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GERHARD STICKEL
ins i u ü Deu sche Sp ache
He eVOlU iON OF A eUROPeAN
lANGUAGe: S ANDARD GeRMAN
1. PReSeN GeRMAN iN eUROPe
e e y language has i s his o y, especially he dominan a ie y o a language
ha de eloped i s s anda ds ou o he a ious egional and social a ie ies
o so-called na u al language. As you a e celeb a ing S anda d li huanian
and i s his o y, i would like o con ibu e o his e en by b ie ly ske ching
and discussing he eme gence and p esen si ua ion o ano he eu opean
s anda d language, he language i am mos amilia wi h because i is my
na i e ongue, i. e. Ge man.
A p esen , Ge man is he o icial language o Ge many, Aus ia, liech-
ens ein, wo hi ds o Swi ze land and a small egion in eas Belgium. i
is one o he o icial languages o luxembou g and a p o ince in No he n
i aly. i is also being spoken as a mino i y language in Hunga y, Romania,
Poland, Russia, and se e al o he eu opean and non-eu opean coun ies.
Ge man is he i s language o app oxima ely 100 million people in eu-
ope and is being used o lea ned as a o eign language by ano he 30 o 40
million people. hese imp essi e igu es, howe e , ha e o be looked a mo e
ca e ully. i i limi mysel o he 100 million na i e speake s, i could no say,
ha hey all speak he same kind o Ge man. Many o hem speak dialec s
o egional a ie ies o Ge man. All one can say is ha he as majo i y o
all hese people unde s and – wi hin smalle na ional a ia ions – he same
a ie y o Ge man, ha is, s anda d Ge man, as we would say Hochdeu sch.
How his came abou is a long s o y o mo e han a housand yea s.
2. FROM He 8 H ceN URy O He PReSeN
ea ly o ms o Ge man de eloped ou o he languages o Wes Ge manic
ibes who du ing he mig a ion o peoples – some 1500 yea s ago – se led
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in cen al eu ope and me ged g adually o la ge ibal o ma ions. Wi h
he excep ion o a ew unic insc ip ions and single wo ds in la in con ex s,
no documen s o he ea lies o ms o Ge man be o e he second hal o
he 8 h cen u y ha e been p ese ed. Medie al Ge man exis ed in a ious
ibal and egional a ie ies. hese a ie ies de eloped and pa ly me ged
in a p ocess o se e al cen u ies ha s a ed du ing he eign o cha le-
magne and con inued mo e o less un il he 18 h cen u y.
he main o mal de elopmen , which esul ed in he sepa a ion o he
Ge man a ie ies om he o he Wes Ge manic languages, such as english,
F isian, Du ch and low Ge man was he High Ge man sound shi , ha
is, he g adual change o ce ain Ge manic phonemes in o phone ically
ela ed ones. o gi e a ew examples: a Ge manic wo d such as Old Saxon
appul ‘apple’ hus became ap ul in Uppe Ge man. Old Saxon se ian ‘ o
si ’ co esponds o Old High Ge man se zan/sezzan, Old Saxon ha o
Uppe Ge man daz.
in ca olingian imes, he use o Ge man besides la in was encou aged
as a medium o ch is ianiza ion and eligious p ac ice in he Ge manic
pa s o he F ankish empi e. Da a o ha ime a e p ima ily eligious
w i ings and, addi ionally, agmen s o magic spells and he oic poe y. in
he 10 h cen u y un il well in o he 11 h cen u y, la in ook o e again as
almos he exclusi e medium o eligion, law, lea ning, and li e a y p o-
duc ion. he unc ional bilingualism (diglossia) o he p es ige language
la in as he main medium o eligion and lea ning and o he e nacula
a ie ies o Ge man con inued o cen u ies, in some domains un il he
18 h cen u y. in a sense, he eme gence o he Ge man s anda d language
was a p ocess o g adual emancipa ion om medie al la in. aces o his
p ocess a e among o he s he many la inism and o he omanisms in he
lexicon o mode n Ge man.
