Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635986
- eISBN:
- 9780748671472
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635986.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This book explores the dynamics of language and social change in central Europe. One of the outcomes of the profound social transformations that this region has witnessed since the Second World War ...
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This book explores the dynamics of language and social change in central Europe. One of the outcomes of the profound social transformations that this region has witnessed since the Second World War has been the reshaping of the relationship between particular languages and linguistic varieties, especially between ‘national’ languages and regional or ethnic minority languages. Previous studies have investigated these changed relationships from the macro perspective of language policies, while others have taken an ethnographic approach to individual experiences with language. This book brings together these two perspectives for the first time, with a focus on the German language, which has a uniquely complex and problematic history in this region. By drawing on a range of theoretical, conceptual and analytical approaches – language ideologies, language policy, positioning theory, discourse analysis, narrative analysis and linguistic ethnography – and a wide range of data sources (from European and national language policies to individual language biographies) the authors show how the relationship between German and other languages has played a crucial role in the politics of language and processes of identity formation in the recent history of central Europe.Less
This book explores the dynamics of language and social change in central Europe. One of the outcomes of the profound social transformations that this region has witnessed since the Second World War has been the reshaping of the relationship between particular languages and linguistic varieties, especially between ‘national’ languages and regional or ethnic minority languages. Previous studies have investigated these changed relationships from the macro perspective of language policies, while others have taken an ethnographic approach to individual experiences with language. This book brings together these two perspectives for the first time, with a focus on the German language, which has a uniquely complex and problematic history in this region. By drawing on a range of theoretical, conceptual and analytical approaches – language ideologies, language policy, positioning theory, discourse analysis, narrative analysis and linguistic ethnography – and a wide range of data sources (from European and national language policies to individual language biographies) the authors show how the relationship between German and other languages has played a crucial role in the politics of language and processes of identity formation in the recent history of central Europe.
Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635986
- eISBN:
- 9780748671472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635986.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter constructs a historical context for the study of language(s) in central Europe, emphasising its multilingual and multiethnic nature and the tension between the emergence of ‘national’ ...
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This chapter constructs a historical context for the study of language(s) in central Europe, emphasising its multilingual and multiethnic nature and the tension between the emergence of ‘national’ languages and the persistence of linguistic minorities. The main argument is that by focusing on the changing position of, and experiences with, one language – German – across the region it is possible to explore the complex ways in which language is implicated in social change at local, national, and transnational levels. At the same time, the authors emphasize that ‘context’ is understood as a dynamic and continuous process, not a static backdrop. The study concentrates on the relationship between policies and experiences with language in Hungary and the Czech Republic (as multi- and as monolingual spaces), and so this chapter provides historical profiles of language use, language contact, language learning, language spread and language decline in these two countries, drawing on documentary and secondary sources. It also includes an account of the master narratives / dominant discourses on ‘Germans’ or ‘German-speakers’, against which the personal narratives in Chapters 5 and 6 can be pitched.Less
This chapter constructs a historical context for the study of language(s) in central Europe, emphasising its multilingual and multiethnic nature and the tension between the emergence of ‘national’ languages and the persistence of linguistic minorities. The main argument is that by focusing on the changing position of, and experiences with, one language – German – across the region it is possible to explore the complex ways in which language is implicated in social change at local, national, and transnational levels. At the same time, the authors emphasize that ‘context’ is understood as a dynamic and continuous process, not a static backdrop. The study concentrates on the relationship between policies and experiences with language in Hungary and the Czech Republic (as multi- and as monolingual spaces), and so this chapter provides historical profiles of language use, language contact, language learning, language spread and language decline in these two countries, drawing on documentary and secondary sources. It also includes an account of the master narratives / dominant discourses on ‘Germans’ or ‘German-speakers’, against which the personal narratives in Chapters 5 and 6 can be pitched.
Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635986
- eISBN:
- 9780748671472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635986.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
As in Chapter 5, the authors here look at ways in which individuals navigate their passage through the changing and sometimes turbulent circumstances of their lives through the accounts they give of ...
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As in Chapter 5, the authors here look at ways in which individuals navigate their passage through the changing and sometimes turbulent circumstances of their lives through the accounts they give of their personal experiences with language but from a different angle and focusing more on processes of group identification. This entails analysing the narratives as discourses on language and identity, drawing out the relationships between language ideologies and individual practices. This analysis provides insights into some of the ways in which changes in social and political conditions are refracted through personal experience and emerge in individual narratives as expressions of personal (re)alignment with particular social groups in relation to particular times and places.Less
As in Chapter 5, the authors here look at ways in which individuals navigate their passage through the changing and sometimes turbulent circumstances of their lives through the accounts they give of their personal experiences with language but from a different angle and focusing more on processes of group identification. This entails analysing the narratives as discourses on language and identity, drawing out the relationships between language ideologies and individual practices. This analysis provides insights into some of the ways in which changes in social and political conditions are refracted through personal experience and emerge in individual narratives as expressions of personal (re)alignment with particular social groups in relation to particular times and places.
Ulrich Busse and Manfred Görlach
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199273102
- eISBN:
- 9780191706271
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273102.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This chapter turns to how the English language has been incorporated into German. Topics covered include the history of language contact, pronunciation and spelling, morphology, how borrowing affects ...
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This chapter turns to how the English language has been incorporated into German. Topics covered include the history of language contact, pronunciation and spelling, morphology, how borrowing affects the meaning of loanwords, forms of linguistic borrowing and their categorization, and the future of Anglicisms.Less
This chapter turns to how the English language has been incorporated into German. Topics covered include the history of language contact, pronunciation and spelling, morphology, how borrowing affects the meaning of loanwords, forms of linguistic borrowing and their categorization, and the future of Anglicisms.
Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635986
- eISBN:
- 9780748671472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635986.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Chapters 5 and 6 draw on the same corpus of material (individual interviews with German-speakers in Hungary and the Czech Republic) but in different ways and for different purposes. In this chapter, ...
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Chapters 5 and 6 draw on the same corpus of material (individual interviews with German-speakers in Hungary and the Czech Republic) but in different ways and for different purposes. In this chapter, the authors look closely at ways in which narrators make experiences with language an organizing/ structural element in their life stories: what is it about ‘my’ encounters with different languages – their evaluations, the times and places associated with their use, their possibilities and limitations/ constraints – that have made my ‘life’ what it (in my estimation) is or has become, as opposed to what it might have been?Less
Chapters 5 and 6 draw on the same corpus of material (individual interviews with German-speakers in Hungary and the Czech Republic) but in different ways and for different purposes. In this chapter, the authors look closely at ways in which narrators make experiences with language an organizing/ structural element in their life stories: what is it about ‘my’ encounters with different languages – their evaluations, the times and places associated with their use, their possibilities and limitations/ constraints – that have made my ‘life’ what it (in my estimation) is or has become, as opposed to what it might have been?
Gaurav Mathur and Christian Rathmann
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199732548
- eISBN:
- 9780199866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732548.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Pedagogy
This chapter examines morphological processes in sign languages, with an eye toward understanding morphology that changes internal properties of a sign. Cross-linguistic comparisons of German, ...
