Module Identifier GE30420  
Module Title LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY IN GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES  
Academic Year 2005/2006  
Co-ordinator Dr Winifred V Davies  
Semester Semester 2  
Pre-Requisite GE20420 (Normally)  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   4  
  Lecture   20  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment Presentation: (seminar presentation)  20%
Semester Assessment Continuous Assessment: 4,000 word essay  80%
Supplementary Exam 1 x 2 hour examination if continuous assessment submitted. 1 x 3 hour examination if no continuous assessment submitted.100%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
By the end of this course students will be familiar with some major themes in contemporary German sociolinguistics. They will be familiar with theoretical and methodological aspects of the discipline and will have learnt to assess critically research carried out in the German-speaking countries in terms of methodology and theoretical underpinning. They will have learnt to carry out independent empirical research, to analyse data, to construct an argument, and to express themselves in a suitable register. The oral presentation fosters team-skills and oral expression.

Brief description

The module examines the interrelations between language and society in the German-speaking countries, providing a thorough grounding in the sociolinguistics of these countries and highlighting the contrast between contemporary and traditional approaches to the study of variation in German. Through a study of a selection of major topics in contemporary German sociolinguistics, students will be introduced to and encouraged to assess critically research carried out in the German-speaking countries. They will also, where necessary, be required to familiarise themselves with the work of sociolinguists from outside the German-speaking tradition where these have contributed to the development of sociolinguistic theory in the German-speaking countries.

Content

The following topics will be covered:

1. Earlier approaches to variation: the aims and concerns of the dialectological school compared with the aims and concerns of modern sociolinguistics; a critical comparison of dialectological and sociolinguistic methodology. Background reading: Barbour & Stevenson (1990), 18-21, 55-74; Chambers, J.K. & Trudgill, P. (1980), Dialectology, Chapter 2.

2. Characteristics of the development of a standard language: how 'natural' is the development? Selection, acceptance, elaboration of function, codification. Development of the German standard language. Background reading: Barbour & Stevenson (1990), 45-53; Keller (1978), 485-509; LGL, Chapter 35; Sauer & Glueck, in Stevenson (1995), Chapter 4.

3. Maintenance of the standard: prescription, linguistic criticism, Sprachkritik, complaint tradition, attitudes towards non-standard usage. Background reading: Braun (1987), 228f; Guenther (1988); Hass (1988); Milroy & Milroy (1985), 2.2.

4. Pluricentricity: how many national varieties of German are/were there? Linguistic and political criteria for pluricentric status of a language; evaluation of these criteria. Arguments for the pluricentric status of German (cf. Clyne (1995), Chapter 1) and against (cf. Fox (1990), 288-93).

5. Linguistic characteristics and social status of the German standard language as used in Austria, the FRG, the former GDR and Switzerland; diglossia in Switzerland. Background reading: LGL, Chapters 58, 59; Clyne (1995), Chapters 1, 2, 3; Russ (1994), Chapters 3, 4, 5; Fasold, R., (1984), The Sociolinguistics of Society, Chapter 2.

6. Language and ideology: What is the relationship between language and reality? Sexism in German. Background reading: Townson (1992), Chapter 4; Hellinger, in Stevenson (1995), Chapter 12; Pusch (1984), 46-68, 76-108.

Note:   Students should keep up with the background reading, topic by topic.

