In this section, the authors of the ESO project comment on societal discussions of current language usage from a linguistic perspective. On the one hand, such public discourses use language as a medium for communication, for representing and constructing reality, or as an instrument of power. On the other hand, they negotiate societal topics by means of linguistic signs, which turns these public discourses again into objects of language-critical reflection. They exemplify how speech communities express, reproduce, and constitute attitudes, ways of thinking and concepts through their language usage.
Overview
- July 2023 · Zwischen Verdunkeln und Erstrahlen: Erinnern mit und in Sprache · Ekkehard Felder
- July 2023 · Manifest Le français va très bien, merci (2023) · Sybille Große
- February 2023 · CULTURE WARS UND SPRACHKRITIK – Wie Kämpfe um Kultur sich in Kämpfen um Sprache äußern · Sven Bloching
- June 2022 · „Was die Wanzen tötet, tötet auch den Popen“: Sprachkritik versus Freigeist · Ekkehard Felder
- April 2022 · Sprache ist weder gerecht noch ungerecht: Die Politisierung der Alltagssprache · Ekkehard Felder
- August 2020 · „Wir schaffen das“ – aus linguistischer Sicht ein genialer Satz · Ekkehard Felder
- July 2020 · Warum will niemand den Dativ retten? Selektiver Artenschutz im deutschen Kasussystem · Lara Vivienne Neuhauser
- June 2018 · „Zigeuner“, „Neger“, „Asylant“, „Fräulein“, „Weibergeschwätz“, „mauscheln“ – es gibt viele Beispiele für diskriminierenden Sprachgebrauch im Alltag.
- June 2014 · Negerkönig oder Südseekönig? Eine linguistisch-sprachkritische Stellungnahme · Johannes Funk / Katharina Jacob / Luisa Larsen / Maria Mast / Verena Weiland / Kathrin Wenz
- June 2013 · Professoren und Professorinnen – ein Fall für die feministische Sprachkritik? · Kathrin Wenz
External contribution · July 2023
Ekkehard Felder’s contribution „Zwischen Verdunkeln und Erstrahlen: Erinnern mit und in Sprache“ on the blog »Semantische Wettkämpfe« at the Spectrum of Science Scilogs
Commentary · July 2023
Sybille Große
Manifesto Le français va très bien, merci (2023)
A manifesto published by the renowned French publisher Gallimard on May 25, 2023, with the wonderful title „Le français va très bien, merci“ (The French language is doing very well, thank you), makes one sit up and take notice. First of all, because it is directed against the repeatedly formulated pessimistic statements that would like to see the French language „in danger“ or even „on the brink“. But also because it was written by 18 francophone linguists and is linked to an online petition, which in a few days found more than 1000 supporters as well as a considerable media echo (https://www.tract-linguistes.org/blog/), such as in the French daily newspapers Le Figaro or Libération. The group has given itself the name Les Linguistes atterrés (The Appalled Linguists) in reference to the worldwide movement Les Économistes Atterrés (The Appalled Economists).
Read the entire contribution here:
S. Große – Manifest Le français va très bien, merci (2023)
Cite
Große, Sybille (2023): Manifest Le français va très bien, merci (2023). In: Europäische Sprachkritik Online (ESO), section “Socially critical”, July 2023. URL: https://test.europsprachkritik.com/en/socially-critical-language-criticism/#k-2023-07-2
External contribution · February 2023
External contribution · June 2022
Ekkehard Felder’s contribution „„Was die Wanzen tötet, tötet auch den Popen“: Sprachkritik versus Freigeist“ on the blog »Semantische Wettkämpfe« at the Spectrum of Science Scilogs
External contribution · April 2022
Ekkehard Felder’s contribution „Sprache ist weder gerecht noch ungerecht: Die Politisierung der Alltagssprache“ on the blog »Semantische Wettkämpfe« at the Spectrum of Science Scilogs
External contribution · August 2020
Ekkehard Felder’s contribution „„Wir schaffen das“ – aus linguistischer Sicht ein genialer Satz“ on the blog »Semantische Wettkämpfe« at the Spectrum of Science Scilogs
Commentary · July 2020
Lara Vivienne Neuhauser
Why does nobody want to save the dative? Selective species protection in the German case system
Case management of prepositions
Many people have an exact idea of what is beautiful, sophisticated or even correct and wrong language. Linguistic cases of doubt, in which a choice has to be made between the dative and genitive case, are particularly much discussed: Does it mean “wegen des Sturmes” or “wegen dem Sturm”? Is “laut der Studien” or “laut den Studien” better? In public discourses on these issues, the term language decline is often used; the decline of the genitive, which appears better and of higher quality, is regretted. A well-known advocate of this case is Bastian Sick, who sells one bestseller after the other with his recommendations for good use of language. As a “linguist” he has set himself the goal of “skewering ‘wrongly set’ words in German texts” (Sick 2008: 16ff.). So also, the form “wegen dir”, whose appearance is “dangerous” and a “low blow” (ibid.: 21). Where does this devaluation of the dative and the reputation of the genitive as a “prestige case” come from (Klein 2018: 217)? Why does nobody want to save the dative?
Read the entire contribution here:
Cite
Neuhauser, Lara Vivienne (2020): Warum will niemand den Dativ retten? Selektiver Artenschutz im deutschen Kasussystem. In: Europäische Sprachkritik Online (ESO), section “Socially critical”, July 2020. URL: https://test.europsprachkritik.com/en/socially-critical-language-criticism/#k-2020-07
External contribution · June 2018
Commentary · June 2014
Cite
Funk, Johannes / Jacob, Katharina / Larsen, Luisa / Mast, Maria / Weiland, Verena / Wenz, Kathrin (2014): Negerkönig oder Südseekönig? Eine linguistisch-sprachkritische Stellungnahme. In: Europäische Sprachkritik Online (ESO), section “Socially critical”, June 2014. URL: https://test.europsprachkritik.com/en/socially-critical-language-criticism/#k-2014-06
Commentary · June 2013
Kathrin Wenz
“Professoren und Professorinnen” – a case for feminist language criticism?
The media has recently reported that Leipzig University now uses the grammatically feminine term “Professorin” for generic reference to designate both male and female professors. Potsdam University has also implemented a similar rule (cf. article in the Berliner Zeitung, Spiegel Online, June 4 and 5, 2013).
Potsdam University’s spokesperson Mangelsdorf explains the decision first with better readability. Second, she refers to the statement made by the University’s task group that proposed the change and that is of the opinion that – after centuries of patriarchal thinking – the time has come for a wholly feminine denomination (article in the Tagesspiegel on July 4, 2013). This decision has triggered strong reactions. On the one hand, feminists welcome the rule and see it as an important step towards more equal communication. Critics, on the other hand, consider the decision pointless say that this change will not affect the factual discrimination of women in the work domain. This is the most current example of a debate that has been going on since the 1980s on how gender equality may be achieved in the language use of forms of address and professional titles.
Read the entire contribution here:
Cite
Wenz, Kathrin (2013): Professoren und Professorinnen – ein Fall für die feministische Sprachkritik?. In: Europäische Sprachkritik Online (ESO), section “Socially critical”, June 2013. URL: https://test.europsprachkritik.com/en/socially-critical-language-criticism/#k-2013-06