F om he middle o he 11 h cen u y onwa ds Ge man gained g ound
as a medium o li e a u e ha was c ea ed no only by lea ned cle gymen
bu also by membe s o he lowe nobili y. hey knew li le o no la in
and we e in luenced by he adi ions o F ench and P o encal chi al y
and cou ly lo e poe y. hus, secula ly ics (Minnesang) and epics (Pa zi al,
Nibelungenlied e c.) lou ished. in he ields o wa a e, chi al y, and lux-
u y goods, many wo ds we e bo owed om Old F ench o P o encal; e.g.
ā en iu e < OF a en u e, banie < OF banie e, anzen < OF dance.
G. S ickel. he e olu ion o a eu opean language: S anda d Ge man
121
owa ds he end o he 13 h cen u y, when mo e and mo e bu ghe s o
he g owing ci ies and owns also became li e a e, he use o Ge man (be-
sides la in) o li e a u e, legal documen s, educa ional, medical, and e-
ligious w i ings inc eased. hough ea u es o he egional a ie ies o he
w i en language a e s ill no iceable, i s endencies owa ds a High Ge -
man s anda d language de eloped in poe y.
F om he 12 h o he middle o he 14 h cen u y, he Ge man-speaking
popula ion inc eased conside ably in densi y and e i o ial ex ension. Ge -
man p inces expanded hei ealms in o Sla onic lands and ounded new
owns and illages in g ea numbe s, some imes bu no always by in i a-
ion o he local Sla onic ule s. A a he s able Ge man linguis ic e i-
o y was o med and exis ed mo e o less un il he 20 h cen u y. A e he
all o he Hohens au en (1268), he poli ical and economic powe shi ed
om he Ge man sou hwes o he eas and sou heas wi h he powe ul
dynas ies o Meißen-Saxony, he luxembu ge s in Bohemia and hen he
Habsbu gs in he Aus ian e i o ies. his also led o an inc easing in lu-
ence o he eas e n linguis ic a ie ies on he de elopmen o Ge man, as
documen ed among o he s in legal pape s o some chance ies (Kanzleien)
used he e nacula Ge man, hough mos o hem s ill con inued o w i e
Medie al la in.
Du ing he 16 h cen u y, he de elopmen o Ge man owa ds a s and-
a d language made a ema kable p og ess. wo ac o s we e o impo ance:
he use o a special blend o cen al and Uppe Ge man by he impe ial
chance y in P ague, la e Vienna, which in luenced he language o o he
chance ies, and Ma in lu he ’s choice o he o icialese o he Meißen-
Saxon chance y, an eas cen al a ie y o Ge man, o his ansla ions o
he Bible and his e o ma o y w i ings. he use o he p in ing p ess wi h
mo able me al ypes in en ed by Johannes Gens leisch, known as Gu en-
be g, in he middle o he 15 h cen u y and he ise o p in ing houses in
se e al ci ies a ound he beginning o he 16 h cen u y helped o sp ead
he e o ma ion all o e cen al eu ope. linguis ically his a ec ed he
no he n Ge man egions, whe e low Ge man had been he s anda d lan-
guage o eligion and adminis a ion. Un il hen, low Ge man had also
been he lingua anca o he migh y Hanse, he Hansea ic league, be ween
Nowgo od in he eas and Be gen and london in he Wes . Now, P o es-
an pas o s p eached and p ayed in he lu he an a ie y o Ge man. he
decline o he Hanse u he ed his change o he w i en language om
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low o High Ge man. in he Ge man-speaking Sou h, he e we e also
endencies o s anda dizing he w i en language. Despi e hese endencies,
he egional and local a ie ies o he spoken language emained in use,
and hey do so mo e o less un il he p esen .