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This chapter examines morphological processes in sign languages, with an eye toward understanding morphology that changes internal properties of a sign. Cross-linguistic comparisons of German, Japanese and American Sign Languages reveal two such types of morphological processes. One changes the sign according to fixed forms listed in the lexicon; the other looks to interaction with gestural space to determine its realization. While both are subject to language-specific constraints against marked forms, only the latter is also subject to phonological constraints against moving or twisting a manual articulator. These constraints arise because interaction with gestural space has the potential to result in forms that exceed the limits of the articulators. This latter type of nonconcatenative morphology makes sign languages unique.Less
This chapter examines morphological processes in sign languages, with an eye toward understanding morphology that changes internal properties of a sign. Cross-linguistic comparisons of German, Japanese and American Sign Languages reveal two such types of morphological processes. One changes the sign according to fixed forms listed in the lexicon; the other looks to interaction with gestural space to determine its realization. While both are subject to language-specific constraints against marked forms, only the latter is also subject to phonological constraints against moving or twisting a manual articulator. These constraints arise because interaction with gestural space has the potential to result in forms that exceed the limits of the articulators. This latter type of nonconcatenative morphology makes sign languages unique.
Roland Pfau
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199732548
- eISBN:
- 9780199866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732548.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Pedagogy
This chapter pulls in cross-linguistic observations about the development and use of pointing, whether as a gesture or a sign, from both communities that use spoken languages (in Laos, Thailand, ...
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This chapter pulls in cross-linguistic observations about the development and use of pointing, whether as a gesture or a sign, from both communities that use spoken languages (in Laos, Thailand, Australia, and Latin American Spanish) and those that use sign languages (in Denmark, Bali, and Germany). It argues that, if we set aside indexicals indicating plurality or time points, subtle changes in the phonological make-up of the remaining pointing signs will allow us to distinguish between different functions, considering both manual and nonmanual changes (e.g., eye gaze). It also addresses the issue of grammaticalization and shows how the study in chapter 4 adds to our understanding of diachronic change in sign languages.Less
This chapter pulls in cross-linguistic observations about the development and use of pointing, whether as a gesture or a sign, from both communities that use spoken languages (in Laos, Thailand, Australia, and Latin American Spanish) and those that use sign languages (in Denmark, Bali, and Germany). It argues that, if we set aside indexicals indicating plurality or time points, subtle changes in the phonological make-up of the remaining pointing signs will allow us to distinguish between different functions, considering both manual and nonmanual changes (e.g., eye gaze). It also addresses the issue of grammaticalization and shows how the study in chapter 4 adds to our understanding of diachronic change in sign languages.
KATE BURRIDGE
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199266500
- eISBN:
- 9780191719363
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266500.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter examines two recent developments in Pennsylvania German grammar that go against usual pathways of grammatical change and appear to be driven by the cultural and religious preoccupations ...
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This chapter examines two recent developments in Pennsylvania German grammar that go against usual pathways of grammatical change and appear to be driven by the cultural and religious preoccupations of the speakers. For one, Pennsylvania German appears to offer a bona fide example of degrammaticalization, whereby a lexical verb wotte ‘to wish’ has re-evolved out of a grammaticalized modal verb. In addition, it shows the unusual development of a lexical verb zehle ‘to count’ into a marker of future.Less
This chapter examines two recent developments in Pennsylvania German grammar that go against usual pathways of grammatical change and appear to be driven by the cultural and religious preoccupations of the speakers. For one, Pennsylvania German appears to offer a bona fide example of degrammaticalization, whereby a lexical verb wotte ‘to wish’ has re-evolved out of a grammaticalized modal verb. In addition, it shows the unusual development of a lexical verb zehle ‘to count’ into a marker of future.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804781930
- eISBN:
- 9780804782821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804781930.003.0013
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
Christian authors tried to offer a definition and explanation of the Yiddish language to their readers, often by discussing the Jewish language in relation to the German language. One reason was that ...
