Previous research has established a connection between Standard Language Ideology (SLI) and prestige and power and has highlighted the existence of a dominant cultural narrative that idealizes Standard High German as a provider of cultural elevation and unity, viewing nonstandard Germanic varieties as exotic. Nevertheless, scholars have likewise…

German is a pluricentric language with many standard and nonstandard varieties. Students of German are usually unaware of its rich regional variation, and studies attribute this to limited resources and instructional time (van Kerckvoorde, 2012). The "DACH" model of teaching German, which includes linguistic and cultural elements from…

This dissertation analyzes attitudes and perceptions of regiolects regarding the Magdeburg, Berlin, Leipzig and Standard German. Consultants listened to four recordings--one in each linguistic variety--and answered questions. The questions opened with the consultants' personal connection to each variety and opinions of the variety itself before…

This paper addresses the issue of students' perceptions of non-native teacher authenticity, combining the literature accounts of authenticity in the fields of foreign language learning, and teacher authenticity (both teachers' skills and teachers' linguistic resources). The data Analysis from an exploratory and comparative angle, involving two…

This article deals with language contact between a dominant standard language--German--and a lesser-used variety--Low German--in a situation in which the minoritised language is threatened by language shift and language loss. It analyses the application of Low German in forms of public language display and the self-presentation of the community in…

Subjective and objective language data collected in a research project on language variation in north Germany not only reveal information on current linguistic trends in north Germany; they also show how language change in this region is represented in the consciousness of the speakers themselves and described in comments by them. This diachronic…

The influence of English on German has been an ongoing subject of intense popular and academic interest in the German sphere. In order to better understand this language contact situation, this research project investigates anglicisms--instances of English language material in a German language context--in the German hip hop community, where the…

Presents findings of a study into language awareness among teachers in an area of Germany where a Central German dialect (Pfalzisch) is spoken. Reveals that in the Mannheim Suburb of Neckarau, many parents who speak a nonstandard dialect, leave it up to schools to teach standard German. Suggests teachers should have a systematic knowledge of the…

Deals with divergence on the lexical, phonological, and morphological levels in three dialects that were the same until the mid-20th century (Maaseiks in Belgium, Susters in the Netherlands, and Waldfeuchts in Germany) and that have changed under the influence of three different standard languages (Belgian Dutch, Netherlandic Dutch, and Standard…

Presents results of a longitudinal study on long-term dialect accommodation in a German dialect setting. An important model of explaining which linguistic structures undergo such convergence and which do not makes use of the notion of "salience." (Author/VWL)

Presents results of a study of the use of the dative with the genitive prepositions "(an)statt,""trotz,""wahrend" and "wegen" based on two corpora. Notes that a comparison of these two computerized corpora shows that no clear trend exists regarding the increased use of the dative with these prepositions in…