lu he ’s w i ings and he eligious and legal ex s o au ho s om di -
e en egions en iched he lexicon o he s anda d a ie ies o Ge man
wi h wo ds such as geis eich ‘wi y’, kleingläubig ‘o li le ai h’, Mach wo
‘wo d o command’ and many o he s. loan ansla ions o la in exp essions
appea ed such as Eigenname (<nomen p op ium), Gegensa z (<opposi io),
Mu e sp ache (<lingua ma e na). he bo owing om la in, G eek ( ia
la in), F ench, and i alian con inued: Kapi el, Minis e , Akademie, Dekan,
P o esso , Manie , Bankie , b u o, ne o e c.
By he middle o he 17 h cen u y a s anda d o m o w i en Ge man
wi h some egional a ian s was ai ly well es ablished in he cen al, No h-
e n, and some pa s o he Sou he n Ge man egions, hough i lacked
ecogni ion as a medium o many ‘highe ’ domains. Besides la in ha was
s ill he language o educa ion and – in he ca holic egions – o he chu ch,
now he F ench o he cou o louis XiV ose also in Ge man lands o
be he language o p es ige, especially among he a is oc a ic éli e. his
was c i icized and opposed o by he Sp achgesellscha en ‘language socie-
ies’ ha a ose in se e al places. he oldes and mos in luen ial one, he
F uch b ingende Gesellscha ‘F uc i ying Socie y’, was ounded in 1617 in
Weima on he model o he Flo en ine Accademia della c usca (since 1582)
and ga he ed many o he p ominen w i e s and g amma ians o he ime
wi h he aim o p ese e and u he he Ge man language, which was
concei ed o as an ideal and ‘pu e’ medium o li e a u e wi hou o eign
wo ds and dialec al exp essions.
he 18 h cen u y, inally, b ough abou an e ening ou o egional di -
e ences o he s anda d and he es ablishmen o he use o Ge man in all
unc ional domains. Among o he in luences, he exho a ions o he e -
sa ile schola Go ied Wilhelm leibniz (1646-1716) o use Ge man in
science and poli ics, he p o oca i e use o Ge man ins ead o la in by he
uni e si y p o esso ch is ian homasius (1655-1728) and he e mino-
logical wo k o he philosophe ch is ian Wol (1679-1754) pa ed he way
o Ge man as a medium o educa ion, philosophy, science, and public
adminis a ion. he use o he p es ige languages la in and F ench g adu-
G. S ickel. he e olu ion o a eu opean language: S anda d Ge man
123
ally dec eased in ‘high socie y’ and science. Al oge he , he emancipa ion
o Ge man om Medie al la in s a ed la e and ook longe han he
eme gence o Spanish, i alian, and F ench as dominan languages in hei
espec i e coun ies and egions. O he han he emancipa ion and s and-
a disa ion o hese languages, he de elopmen o S anda d Ge man was
no suppo ed o e en o ced by oyal o go e nmen al dec ees bu by an
inc easing cul u al consensus among schola s and educa ed bu ghe s. i is
cha ac e is ic ha la in – besides Ge man – emained one o he wo o -
icial languages o he Holy Roman Empi e o Ge man Na ion un il he end
o his empi e in 1806.
owa ds he end o he 18 h cen u y, philosophe s such as kan and
He de , w i e s such as lessing, Goe he, and Schille , and many o he
au ho s could de elop hei own linguis ic c ea i i y on he basis o an
es ablished s anda d language and, hus, became models o he language
use o he educa ed classes. By he end o he 18 h cen u y, hese classes,
howe e , did no comp ise mo e han a mos 20% o he popula ion in
all Ge man-speaking egions. he passi e unde s anding o he s anda d
language imp o ed du ing he 19 h cen u y wi h he in oduc ion o gen-
e al manda o y school educa ion in he a ious Ge man-speaking s a es,
and, consequen ly, he alphabe iza ion o he majo i y o he popula ion
ose. he s anda d language was also s abilized and s eng hened by dic-
iona ies and g amma s which appea ed in he cou se o he 19 h cen u y.