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Christian authors tried to offer a definition and explanation of the Yiddish language to their readers, often by discussing the Jewish language in relation to the German language. One reason was that the Christian literature on Yiddish was produced first and foremost by German-speaking scholars and published in the German-speaking lands either in Latin or German. This chapter examines how Christian authors in early modern Germany portrayed the relation between Yiddish and German, both structurally and functionally. It also looks at the social and cultural factors that influenced these depictions of Yiddish and its relation to German, and how these depictions helped promote perceptions about the place of the Jews and their language in German society, as well as in the consolidating German Sprachnation. The chapter concludes by discussing the Christian view of Yiddish as the Jews' secret language, and their contention that the Jews resorted to secrecy to deceive and harm their Christian neighbors.Less
Christian authors tried to offer a definition and explanation of the Yiddish language to their readers, often by discussing the Jewish language in relation to the German language. One reason was that the Christian literature on Yiddish was produced first and foremost by German-speaking scholars and published in the German-speaking lands either in Latin or German. This chapter examines how Christian authors in early modern Germany portrayed the relation between Yiddish and German, both structurally and functionally. It also looks at the social and cultural factors that influenced these depictions of Yiddish and its relation to German, and how these depictions helped promote perceptions about the place of the Jews and their language in German society, as well as in the consolidating German Sprachnation. The chapter concludes by discussing the Christian view of Yiddish as the Jews' secret language, and their contention that the Jews resorted to secrecy to deceive and harm their Christian neighbors.
Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635986
- eISBN:
- 9780748671472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635986.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter establishes the main themes of the book and situates it in relation to the relevant literature on language ideologies, language policies / the politics of language, multilingualism, ...
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This chapter establishes the main themes of the book and situates it in relation to the relevant literature on language ideologies, language policies / the politics of language, multilingualism, narrative, and identities. It justifies and explains the methodologies used in the study and the focus on German, and outlines the structure of the book and briefly summarises the focus of each subsequent chapter.Less
This chapter establishes the main themes of the book and situates it in relation to the relevant literature on language ideologies, language policies / the politics of language, multilingualism, narrative, and identities. It justifies and explains the methodologies used in the study and the focus on German, and outlines the structure of the book and briefly summarises the focus of each subsequent chapter.
PATRICK STEVENSON
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198299707
- eISBN:
- 9780191708053
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198299707.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This concluding chapter resumes some of the fundamental questions raised in the course of the study and considers ways of interpreting linguistic encounters between east and west Germany in the ...
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This concluding chapter resumes some of the fundamental questions raised in the course of the study and considers ways of interpreting linguistic encounters between east and west Germany in the broader relevance of this specific issue to the study of sociolinguistic conflict in general.Less
This concluding chapter resumes some of the fundamental questions raised in the course of the study and considers ways of interpreting linguistic encounters between east and west Germany in the broader relevance of this specific issue to the study of sociolinguistic conflict in general.
Robert Liberles
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195171648
- eISBN:
- 9780199871346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171648.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter shows how knowledge of the German language among Jews increased during the course of the 18th century. By the latter part of the century, governments increasingly mandated rudimentary ...
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This chapter shows how knowledge of the German language among Jews increased during the course of the 18th century. By the latter part of the century, governments increasingly mandated rudimentary education in the German language and basic math skills, but the greater focus on commerce had already paved the way for more attention to these subjects among Jews even prior to government intervention. Wealthier Jews could hire private instructors for themselves or for their children. Some Jews who could not afford a tutor taught themselves basic German skills. Dissatisfaction with Jewish education in Germany did not originate with the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment. Across the spectrum of Jewish life, by the late 18th century a strong sense had developed that an extensive reform of Jewish education was badly needed.Less
This chapter shows how knowledge of the German language among Jews increased during the course of the 18th century. By the latter part of the century, governments increasingly mandated rudimentary education in the German language and basic math skills, but the greater focus on commerce had already paved the way for more attention to these subjects among Jews even prior to government intervention. Wealthier Jews could hire private instructors for themselves or for their children. Some Jews who could not afford a tutor taught themselves basic German skills. Dissatisfaction with Jewish education in Germany did not originate with the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment. Across the spectrum of Jewish life, by the late 18th century a strong sense had developed that an extensive reform of Jewish education was badly needed.
