German Linguistics Lectures

1
German Linguistics Lectures

• Lecture 12
• An Introduction to
• German Dialects
• Designed by Paul Joyce
• University of Portsmouth
• E-Mail Paul.Joyce_at_port.ac.uk

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What is a dialect?

• A dialect (Greek dialektos) is a variety of a
  language used by people from a particular
  geographic area. It can have sub-dialects.
• A dialect is a complete system of verbal
  communication (oral or signed, but not
  necessarily written) with its own vocabulary and
  grammar.
• A dialect consists therefore of more than just an
  accent.

3
What is a standard dialect?

• A standard dialect is one that is supported by
  institutions. This may include government
  recognition.
• For example, Standard British English, Standard
  American English, Southern English and Standard
  Indian English may all be said to be standard
  dialects of the English language.
• A non-standard dialect is not the beneficiary of
  institutional support.

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Dialects or languages?

• There are no universally accepted criteria for
  distinguishing languages from dialects.
• Language varieties are often called dialects
  rather than languages because they are not (or
  are not recognised as) literary languages
• or because the speakers of the given dialect
  dont have a state of their own
• Une langue, cest un dialecte qui possède une
  armée, une marine et une aviation. (Lyautey)

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Lëtzebuergesch a language

• Although the variety of German spoken by the
  441,000 inhabitants of Luxembourg is in essence a
  Moselle Franconian dialect, it is now deemed to
  be a language in its own right.
• Many (South) Germans however find it far easier
  to understand than Swiss German dialects which
  arent considered to be a separate language.
• And most newspapers in Luxembourg are written in
  German or French!

6
German dialects Mundart, Platt?

• Different words are used to describe dialects in
  German.
• die Mundart is sometimes used to mean the
  spoken dialect of a small area.
• der Dialekt is used to mean a group of
  Mundarten that share certain characteristics and
  cover a wider area.
• Platt is the normal colloquial term for Low and
  Middle German varieties.

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Large number of German dialects

• German is the mother tongue of 94 million people
  in Germany, Austria Liechtenstein.
• 63.7 of Switzerlands 7.1 million inhabitants
  speak German as their first language.
• It is an official language in Belgium and South
  Tyrol (Italy)
• German is a pluricentric language, having several
  national varieties.
• It therefore has a large number of often very
  different dialects.

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German dialects are very different!

• English dialects often differ from standard
  English mainly in terms of regional accents.
• German dialects are much more sharply
  differentiated from standard German however
• They differ in terms of vocabulary, grammar,
  phonology and pronunciation.
• Speakers of traditional dialects face problems in
  learning standard German similar to those faced
  by speakers of foreign languages.

9
Language continuum

• Language can vary according to the degree of
  formality demanded by the situation and the
  relationship between the language users.
• While speakers may switch abruptly from one
  variety to another, it is increasingly common to
  make a less marked shift from one variety to
  another.
• This tendency for convergence as opposed to
  switching implies that variation in German is
  best described as a relatively fluid continuum.

10
German language continuum

• In Germany and Austria, there are relatively
  fluid boundaries between three different types of
  speech
• 1) Standard German (Hochsprache)
• 2) Colloquial German (Umgangssprache)
• 3) Dialects
• Many dialect words have become part of the
  colloquial usage and have in some cases become
  part of the written language.

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Standard German

• The narrowly prescribed Standard German is used
  in formal situations such as a court of law, or
  when one speaker is in a position of authority
  over the other in a speech act.
• It is the type of German which children were
  expected to produce at school and which is
  described in grammar books and dictionaries.
• It is very often the form of German that carries
  the highest prestige.

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Late standardisation of German

• Unlike English, the German language was
  standardised very late.
• Not until Germany was unified in 1871 were steps
  taken to impose uniformity of spelling.
• Standardised orthography only appeared for the
  German language in 1902!
• Before then, different regional variants were
  used in school.
• The rush to learn standard German in the 20th
  Century affected the usage of dialects.

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Colloquial German (Umgangssprache)

• Colloquial German is midway on the continuum
  between standard German and dialect.
• It ranges from forms close to the traditional
  dialect to forms which, in an English-speaking
  context, would be called informal standard.
• It represents the everyday speech of a majority
  of German-speakers in the 20th century (and not
  standard German!)

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The rise of colloquial German

• The rise of colloquial German has its origins in
  the learning of standard language by dialect
  speakers.
• Such people will have felt the need to learn
  standard German in the 20th Century, the spread
  of which was aided by the mass media.
• BUT dialect speakers didnt follow the standard
  use by the educated middle classes. In order to
  identify with their social group linguistically,
  they used relaxed forms of the standard.