As a (g ossly simpli ying) illus a ion o he o mal changes o Ge man
since he 9 h cen u y, he e a e se e al sho exce p s om di e en Ge man
ansla ions o adap a ions o he bible (luke 2.1):1
- la in (Vulga a):
Fac um es au em diebus illis exii edic um a Cæsa e Augus o u desc ibe e u uni-
e sus o bis. (In hose days a dec ee wen ou om Empe o Augus us ha all he
wo ld should be egis e ed. F om: he New Re ised S anda d Ve sion)
- Old High Ge man ( a ian, c. 830):
Uua d hô gi ân in hên agun / amquam gibo on đemo aluual en keisu e / haz
gib ie ie i u di al hese umbiuue .
- Middle High Ge man (Ma hias on Beheim, 1343):
Abi geschên is in den Tagen / ein gebo gînc ûz on dem keise e Augus ô, daz
besc iben wo de de ummec eiz allesamen .
1 examples aken om schi ch : 1969, 24 .

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- ea ly Mode n Ge man (Ma in lu he , 1522):
ES begab sich abe zu de zey / das eyn gepo on dem keyse Augus o aus gieng /
das alle well gesche z wu de.
- Mode n Ge man (ca. 1900):
Es begab sich abe zu de Zei , daß ein Gebo on dem Kaise Augus us ausging,
daß alle Wel geschä z wü de.
F om he middle o he 19 h cen u y onwa ds, Ge man, as o he eu o-
pean languages, unde wen a as expansion o i s lexicon as consequence
o he indus ial e olu ion, he de elopmen o e e mo e and specialized
sciences and echnologies and he mul iplying con ac s wi h o he lan-
guages by ade, wa s, new media, and, mo e ecen ly, ou ism. Since he
middle o he 20 h cen u y, he lexical bo owing om english, ha s a -
ed ea lie , has inc eased conside ably. Symp oma ic is he exchange o old
F ench loan wo ds by anglicisms; e.g., Appa emen by Apa men , Bankie
by Banke , Mannequin by Model.
he o hog aphic no ms o he a ious Ge man-speaking egions con-
e ged o a g ea ex en un il he end o he 19 h cen u y. A e ea lie
u ile a emp s, a s anda d o hog aphy was inally esol ed a he 2nd O -
hog aphic con e ence (1901) in Be lin and was o icially in oduced du -
ing he ollowing yea s in o he schools and he public adminis a ion o
all Ge man-speaking s a es and egions. changes o his no m we e p o-
posed and discussed again and again. Finally, in 1996 a e ised no m was
ag eed upon by he au ho i ies o he pa icipa ing coun ies and egions,
and – a e some sligh e isions – o icially accep ed and in oduced in o
he schools in 2006.
On demand o he ac o s o he many hea es in he Ge man-speak-
ing a ea, he e we e also a emp s owa ds he end o he 19 h cen u y o
s anda dize he p onuncia ion o spoken Ge man. in 1892, heodo Siebs
p esen ed his “Deu sche Bühnenaussp ache” (Ge man P onuncia ion o
he S age). His no m, which was mainly based on he No he n Ge man
a icula ion o he s anda d language, did no , howe e , gain sup a- e-
gional accep ance ou side he hea es, al hough, in a mode a e o m, he
Siebs no m s ill has some in luence on he p onuncia ion o adio and
V speake s in Ge many. in Aus ia and Swi ze land, he o hoepic no ms
o he public use o he s anda d language di e sligh ly om he Ge -
man one.
