A History of the German Language Through Texts

by Gloning,Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780415183314
• ISBN10: 0415183316
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-09
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

A History of the German Language through Textsexamines the evolution of German, from the Early Medieval period to the present day. Written in a lively and accessible style, the book looks at the history of German through a wide range of texts, from medical, legal and scientific writing to literature, everyday newspapers and adverts. All texts are translated and accompanied by commentaries. The book also offers a glossary of technical terms and abbreviations, a summary of the main changes in each historical period, a guide to reference material, and suggestions for further reading. A History of the German Language through Textsis essential reading for students of German, Linguistics or Philology.

Author Biography

Christopher Young is Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Pembroke College, where he is Director of Studies in Modern and Medieval Languages.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	viii
List of tables	ix
List of phonetic symbols and abbreviations	x
Acknowledgements	xiii
1 Introduction	1	(9)
2 Pre-textual German: from Indo-European to West Germanic	10	(15)
I Old High German (c.750-c.1050)	25	(76)
3 The Lord's Prayer: major dialects of the OHG period and Old English	29	(13)
4 Heroic Lay: Das Hildebrandslied	42	(12)
5 Legal code: Lex Salica	54	(6)
6 Political treaty: the Strasburg Oaths	60	(7)
7 Gospel harmony: Otfrid von Weissenburg's Evangelienbuch	67	(10)
8 Political praise poem: the Ludwigslied	77	(9)
9 Phrasebook: the Paris Conversations	86	(6)
10 History: Notker of St Gallen's prologue to his Boethius translation	92	(9)
II Middle High German (c.1050-c.1350)	101	(60)
11 Williram of Ebersberg: Commentary to the Song of Songs	103	(10)
12 Courtly romance: Hartmann von Aue's Iwein	113	(10)
13 French influence: Gottfried von Strassburgs Tristan	123	(7)
14 Legal Documents: Oath for Jews and Vienna Fief Transfer	130	(9)
15 Legal code: Der Sachsenspiegel	139	(9)
16 Mysticism: Mechthild von Magdeburg - Das fließende Licht der Gottheit	148	(5)
17 Medicine: Breslauer Arzneibuch	153	(8)
III Early New High German (c.1350-c.1700)	161	(72)
18 Humanism and linguistic levelling: Niklas von Wyle's Translatzen	164	(11)
19 Low German and the language of business: the Hanseatic League	175	(10)
20 Language use for special purposes: cookery recipes 1350-1600	185	(10)
21 Language use in the early mass media: Reformation pamphlets	195	(10)
22 Bible translation: Martin Luther	205	(13)
23 Purism in the seventeenth century: Johann Rist	218	(6)
24 Dialect: Andreas Gryphius's Die Geliebte Dornrose	224	(9)
IV New High German (c.1700-c.1945)	233	(74)
25 `Natural style': Letters and Moral Weeklies	235	(8)
26 J.W. Goethe: literature, natural sciences and administration	243	(9)
27 Political pamphlets: Berlin 1848	252	(11)
28 Lexicography and nationalism: Jacob Grimm's Vorrede zum Deutschen Wörterbuch	263	(9)
29 Industrialization, technology and language: Die Marmorirkunst and Ferdinand Lassalle	272	(6)
30 Elements of everyday language use: letters and letter-writing manuals	278	(9)
31 Scientific prose in the nineteenth century: Rudolf Virchow	287	(11)
32 National Socialism: Fritz Lenz's Die Familie im Dienst der Rassenhygiene	298	(9)
V Contemporary German (c.1945-c.2000)	307	(51)
33 The language of the GDR: texts on the erection and fall of the Berlin Wall	309	(9)
34 The public sphere: discourse strategies and lexical development	318	(7)
35 English influence: Jil Sander and the Verein Deutsche Sprache	325	(7)
36 Newspapers: language and text organization in the nineteenth century and twentieth century	332	(12)
37 Jugendsprache: Katz und Goldt and chatrooms	344	(14)
Glossary	358	(3)
Bibliography	361	(23)
Index	384