Testing Language, Testing Ethnicity? Policies and Practices Surrounding the Ethnic German Aussiedler

Abstract

Aussiedler are ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries who are granted the right to resettle in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) if they can provide evidence of German ancestry, attachment to the German language and culture, and ongoing assertion of German ethnicity. This article outlines the policies, legislation, and practices the German authorities have adopted to deal with these people. In particular, it describes and analyses the role assigned to the German language and the language testing practices involved in the recognition process. It summarizes the criticisms that this “language test” has attracted and discusses how it reflects or contradicts ideologies of language, ethnicity, and national identity.

Notes

¹Deutscher im Sinne dieses Grundgesetzes ist vorbehältlich anderweitiger gesetzlicher Regelung, wer die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit besitzt oder als Flüchtling oder Vertriebener deutscher Volkszugehörigkeit oder als dessen Ehegatte oder Abkömmling in dem Gebiete des Deutschen Reiches nach dem Stande vom 31. Dezember 1937 Aufnahme gefunden hat.

²I use the German term in the article as the suggested English translations do, in my opinion, not adequately represent the concept. The term Aussiedler also covers those people who, after 1993, are in legal terms called Spätaussiedler (late Aussiedler).

³ Deutscher Volkszugehöriger im Sinne dieses Gesetzes ist, wer sich in seiner Heimat zum deutschen Volkstum bekannt hat, sofern dieses Bekenntnis durch bestimmte Merkmale wie Abstammung, Sprache Erziehung, Kultur bestätigt wird.

⁴According to the Immigration Act, non-German family members can only be included in the application and be granted German citizenship upon arrival if they can provide evidence of “basic proficiency in German,” which is defined as Level A1 of the Common European Framework. To do this, they have to sit a test, officially termed a Sprachstandstest (language diagnostic test); special provisions are made for family members older than 60, younger than 16, and for those with disabilities (BVA, 2007).

Unlike the language test for Aussiedler, the Sprachstandstest is a test of oral and written proficiency of Standard German, it can be repeated as often as necessary, preparatory courses are available (e.g. through Goethe Institutes and online) and its focus is unambiguously on integration potential. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Aussiedler stated in 2005, the introduction of such a test should not be seen as a chore but as a opportunity for more rapid integration, as knowledge of German facilitates access to education, the job market, and the society in general (Bundesministerium des Innern, 2005). This was a reaction to the dramatic change in the composition (and consequently German proficiency) of the immigrants from the ex-USSR. While in 1993 74 per cent were Aussiedler, this number declined to only 22 per cent in 2002; the remaining 74 per cent were family members who often spoke no or very little German and therefore encountered significant problems with integration into German society (Stahl, 2003).