Volume Five, Number Two
ABSTRACTS
“Lerne Ostdeutsch!” (Learn the East German
language!)
Myth and reality about an
East German1 language
Stefan Mummert
This paper outlines the issues surrounding the debate about a characteristically East German language. Comparisons will be drawn between previous research and my own linguistic data. It will be demonstrated that the official, ideological language as prescribed by the socialist government of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), had some impact on semi-official communication, but almost no impact on private language use, which was hardly different from the West. However, a number of lexical items have acquired and retained a specifically East German emotional component. It will also be argued that some research and reflections on language in East Germany are in fact reflections on society and social and political developments, in the tradition of “Sprachpflege”2 and language criticism.
Key words: language of East German/former GDR; German sociolinguistics; lexical register
German as a contact language in South Africa:
linguistic perspectives
Katharina Franke
This paper explores existing literature and linguistic research on German as spoken in South Africa from a language contact perspective. Following a brief overview of the situation of German speakers in South Africa, this paper presents a survey of various linguistic features of South African German, by drawing extensively on data from the study of German in South Africa by Stielau (1980). Structural changes in the morpho-syntax and syntax will be discussed in detail. I will conclude by briefly considering possessive pronoun constructions in South African German thereby reviewing the issue of explaining language change in language contact situations.
Key words: contact linguistics; German in South Africa; syntactic change
Pathways of Téâ Kanaké: translation and identity construction in Kanaky1/New Caledonia
Emma Sinclair
How do translations contribute to the construction of social identity? In what ways can translation play a role in the process of nation-building? Tracing the various pathways taken by a Kanak origin story, Téâ Kanaké, from its source in the oral tradition of the Paicî language, to written French, this paper situates translations of elements of Kanak oral tradition in the context of the nation-building project currently underway in Kanaky/New Caledonia, a French territory on the path to decolonisation.
Key words: New Caledonia/Kanaky; translation: Paicî-French; identity Construction
The gender differential use of minimal responsesin daytime TV interviews: a preliminary investigation
Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou
It is argued that females use more minimal responses such as mhm as a
form of conversational support than men (Maltz & Borker 1982; Cameron
1989; Coates 1993; Tannen 1990; Graddol & Swann 1989). Past research
has shown a large stratification between the frequency and type of male and
female usage of minimal responses (Fishman 1983; Woods 1989; Zimmerman
& West 1975; Maltz & Borker 1982). However, many studies neglect
their usage in the media. The aim of this comparative study is to investigate
the gender differential use of minimal responses in television interviews,
hence the interview segments of two daytime television programs were
analysed and compared. Key areas examined were the frequency of minimal
responses according to gender of interviewer and interviewee, per second and
per adjacency pair. Although in general the results loosely support those of
Coates and Cameron (1989) and Zimmerman and West (1975), findings
also indicate that the framework of an interview greatly influences minimal
response usage, suggesting that status may also play a large role in the use of
minimal responses.
Key words: language and gender; minimal responses; language of Media
The face-saving effects of metacomments:an analysis of interruptions in a phone-in radio programme
Susanne Chrambach
In this paper a phone-in radio programme is analysed regarding interruptions.
In the analysed data, the moderator frequently pushes callers to be
short. The callers however seek to convey their message and find it difficult
to restrict themselves. Consequently, the moderator must interrupt and cuts
them off. Interruptions furthermore occur in the course of the discussion
when speakers are competing for the floor. The focus of this analysis is to
see how these interruptions are carried out. To look at the turn-taking, a
methodology developed by Conversation Analysts is employed. Furthermore,
Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness is drawn upon following their line
of argument that “turn-taking violations (interrupting, ignoring selection of
other speakers, not responding to prior turns) are all FTAs (face threatening
acts) in themselves” (Brown & Levinson 1987:243). The analysis shows
that, in the given data, the interrupting speaker accounts for these facethreatening
acts by using metacomments with a face-saving effect. Thus, the
face-threatening acts are carried out on-record with redressive action.
Key words: conversational analysis; politeness theory; language of radio programmes