Sprache im 20. Jahrhundert. Gegenwartssprache
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Vorwort
(2008)
There has been a long tradition of discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using foreign words in the German language. In the first part of this paper, an historical example of this discussion will be presented. It shows that at the end of the 18th century a highly differentiated approach to this question had been developed. The type of functional reasoning applied there could also be useful for the present discussion about the influence of English on the German language. A functional interpretation of the use of indigenous and foreign words respectively in a language like German unavoidably leads to the conclusion that the use of elements of foreign origin is an integral part of what it means to be a modem European language. Of course languages differ in the wavs in which they technically deal with this fact. To document the fact that the integration of the European tradition o f mutual cultural and linguistic contact is a characteristic feature of European languages, and that different languages deal with this in technically different ways, the second part o f this article compares a German non-fictional text with its counterparts in seven other European languages.
Einleitung
(2008)
Europe is a continent of many languages. We all know that, but normally when we think about this fact, we focus on national languages, the type of language that shapes our political and our linguistic geography. But as natural as it may seem today, the idea of a language closely being interrelated with one's identity does not have a very long tradition. In fact it is only since the late 18th century that we think there is some type of intimate connection between the language spoken and the identity of a person as belonging to a nation. And even if the stabilization of European nation states was closely connected with this type of reasoning, European language communities differ considerably in their way of dealing with natural variation within their national language. For some of them, it is only the standardized national language that is relevant in this respect; for others, a certain amount of variation is a central part of their linguistic identity.