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20th C. German dialects under threat

• The rise of both standard German and colloquial
  German put dialects under threat
• It is dying out in formal usage, as standard
  German was adopted by schools institutions
• The media spreads the usage of standard German
  and (now) Umgangssprache
• It is dying out particularly in the North
• It is (literally!) dying out, as dialect usage is
  increasingly the preserve of the elderly

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Dialects fight back

• But this is not the complete picture!
• As standardisation of German gathered pace, so
  too did the urge to preserve dialects
• Although they may not now be heard as often, the
  study of German dialects began in earnest in the
  late 19th Century
• We call the study of dialects dialectology
• The father of German dialectology is Georg Wenker
  (1852-1911)

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Wenkersätze

• In 1876, Georg Wenker sent out a list of 42
  formal German sentences to local teachers
• He asked them to transcribe them into their local
  dialect and send them back
• By 1895, Wenker had 48,500 completed
  questionnaires from all over the German Reich
• He used them to draw detailed maps of the usage
  of key aspects of the German language

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Deutscher Sprachatlas

• After Wenkers death, Ferdinand Wrede drew 1,646
  individual maps, tracing the distribution of 339
  words across Germany
• A selection of these maps were published as the
  Deutscher Sprachatlas (DSA)
• Between 1951 and 1973, 20 volumes of the
  Deutscher Wortatlas (DWA) appeared
• Since then a number of regional language atlases
  have appeared

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Isoglosses

• Isoglosses are used to demarcate areas in which a
  variant of a linguistic feature appears
• These lines can be compared to isobars on a
  weather map or to contour lines on an ordnance
  survey map
• Isoglosses bear no necessary relationship with
  physical barriers such as a river or a mountain
  range, although they can often follow them
• Isoglosses are very elusive best-fit lines

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Isogloss bundles

• Dialect boundaries occur where a substantial
  number of isoglosses overlap
• The most famous example of such a bundle of
  isoglosses is the so-called Benrather Linie which
  separates Low German dialects from High German
  ones.
• Dialect boundaries are rarely clearcut however
• We therefore speak of focal areas (i.e. dialect
  centres) and transitional zones

21
Dialect map of Germany

• The dialect map of the German-speaking countries
  can be split into three
• Low German (Niederdeutsch) spoken in the Lowlands
  in North Germany
• Middle German (Mitteldeutsch)
• Upper German (Oberdeutsch) spoken in south
  Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• All three dialect areas contributed to the
  formation of modern standard German

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Which dialects are the purest?

• The dialects that are nearest to Standard German
  from a written standpoint are those in the south
  and the centre of the country
• This is because the standardisation of German was
  hugely influenced by Martin Luther
• For his translation of the Bible, he took the
  chancery language of Meißen as his basis
• He chose a central dialect dass mich beide Ober-
  und Niederländer verstehen mögen

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Pronunciation North Germany!

• But the pronunciation of German in Meißen (in
  Saxony!) was felt to be substandard
• Instead the pronunciation in North Germany (esp.
  Braunschweig, Hannover) was purer
• This is in part because, as Low Germans, they had
  to learn the developing standard as a new
  language that was very different to their own
• Modern standard German is thus the written
  language of the South Middle with the
  pronunciation of North Germany.

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1970s Die Dialektwelle

• In the 1970s, dialects enjoyed a new wave of
  popularity (Dialektwelle), particularly among
  authors and the middle-class
• As the Green movement grew, dialects were seen as
  representing local traditions and expressing
  regional identity
• Dialects were valued as a Sprache der Nähe
• There were seen as a language of human closeness
  underpinning a friendly community

25
New dialect presence in the media

• German dialects are more present in the media
  than ever before
• TV and radio Talk op Platt
• Dialect poetry and stories published
• Astérix and Le Petit Prince translated into
  German dialects so that children can learn
• Musically, the Dialektrock phenomenon proved
  popular, esp. in S. Germany Austria

26
Dialect prestige hot or not?

• Some dialects are more loved than others
• In a 1998 survey, the most popular dialect was
  Bairisch 37 liked hearing it
• N. German Plattdeutsch was next with 32
• The Allensbach survey concluded that dialects
  were gaining a more positive image, having lost
  viel von ihrem Image von provinzieller Enge und
  Unbildung
• Only 12 of people never used their dialect

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Bairisch macht sexy

• In 2003, a Playboy (!) survey found that der
  erotischste Dialekt Deutschlands was also
  Bairisch (29)
• Berlinisch was second with 23
• Rheinisch followed with 22
• Schwäbisch was fourth with 18 sexiness

28
Unpopular dialects Saxon

• The 1998 Allensbach survey also concluded that
  Sächsisch was by far the most unpopular dialect
  50 of Germans polled disliked it!
• This is in part because the unpopular GDR leader
  Walter Ulbricht spoke with a strong Saxon accent,
  but even 19-29 year olds dislike the dialect very
  strongly
• The second most unpopular dialect was Berlinisch
  (24), then Bairisch (19)

29
Swiss German the huge exception

• Swiss German bucks the trend of dialect usage
  gradually dying out
• There has been a huge increase in the usage of
  Swiss German dialects in the last 20 years
• At least 95 of Swiss Germans speak dialect
• Anyone wishing to become a naturalised Swiss
  citizen in Zurich must show that they can speak
  the local dialect in angemessener Weise