James W. Underhill
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748643158
- eISBN:
- 9780748651566
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748643158.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, English Language
This chapter presents a case study that investigates the Nazi worldview and the role metaphors play in what Viktor Klemperer has named Hitlerdeutsch. This aim is to bear witness to the heroism of a ...
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This chapter presents a case study that investigates the Nazi worldview and the role metaphors play in what Viktor Klemperer has named Hitlerdeutsch. This aim is to bear witness to the heroism of a thinker who resisted a certain form of language, and who refused to be seduced by metaphors which became a menace to society, as they were adopted by unthinking, fervently fanatical ‘sentimentalists’. Looking through the eyes of Klemperer shows how his personal world resisted the mindset of the Nazis, and resisted the transformation of the world-perceiving and world-conceiving of the German language which began to be eaten away by the Nazi mindset. This gives some degree of form and order to the way in which metaphors worked within the Nazis' propaganda. If that allows an understanding of their mindset and the way metaphors embodied it and orchestrated Nazi rhetoric and logic, then the chapter will have served its purpose.Less
This chapter presents a case study that investigates the Nazi worldview and the role metaphors play in what Viktor Klemperer has named Hitlerdeutsch. This aim is to bear witness to the heroism of a thinker who resisted a certain form of language, and who refused to be seduced by metaphors which became a menace to society, as they were adopted by unthinking, fervently fanatical ‘sentimentalists’. Looking through the eyes of Klemperer shows how his personal world resisted the mindset of the Nazis, and resisted the transformation of the world-perceiving and world-conceiving of the German language which began to be eaten away by the Nazi mindset. This gives some degree of form and order to the way in which metaphors worked within the Nazis' propaganda. If that allows an understanding of their mindset and the way metaphors embodied it and orchestrated Nazi rhetoric and logic, then the chapter will have served its purpose.
Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635986
- eISBN:
- 9780748671472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635986.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This final chapter retraces the course of the book's argument in order to show, first, how the approach necessarily relates discourses on language policy to individual narratives on linguistic ...
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This final chapter retraces the course of the book's argument in order to show, first, how the approach necessarily relates discourses on language policy to individual narratives on linguistic practices and experiences with language; secondly how the analysis of the different representations of a particular language (German) in these discourses and narratives can provide a coherent perspective on a complex sociolinguistic environment; and thirdly how this kind of study can contribute, beyond its specific concerns, more broadly to the study of language and social change in Europe.Less
This final chapter retraces the course of the book's argument in order to show, first, how the approach necessarily relates discourses on language policy to individual narratives on linguistic practices and experiences with language; secondly how the analysis of the different representations of a particular language (German) in these discourses and narratives can provide a coherent perspective on a complex sociolinguistic environment; and thirdly how this kind of study can contribute, beyond its specific concerns, more broadly to the study of language and social change in Europe.
Markus Steinbach
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199257652
- eISBN:
- 9780191717772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199257652.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
In German, anticausatives are either unaccusative or transitive reflexive. This chapter focuses on the latter, which are discussed in the context of other interpretations of transitive reflexive ...
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In German, anticausatives are either unaccusative or transitive reflexive. This chapter focuses on the latter, which are discussed in the context of other interpretations of transitive reflexive sentences (TRSs). In addition to the anticausative interpretation, TRSs also yield a reflexive, a middle, and an inherent-reflexive interpretation. This semantic ambiguity of TRSs is systematic and can be found in many other Indo-European languages. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 7.2 provides a brief overview of the basic properties of anticausatives and embeds reflexive anticausatives in the wider context of other TRSs. Section 7.3 argues for a different and, until now, new way of deriving TRSs. Section 7.4 turns to unaccusatives again. The final section briefly summarizes the main findings.Less
In German, anticausatives are either unaccusative or transitive reflexive. This chapter focuses on the latter, which are discussed in the context of other interpretations of transitive reflexive sentences (TRSs). In addition to the anticausative interpretation, TRSs also yield a reflexive, a middle, and an inherent-reflexive interpretation. This semantic ambiguity of TRSs is systematic and can be found in many other Indo-European languages. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 7.2 provides a brief overview of the basic properties of anticausatives and embeds reflexive anticausatives in the wider context of other TRSs. Section 7.3 argues for a different and, until now, new way of deriving TRSs. Section 7.4 turns to unaccusatives again. The final section briefly summarizes the main findings.