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125
3. MODeRN GeRMAN iNSiDe
He GeRMAN-SPeAkiNG cOUN RieS
he Ge man-speaking a ea in eu ope had i s la ges ex ension a e he
colonisa ion o Ge man-speaking se le s and mig an s in he 13 h and 14 h
cen u ies. Despi e poli ical, mili a y, and economic de elopmen s, his a ea
emained mo e o less cons an un il he Second Wo ld Wa . A e his
wa , s a ed by he Nazi go e ned ‘ hi d Reich’ in 1939, he e i o y o
Ge many was educed conside ably in he eas . he Ge man-speaking
popula ion o he los egions was o ced o mo e wes wa ds in o he e-
maining pa s o Ge many and Aus ia.
he na ional a ie ies o S anda d Ge man a e ma ked by di e ences
in small pa s o he lexicon, especially in legal and adminis a i e e mi-
nology and in exp essions ha e e o ood i ems. he e is also some
a iance in mo phophonemics and p onuncia ion. he na ional a ie ies
also di e in he uses o egional a ie ies as agains he use o he s and-
a d language. he no h o Ge many uses li le o no dialec s in e e yday
speech bu a he s anda d o nea -s anda d pan- egional a ie ies. in he
sou h and in pa s o cen al and eas Ge many egional a ie ies a e
equen ly used bu linked o he o mali y o he si ua ions. Dialec s a e
p e e ably used in in o mal si ua ions, s anda d o nea -s anda d a ie ies
in o mal si ua ions. in gene al, dis inc i e egional a ie ies a e eceding
and a e being eplaced by pan- egional a ie ies. he usage o egional
language o ms is s ill ma ked by low social p es ige i he speake ails o
adap o he speech si ua ion ( o mal-in o mal, dis an -close, e c.).
he Aus ian language si ua ion is ma ked, on he one hand, by dialec-
al a ie ies which a e linked o indi idual egions (Bundesland) and on
he o he hand by he inc easing use o a koiné- a ie y ha sp eads om
he Vienna egion ac oss he eas e n and cen al pa s o he coun y.
cha ac e is ic o he use o he a ie ies in Aus ia is he swi ching be ween
egional, pan- egional and s anda d a ie ies wi hin sho discou se se-
quences, depending on ac o s like speake -lis ene ela ion and he s a us
o he speech si ua ion as o mal o non- o mal. he use o non-s anda d
a ie ies in e e yday speech si ua ions is no mal ac oss all social g oups
and no socially ma ked. he e is, howe e , an u ban-non-u ban di e ence
wi h non-u ban a ie ies being conside ed as lowe in p es ige.
Swi ze land’s language si ua ion is s ill di e en om ha o he wo
o he coun ies as he e is a diglossia be ween he a ie ies o “Swi ze -
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dü sch” (Swiss Ge man), ha is, he egional (can onal) a ie ies o Ale-
mannic Ge man, and he Swiss S anda d o m o Ge man. No social g oup
uses he s anda d language as he no m o e e yday con e sa ions. Swiss
Ge man speake s speak dialec and w i e in s anda d language - a si ua ion
called medial diglossia in sociolinguis ics. he e is no in e language be ween
he medial a ie ies. O al use o he s anda d language is only ound in
o mal ins uc ion a schools and uni e si ies, in ac -o ien ed adio and
V p og ammes, in pa liamen , and in o mal speeches. Gene ally speak-
ing, he e is no social p es ige o s igma isa ion in ol ed in he use o any
o he a ie ies o Swiss Ge man e nacula , which comp ises a la ge numbe
o mos ly mu ually comp ehensible egional a ie ies.
Aside om he uses o dialec s and pan- egional a ie ies, he di e -
ences be ween he na ional a ie ies o S anda d Ge man, especially in i s
w i en use, a e no as p onounced as, o ins ance, he di e ences be ween
he s anda d a ie ies o english in G ea B i ain, Aus alia and he Uni -
ed S a es o Ame ica.
