Language and German Disunity: A Sociolinguistic History of East and West in Germany, 1945-2000 - Softcover

Stevenson, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198299702 ISBN 13: 9780198299707

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

This book investigates the history of national disunity in Germany since the end of the Second World War from a linguistic perspective: what was the role of language in the ideological conflicts of the Cold War and in the difficult process of rebuilding the German nation after 1990?

In the first part of the book, Patrick Stevenson explores the ways in which the idea of 'the national language' contributed to the political tensions between the two German states and to the different social experiences of their citizens. He begins by showing how the modern linguistic conflict between east and west in Germany has its roots in a long tradition of debates on the relationship between language and national identity. He then describes the use of linguistic strategies to reinforce the development of a socialist state in the GDR and argues that they ultimately contributed to its demise.

The second part considers the social and linguistic consequences of unification. The author discusses the challenges imposed on east Germans by the sudden formation of a single 'speech community' and examines how conflicting representations of easterners and westerners - for example, in personal interactions, the media, and advertising - have hindered progress towards national unity.

German division and re-unification were crucial to the development of Europe in the second half of the twentieth century. This fascinating account of the relationship between language and social conflict in Germany throws new light on these events and raises important questions for the study of divided speech communities elsewhere. The book will interest sociolinguists, historians, sociologists, and political scientists.

About this title

Review

Patrick Stevenson's fascinating and highly readable study...goes beyond most existing linguistic and sociolinguistic research ... The author hopes that his book will appeal to sociolinguistics, historians, sociologists, and political scientists, and indeed it will. (Ingeborg Walther, The German Quarterly)

... provides a well-written and well-argued overview of a substantial body of research on east-west sociolinguistic divergence and re-convergence in post-war Germany, which has so far been published almost exclusively in German. (Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development)

Stevenson relies largely upon the research of others but his expert summaries, selections of examples and methodological commentaries make the book an authoritative one. (Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development)

This book is ideal for not only the students of socio-linguistics but for everyone who is interested in studying language politics and understanding a linguistic fact as a political act. (Linguist List)

About the Author

Patrick Stevenson studied at the Universities of Oxford, Sussex and Reading. He is currently Reader in German and Head of German Studies at the University of Southampton. He has published widely on many aspects of German sociolinguistics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0198299702
• ISBN 13: 9780198299707
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288