Yasemin Yildiz
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780823241309
- eISBN:
- 9780823241347
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823241309.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This book is a study of the workings of a monolingual paradigm and of multilingual attempts to overcome it. It argues that monolingualism—the idea that having just one language is the norm—is a ...
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This book is a study of the workings of a monolingual paradigm and of multilingual attempts to overcome it. It argues that monolingualism—the idea that having just one language is the norm—is a recent invention dating back only to late-eighteenth-century Europe, yet has become a dominant, if overlooked, structuring principle of modernity. According to this paradigm, individuals are imagined to be able to think and feel properly only in one language, their “mother tongue,” while multiple languages are seen as a threat to the cohesion of individuals and communities, institutions and disciplines. The book argues that since reemergent multilingual forms and practices exist in tension with the paradigm, they need to be analyzed as “postmonolingual,” that is, as marked by the continuing force of monolingualism. Focused on canonical and minority writers working in German in the twentieth century, the individual chapters examine distinct forms of multilingualism: writing in one socially unsanctioned “mother tongue” about another language (Franz Kafka); mobilizing words of foreign derivation as part of a multilingual constellation within one language (Theodor W. Adorno); producing an oeuvre in two separate languages simultaneously (Yoko Tawada); writing by literally translating from the “mother tongue” into another language (Emine Sevgi Özdamar); and mixing different languages, codes, and registers within one text (Feridun Zaimoğlu). These analyses suggest that the dimensions of gender, kinship, and affect encoded in the “mother tongue” are crucial to the persistence of monolingualism and the challenge of multilingualism.Less
This book is a study of the workings of a monolingual paradigm and of multilingual attempts to overcome it. It argues that monolingualism—the idea that having just one language is the norm—is a recent invention dating back only to late-eighteenth-century Europe, yet has become a dominant, if overlooked, structuring principle of modernity. According to this paradigm, individuals are imagined to be able to think and feel properly only in one language, their “mother tongue,” while multiple languages are seen as a threat to the cohesion of individuals and communities, institutions and disciplines. The book argues that since reemergent multilingual forms and practices exist in tension with the paradigm, they need to be analyzed as “postmonolingual,” that is, as marked by the continuing force of monolingualism. Focused on canonical and minority writers working in German in the twentieth century, the individual chapters examine distinct forms of multilingualism: writing in one socially unsanctioned “mother tongue” about another language (Franz Kafka); mobilizing words of foreign derivation as part of a multilingual constellation within one language (Theodor W. Adorno); producing an oeuvre in two separate languages simultaneously (Yoko Tawada); writing by literally translating from the “mother tongue” into another language (Emine Sevgi Özdamar); and mixing different languages, codes, and registers within one text (Feridun Zaimoğlu). These analyses suggest that the dimensions of gender, kinship, and affect encoded in the “mother tongue” are crucial to the persistence of monolingualism and the challenge of multilingualism.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804781930
- eISBN:
- 9780804782821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804781930.003.0014
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
Christian preoccupation with Yiddish in early modern Germany involved two tendencies: the attempt of Christians to use the Jewish language for their own purposes, and their severe criticism of ...