4. lANGUAGe leGiSlA iON AND lANGUAGe iNS i U iONS
in Ge many, he Ge man language has no cons i u ional s a us as o in-
s ance F ench in F ance, Spanish in Spain o li huanian in li huania. ha
is, he e is no egula ion in he Ge man cons i u ion such as “Ge man is
(o shall be) he s a e language o Ge many”. Only special laws p esc ibe
Ge man as he o icial language o ju isdic ion and public adminis a ion.
he s a us o Ge man as “na ional” o “o icial” language o as one o
se e al o icial languages is, howe e , explici ly s a ed in he cons i u-
ional laws o Aus ia, liech ens ein, Swi ze land, and Belgium.
O icial ins i u ions wi h ex ensi e no ma i e compe ence o he s and-
a d language as o ins ance he Académie ançaise o F ench o he
Academia española o Spanish do no exis in any o he Ge man-speak-
ing coun ies. he de ac o codi ica ion o S anda d Ge man is in he hands
o publishing houses such as he Duden e lag, Be elsmann and o he s o
Ge many and he Ös e eichische Bundes e lag o Aus ia which pub-
lishes he dic iona y ”Ös e eichisches Wö e buch”. Swi ze land does no
ha e i s own Ge man dic iona y, ins ead he dic iona ies published in Ge -
many a e used.
G. S ickel. he e olu ion o a eu opean language: S anda d Ge man
127
in Ge many, se e al ins i u ions di ide among hemsel es unc ions
compa able o hose o a language academy. he ins i u ü Deu sche
Sp ache (ins i u e o he Ge man language) in Mannheim being he la g-
es esea ch cen e o he Ge man language has i s ocus on he empi ical
desc ip ion o Mode n Ge man and i s ecen his o y. Resul s a e among
o he s a la ge g amma o con empo a y Ge man, special dic iona ies, and
a mul i ude o monog aphs and handbooks on a ious aspec s o Ge man2.
he ins i u e is also enowned o he la ge language co po a ha ha e
been collec ed du ing he pas 40 yea s. he Deu sche Akademie ü
Sp ache und Dich ung (Ge man Academy o language and Poe y) in
Da ms ad assembles enowned no elis s, poe s, li e a y c i ics, and (a ew)
linguis s om he a ious Ge man-speaking coun ies wi h he aim o
os e and cul i a e he Ge man language and li e a u e by o ganising con-
e ences on li e a y and linguis ic issues and awa ding p izes o ou s and-
ing w i e s. he Goe he ins i u is p ima ily conce ned wi h he sp eading
and p omo ing o Ge man in non-Ge man-speaking coun ies.
he e a e se e al o he , mos ly p i a e o ganisa ions ha a e conce ned
abou he p esen use and de elopmen o S anda d Ge man. By a he
la ges , he Ve ein Deu sche Sp ache (Associa ion Ge man language) wi h
abou 30.000 membe s, is i idly igh ing agains he use o anglicisms.
he Gesellscha ü deu sche Sp ache ( he socie y o he Ge man language)
also ca es o he use o con empo a y S anda d Ge man bu on a mo e
se ious and linguis ically ounded basis. he la ge s a e suppo ed language
ins i u ions coope a e since 2003 in he Deu sche Sp ach a (Ge man
language council), a loose associa ion wi h he aim o imp o e he lan-
guage awa eness among he Ge man popula ion.
in Aus ia, language codi ica ion is in he hands o he dic iona y uni
o he Ös e eichische Bundes e lag, which publishes he Ös e eichisches
Wö e buch (Aus ian Dic iona y). he e a e wo small esea ch uni s o
he s udy o Aus ian Ge man, he i s one a he Aus ian Academy o
Science and echnology, he second one a he Uni e si y o G az. he
la e is mainly conce ned wi h he compila ion o special dic iona ies and
co po a.
o da e, Swi ze land has no codi ying ins i u ion. A egula i e unc ion
is exe cised by he Schweize ische e ziehungsdi ek o enkon e enz eDk
2 See www.ids-mannheim.de o de ailed publica ion lis s.