Chapter 4
German regiolects and socio-cultural identity
Dynamic linguistic processes between the old German local dialects and the much younger German standard language are currently being studied intensely, revealing some clear results: The structures of the vertical variation spaces differ according to the dialect area. These different shapes can basically be explained by a linguistic factor, the relationship between Standard German and the different dialects. This relationship determines the type and number of non-standard variants remaining in the speakers’ best attempts to pronounce Standard German. These variants form the basic linguistic inventory of the intermediate regiolect varieties. On the basis of further studies reciprocal effects between variety use and other forms of social action can be observed, resulting in a high amount of stability of the intermediate regiolect varieties.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.On the historical background of German
- 3.Recent large-scale investigations of vertical variation spaces in Germany
- 4.Results
- 5.Extralinguistic relevance
- 6.Conclusion: On the stability of the intermediate regiolects
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Notes
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References