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Christian preoccupation with Yiddish in early modern Germany involved two tendencies: the attempt of Christians to use the Jewish language for their own purposes, and their severe criticism of Yiddish with regards to its linguistic qualities, the literature written in it, and its functions within German society. In some cases, both tendencies posed dilemmas to Christian Yiddishists, particularly in relation to their reliance on the Yiddish language to produce missionary literature. Yiddish literature on missionary work consistently emphasized the importance of linguistic adaptation for this cause, but some of the most important “Yiddish” missionary writings were written in German with Hebrew or Yiddish letters, or at least in a very “Germanized” version of Yiddish, rather than in pure Yiddish. One possible purpose of trying to accustom the Jews to the German language was to achieve Jewish conversion, linguistically and religiously. For missionaries, true conversion was a transition involving two stages: from Judaism to Christianity, and from Yiddish to German.Less
Christian preoccupation with Yiddish in early modern Germany involved two tendencies: the attempt of Christians to use the Jewish language for their own purposes, and their severe criticism of Yiddish with regards to its linguistic qualities, the literature written in it, and its functions within German society. In some cases, both tendencies posed dilemmas to Christian Yiddishists, particularly in relation to their reliance on the Yiddish language to produce missionary literature. Yiddish literature on missionary work consistently emphasized the importance of linguistic adaptation for this cause, but some of the most important “Yiddish” missionary writings were written in German with Hebrew or Yiddish letters, or at least in a very “Germanized” version of Yiddish, rather than in pure Yiddish. One possible purpose of trying to accustom the Jews to the German language was to achieve Jewish conversion, linguistically and religiously. For missionaries, true conversion was a transition involving two stages: from Judaism to Christianity, and from Yiddish to German.
CAROLA ESCHENBACH
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199264339
- eISBN:
- 9780191718519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199264339.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
The projective terms of a natural language can differ regarding their syntactic properties, their dependence on reference systems, and their contextual dependency regarding objects or regions of ...
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The projective terms of a natural language can differ regarding their syntactic properties, their dependence on reference systems, and their contextual dependency regarding objects or regions of comparison. While the dependence of projective prepositions on reference systems has been considered in linguistics and psycholinguistics in detail, the other aspects are less well studied. This chapter focuses on a collection of German projective terms including prepositions, postpositions, adverbs, and adjectives. The chapter identifies similarities between different items and maps them to common semantic components or syntactic regularities. The semantics of the lexemes combine geometric components representing spatial aspects and functional components representing the principal directions on the basis of a reference system. The influence of the context on the interpretation of projective terms is mapped to the distinction between variables belonging to the argument structure of the lexemes and free variables occurring in the semantic form. The description of the semantics of the German terms in this framework shows that the similarities and variations between the lexemes can be modeled by combining a small set of semantic components in different ways.Less
The projective terms of a natural language can differ regarding their syntactic properties, their dependence on reference systems, and their contextual dependency regarding objects or regions of comparison. While the dependence of projective prepositions on reference systems has been considered in linguistics and psycholinguistics in detail, the other aspects are less well studied. This chapter focuses on a collection of German projective terms including prepositions, postpositions, adverbs, and adjectives. The chapter identifies similarities between different items and maps them to common semantic components or syntactic regularities. The semantics of the lexemes combine geometric components representing spatial aspects and functional components representing the principal directions on the basis of a reference system. The influence of the context on the interpretation of projective terms is mapped to the distinction between variables belonging to the argument structure of the lexemes and free variables occurring in the semantic form. The description of the semantics of the German terms in this framework shows that the similarities and variations between the lexemes can be modeled by combining a small set of semantic components in different ways.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804781930
- eISBN:
- 9780804782821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804781930.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
The body of philological knowledge produced by Christian scholars on the Yiddish language and Yiddish literature was conceived as an effective medium for exercising control over the Jews, for ...