Reading Lists

Books
** Supplementary Text
Ahrends, Martin Allseitig gefestigt DTV
Lehnert, Martin Anglo-Amerikanisches im Sprachgebrauch der DDR Akademie-Verlag
Bauer, Dirk Das sprachliche Ost-West-Problem P Lang
Duden, Konrad Der grosse Duden Bibliographisches Institut
Milroy, James Authority in Language edition 3r.e.of "Authority in Language: Investigating Language Standardisation and Prescription" . Routledge 415174139
Born, Joachim Deutsch als Verkehrssprache in Europa W. de Gruyter 3110140063
Stickel, Gerhard Deutsche Gegenwartssprache Walter de Gruyter 3110124467
Bausinger, Hermann Deutsch fur Deutsche Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 359626491X
Lotscher, Andreas Schweizerdeutsch Huber Frauenfeld
Schlosser, Horst Dieter Die deutsche Sprache in der DDR zwischen Stalinismus und Demokratie Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik
Hacki Buhofer, Annelies Wie deutschschweizer Kinder Hochdeutsch lernen Steiner 351507239x
Reiher, Ruth Wer spricht das wahre Deutsch? Aufbau Taschenbuch 3746680042
Pollak, Wolfgang Was halten die Osterreicher von ihrem Deutsch? OGS/ISSS 3900494169
Stickel, Gerhard Varietaten des Deutschen W. de Gruyter 3110156873
Barbour, Stephen Variation in German Camb.U.P. 521357047
Durrell, Martin Using German Camb.U.P. 521315565
Bigler-Marschall, Ingrid Unser Wortschatz Verlagsinstitut fr Lehrmittel 325202201X
Braun, Peter Tendenzen in der deutschen Gegenwartssprache Kohlhammer
Clyne, Michael G. German Language in a Changing Europe edition 2r.e.of "Language and Society in the German-speaking Countries" . Camb.U.P. 521499704
German Language and the Real World edition n.e. . Oxf.U.P. 198237383
Keller, Rudolf Ernest German language Faber and Faber
Wells, C.J. German Oxf.U.P. 198157959
Gluck, Helmut Gegenwartsdeutsch J.B.Metzler
Konig, Werner DTV-Atlas zur deutschen Sprache Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag
Schroeter, Sabina Die Sprache der DDR im Spiegel ihrer Literatur Walter de Gruyter
Kloss, Heinz Die Entwicklung neuer germanischer Kultursprachen seit 1800 Schwann
Ammon, Ulrich "Die deutsche Sprache in Deutschland, Osterreich und der Schweiz" de Gruyter 311014753X
Coulmas, Florian Zur Sociolinguistik des Deutschen Mouton de Gruyter
Aitchison, Jean Linguistics edition 5r.e. . Teach Yourself Books 340737336
Althaus, Hans Peter Lexikon der germanistischen Linguistik Niemeyer
Clyne, Michael G. Language and Society in the German-speaking Countries Camb.U.P. 521276977
Fleischer, Wolfgang Kleine Enzyklopdie deutsche Sprache VEB Bibliographisches Institut
Muhr, Rudolf Internationale Arbeiten zum osterreichischen Deutsch und seinen nachbarsprachlichen Bezugen Verlag Holder-Pichler-Tempsky 3209016747
Schneider, Hansjakob Hochdeutsch : das kann ich auch Peter Lang
Schwitalla, Johannes Gesprochenes Deutsch E. Schmidt 3503037802
Stevenson, Patrick German-speaking World Routledge 415129850
Loffler, Heinrich Germanistische Soziolinguistik E. Schmidt 3503037004
Rash, Felicity J. German Language in Switzerland Peter Lang 3906757684
Fox, Anthony Structure of German Oxf.U.P. 198158211
Haas, William Standard languages Manchester University Press 389202916
Debus, Friedhelm Sprachliche Normen und Normierungsfolgen in der DDR G. Olms
Russ, Charles V. J. Sprache und Gesellschaft in deutsch-sprachigen Landern Goethe-Institut
Russ, Charles V. J. Sprache Kultur Nation German Dept., University of Hull 859587525
Hartig, Matthias Soziolinguistik Peter Lang
** Recommended Background
Barbour, S. & Stevenson, P. (1990) Variation in German. CUP
Clyne, M. (1995) The German language in a changing Europe. CUP
Keller, R. E. (1978) The German language. Faber
Stevenson, P. (1995) The German language and the Real World. Clarendon

Web Page/Sites
** Supplementary Text
Deutsche Sprache http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=deutsche+sprache&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Sprachreport http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=sprachreport&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Muttersprache http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=muttersprache&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Zeitschrift fr germanistische Linguistik http://www.degruyter.de/rs/384_412_DEU_h.htm
Zeitschrift fur Germanistik http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=zeitschrift+fur+germanistik&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Muttersprache http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=muttersprache&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Zeitschrift fur Germanistik http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=zeitschrift+fur+germanistik&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Zeitschrift fur Dialektologie und Linguistik http://copac.ac.uk/copac/
Zeitschrift fr germanistische Linguistik http://www.degruyter.de/rs/384_412_DEU_h.htm
Jahrbuch fr internationale Germanistik http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=jahrbuch+fur+internationale&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Sprachreport http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=sprachreport&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
Muttersprache http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=muttersprache&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20
New German Studies http://voyager.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=new+german+studies&SL=None&Search_Code=JALL&CNT=20

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6