking	121	(3)
Further reading	124	(1)
Communicative conventions and social relations	125	(18)
Communicative (in)competence	126	(3)
Politeness routines	129	(3)
The power of the personal pronoun	132	(9)
Further reading	141	(2)
Language and gender	143	(18)
The problem of reference	144	(2)
Concepts of gender	146	(1)
Generic forms	147	(5)
Neutralisation and Sprachtherapie	152	(4)
Totale Feminisierung	156	(3)
Further reading	159	(2)
Multicultural society and intercultural encounters	161	(24)
Multilingualism in Germany	162	(1)
Forms of non-native German	163	(5)
The acquisition process	168	(8)
Intercultural encounters	176	(5)
Further reading	181	(4)
Part three CURRENT ISSUES: LANGUAGE AND `GERMANNESS'
Sprachkultur: preserving the cultural heritage	185	(16)
Language and national culture	186	(1)
Authority in language: the Duden as a national institution	187	(4)
The Rechtschreibreform saga	191	(4)
Public debates on the Rechtschreibreform	195	(4)
Further reading	199	(2)
Sprachkritik: public attitudes towards language use	201	(18)
The good old days	202	(2)
Sprachverfall	204	(5)
Vox pop: Sprachverfall and public opinion	209	(3)
Engleutsch	212	(4)
(Sprach) kulturpessimismus	216	(1)
Further reading	217	(2)
Sprachwende: language change as social change	219	(20)
East meets West	220	(3)
Ritual communication: official language and everyday life in the GDR	223	(7)
Kultur des Mißverstandnisses	230	(5)
Prospects	235	(3)
Further reading	238	(1)
Index of terms	239	(6)
Bibliography	245