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The body of philological knowledge produced by Christian scholars on the Yiddish language and Yiddish literature was conceived as an effective medium for exercising control over the Jews, for conducting missionary work for them, and for promoting Christian theology. However, Christians' preoccupation with Yiddish also allowed them to participate in a broader discourse on Jews and Judaism that was taking place in early modern Germany, one which expressed—and supported—the asymmetrical power relations between Christians and Jews. Two central themes in the early modern Christian literature on Yiddish focused on the relation between Yiddish and German, and one hand, and between Yiddish and Hebrew, on the other. Christian authors formulated their criticism on Yiddish in linguistic categories, but their attitude toward the Jewish language can be linked to the broader cultural and social concerns of the time, including the attempts of German scholars to cultivate and purify the German language. Moreover, Christian scholars addressed the state of the Hebrew language among Yiddish-speaking Jews, a discourse that also involved notions of culture and ethnicity.Less
The body of philological knowledge produced by Christian scholars on the Yiddish language and Yiddish literature was conceived as an effective medium for exercising control over the Jews, for conducting missionary work for them, and for promoting Christian theology. However, Christians' preoccupation with Yiddish also allowed them to participate in a broader discourse on Jews and Judaism that was taking place in early modern Germany, one which expressed—and supported—the asymmetrical power relations between Christians and Jews. Two central themes in the early modern Christian literature on Yiddish focused on the relation between Yiddish and German, and one hand, and between Yiddish and Hebrew, on the other. Christian authors formulated their criticism on Yiddish in linguistic categories, but their attitude toward the Jewish language can be linked to the broader cultural and social concerns of the time, including the attempts of German scholars to cultivate and purify the German language. Moreover, Christian scholars addressed the state of the Hebrew language among Yiddish-speaking Jews, a discourse that also involved notions of culture and ethnicity.
Vittorio Hösle
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691167190
- eISBN:
- 9781400883042
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691167190.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This book provides an original history of German-language philosophy from the Middle Ages to today. In an accessible narrative that explains complex ideas in clear language, the book traces the ...
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This book provides an original history of German-language philosophy from the Middle Ages to today. In an accessible narrative that explains complex ideas in clear language, the book traces the evolution of German philosophy and describes its central influence on other aspects of German culture, including literature, politics, and science. Starting with the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, the book addresses the philosophical changes brought about by Luther's Reformation, and then presents a detailed account of the classical age of German philosophy, including the work of Leibniz and Kant; the rise of a new form of humanities in Lessing, Hamann, Herder, and Schiller; the early Romantics; and the Idealists Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. The following chapters investigate the collapse of the German synthesis in Schopenhauer, Feuerbach, Marx, and Nietzsche. Turning to the twentieth century, the book explores the rise of analytical philosophy in Frege and the Vienna and Berlin circles; the foundation of the historical sciences in Neo-Kantianism and Dilthey; Husserl's phenomenology and its radical alteration by Heidegger; the Nazi philosophers Gehlen and Schmitt; and the main West German philosophers, including Gadamer, Jonas, and those of the two Frankfurt schools. Arguing that there was a distinctive German philosophical tradition from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, the book closes by examining why that tradition largely ended in the decades after World War II.Less
This book provides an original history of German-language philosophy from the Middle Ages to today. In an accessible narrative that explains complex ideas in clear language, the book traces the evolution of German philosophy and describes its central influence on other aspects of German culture, including literature, politics, and science. Starting with the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, the book addresses the philosophical changes brought about by Luther's Reformation, and then presents a detailed account of the classical age of German philosophy, including the work of Leibniz and Kant; the rise of a new form of humanities in Lessing, Hamann, Herder, and Schiller; the early Romantics; and the Idealists Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. The following chapters investigate the collapse of the German synthesis in Schopenhauer, Feuerbach, Marx, and Nietzsche. Turning to the twentieth century, the book explores the rise of analytical philosophy in Frege and the Vienna and Berlin circles; the foundation of the historical sciences in Neo-Kantianism and Dilthey; Husserl's phenomenology and its radical alteration by Heidegger; the Nazi philosophers Gehlen and Schmitt; and the main West German philosophers, including Gadamer, Jonas, and those of the two Frankfurt schools. Arguing that there was a distinctive German philosophical tradition from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, the book closes by examining why that tradition largely ended in the decades after World War II.