30
Why is Swiss German so popular?

• This dates back in part to the 1930s, when
  Germany represented a threatening draußen
• Speaking Swiss German helped protect Swiss
  integrity as a sprachlicher Heimatschutz
• Since 1960s, dialect represent democratic and
  anti-authoritarian values
• Swiss German dialects are now viewed as die
  Muttersprache der Schweiz persönlich, frei,
  locker, einfach, sympathisch, lustig

31
Swiss German purely spoken form

• Swiss German has also profited from the rise of
  written forms of communication
• It is the spoken language of all social classes
  in industrial cities and in the countryside.
• It is rarely, if ever, written down
• Swiss Standard German (SSG) is instead the
  language of writing and formal speech
• This is why SSG is viewed as a Schulsprache
  steif, kompliziert, wenig emotional

32
Swiss German medial diglossia

• Unlike German and Austrian dialects, there is no
  colloquial German in Switzerland
• Instead speakers switch between two radically
  different forms of the language written (SSG)
  and spoken (Schwyzerdütsch dialects)
• We define diglossia as the usage in one speech
  community of two varieties of the same language
  with complementary functions
• Medial diglossia diglossia based on medium

33
Swiss German context-based choice

• University lectures are normally held in Standard
  German, but small discussions are held in dialect
• Standard German is used in the national
  parliament, but cantonal and city politicians
  very often use dialect
• In private conversation, standard German may be
  used in the presence of non-dialect speakers, but
  even highly educated Swiss find themselves
  slipping into dialect. In practice most newcomers
  learn to speak the dialect.

34
Swiss German TV and radio

• Since 1983, dialect is increasingly heard on the
  radio due to the new private stations
• Dialect is conquering formal news programmes
• Interviews between a Swiss journalist and
  politicians on news broadcast 10 vor 10 will be
  held in dialect even if they are talking about
  something as serious as the Iraq war.
• When the programme is shown later in Germany
  Austria, it has to be subtitled!

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How are German dialects different?

• All German dialects have their own vocabulary
  (lexis), pronunciation and morphology (vowel and
  consonant differences)
• German dialects also tend to
• Avoid the genitive case
• Avoid the preterite (esp. South Germany)
• Omit unstressed vowels in middle (syncopation) or
  end (apocopation) of words
• Have simpler verb endings (esp. North SW)

36
Swiss German how is it different?

• Helveticisms words that are exclusive to Swiss
  German or have a different meaning
• Number of French loan words der Autocar (Bus),
  der Jupe (Kleid), das Velo (Rad), Salü!
• ch and k sounds always pronounced as harsh
  /x/ phoneme Kchameel (Kamel)
• Vowel rounding nöd (nicht), öppis (etwas)
• Diminutive -li Chätzli (kitten)
• Odd plurals Tääg (Tage), Hööchene (Höhen)

37
Huge contraction of verbs

• Many Swiss German verbs look very different to
  their standard German equivalents
• haa ( haben) ghaa ( gehabt)
• sy ( sein) gsy, gsi ( gewesen)
• gëë ( geben) gëë ( gegeben)
• choo ( kommen) choo ( gekommen)
• gsee ( sehen) gsee ( gesehen)
• laa ( lassen) glaa ( gelassen)

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Berlinisch - characteristics

• Originally a Low German dialect, Berlinisch is
  now classed as a Middle German dialect
• A city dialect, it has lexical influences from
• 1) Slavic Berlin, Lanke (Sumpf) dalli
• 2) Yiddish meschugge (verrückt) mies
• 3) French Feez (fête) Budike (boutique)
• 4) Low German doof kieken Jöre (Kind)
• 5) Latin Penne (Schule)

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Berlinisch - Akkudativ

• Berlinisch is famous for alternating the
  accusative and dative cases the Akkudativ
• Ick liebe dir, ich liebe dich
• wie t richtig is, det weeß ick nich
• un is mich ooch Pomade
• Ick lieb dir nich im dritten Fall
• Ick lieb dir nich im vierten Fall
• Ick liebe dir uff jeden Fall

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Berlinisch consonants

• g ? j Jeld (Geld), jleich (gleich) liejen
  (liegen)
• ch ? k icke (ich), Schnäpperken, Männeken
• s ? t det (das), wat (was), anderet (anderes)
• pf ? p Kopp (Kopf), Appel (Apfel)
• lt ? ll olle (alte)
• Lack of final t is (ist), jibs (gibt es)
• Disappearance of d jeworn (geworden), ick wer
  (ich werde), Meechen (Mädchen)

41
Berlinisch - vowels

• ei ? ee nee (nein), beede (beide), kleen
• ö ? e, ee scheen (schön), Leffel (Löffel)
• ü ? i Stick (Stück), miede (müde)
• au ? oo ooch (auch), Boom, Ooren (Augen)
• au ? u uff (auf), Uffjabe (Aufgabe)
• Shortening of vowels before doubling of
  consonants ville (viel), Jlass (Glas), Hoff
  (Hof), jenuch (genug)
• Adding of e Bette, alleene, Paule, Fritze