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Abstract
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 tourism brochures, focusing on bilingual linguistic practices on the one hand and on underlying discourses on the other. It reveals that top-down and bottom-up approaches to implementing Low German in public language display show a remarkable homogeneity, thus creating a regional ‘brand’. The article asks whether a raised level of visibility will in itself guarantee better chances for linguistic maintenance and survival of the threatened language.
Notes
1. A discourse is understood in this context as a system of statements forming a structure of thoughts and social practices (Wang 2000, 173), thus producing social realities (see for example, Baxter Citation2002). The use of specific linguistic forms – words, phrases, utterances, grammatical structures, intonation or indeed signs – does not happen in a social vacuum. These forms serve communicative purposes in terms of linguistic processes on the one hand and of contributing to or forming discourses as part of social realities on the other. A street sign, for example, not only conveys directions to the viewer but also has the potential to contribute to a prevailing discourse, for example to a discourse of regional historicisation by exhibiting a traditional typeface, a language formerly spoken in the region, the name of an eminent historic figure, etc.
2. Originally, East Frisia was part of the Frisian-speaking areas, but language shift to Low German took place during the Middle Ages, with Middle Low German becoming a written language alongside Latin. East Frisian varieties have thus become extinct apart from a small enclave in the neighbouring Saterland (Fort Citation2001). An ongoing argument among linguists, language activists and speakers of Low German centres on the question of whether Modern Low German is a language or a dialect. Considering the well-established problems within the linguistic discipline in defining the terms language and dialect satisfactorily, the argument seems somewhat superfluous. Nevertheless, because the debate is ideologically highly loaded in the Low German speaking communities, it keeps resurfacing. Schröder (Citation2004, 35) distinguishes between the perception of most speakers, that Low German is a language, and the prevalent view among linguists that the Low German varieties are part of the diasystem of the German language in the widest sense.
3. A pilot study was conducted in July 2008, taking photographs of all signs visible in four out of the nineteen villages of Krummhörn. It revealed that certain categories of signs – municipal warning signs and notifications – were never displayed in languages other than Standard German. Thus, these signs were not included in the main fieldwork, which was conducted in July and August 2009.
4. The word Fraktur derives from Latin frangere ‘to break’ and refers to a subgroup of black letter typefaces. The Koch Fraktur was designed between 1908 and 1910 by the German calligrapher and typographic artist Rudolf Koch (1876–1934).
5. For East Frisian names see Schuster (Citation1995).
6. Tourism marketing in East Frisia is administered by limited liability companies in which local authorities are the main shareholders. The company Ostfriesland Tourismus GmbH functions as an umbrella organisation for fifty local independent companies. Relevant for this analysis are the general brochure on the region published by Ostfriesland Tourism GmbH (http://www.ostfriesland.de) and an example of the specific, sub-regional brochures published by the local companies (in this case http://www.greetsiel.de). The brochures for the various East Frisian sub-regions all follow a similar design, structure and approach to the use of Low German. Both brochures can be read online: http://issuu.com/ostfriesland/docs/ostfriesland_reiseführer_2008_2009 and http://issuu.com/ostfriesland/docs/greetsiel_e_magazin_2010_300dpi.
7. Recent developments in East Frisia, however, show that this form of identity construction is becoming an ever more salient feature: a political ‘Frisian’ party has emerged which is constituted around Low German as a main ideological factor, and ‘Frisian’ architecture has become popular as a style for building new houses; to mention just two examples. This is certainly an area which deserves further attention.