Variation in German: A Critical Approach to German Sociolinguistics

by Stephen Barbour, Patrick Stevenson

Overview

This book, which examines the interrelations of language and society in German-speaking countries, is the most detailed account of German sociolinguistics to appear in English. Topics covered include the history and development of the German language, German as a minority language, traditional dialects, the influence of English on German, and German in the East and West. It will appeal to undergraduates and postgraduates whose background is in German but who have little or no previous knowledge of linguistics, and it has also been designed to be accessible to students and researchers in linguistics who have little or no knowledge of German, since all examples are translated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521353977
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/10/1990
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.87(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. The historical background; 3. The German tradition of dialectology; 4. Language and society: urban speech, urbanization and 'new dialectology'; 5. Sociolinguistic variation and the continuum of colloquial speech; 6. Standard and non-standard German: their rôle in society; 7. Language in multilingual societies: the Federal Republic and Switzerland; 8. Contact and conflict; 9. Conclusions and prospects.

Editorial Reviews

"I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a comprehensive, lucid, lively, and extremely readable account of regional variation in German or the German research tradition in this field." Language

"...by far the most comprehensive text available in the field....The text will benefit a diverse audience. For instructors and researchers interested in the German language, the book is a must, since it presents important information nowhere else available in such a concise, up-to-date, and generally well-organized manner. For the sociolinguist, the book presents one of the few successful attempts to apply the tradition of sociolinguistics to a single language system." Helga H. DeLisle, Polylingua

"...an excellent example of a way to extend the boundaries of what is considered relevant and significant for language study." Mary E. Wildner-Bassett, The Modern Language Journal

"...bring[s] a valuable multidimensional approach on a diachronic palette to the study of linguistic variation in German....I rather expect that Barbour and Stevenson will establish themselves as a regular entry on many graduate program reading lists." Craig W. Nickisch, German Studies Review

From the Publisher