Philipp Krämer | Vrije Universiteit Brussel (original) (raw)
Papers by Philipp Krämer
Etudes créoles, 2024
Cet article offre une première interprétation des structures adhortatives (impératifs de première... more Cet article offre une première interprétation des structures adhortatives (impératifs de première personne du pluriel) dans les langues créoles à base française. Il adopte une perspective comparative à partir des descriptions disponibles pour les différentes langues créoles tout en se situant aux intersections entre grammaire et pragmatique. L’article introduira d’abord les concepts théoriques nécessaires pour l’analyse des structures adhortatives. Il s’intéressera ensuite au statut grammatical de l’élément anou en discutant de différentes options : Anou est-il situé dans le groupe nominal ou peut-on l’interpréter comme ‘verbe adhortatif’ ? Ou bien faut-il le classifier comme particule ? Si tel est le cas, quelle est sa position parmi les autres particules (préverbales) des langues créoles ?
Nous dépouillerons la littérature existante, notamment les grammaires des différentes langues créoles, et nous nous servirons d’exemples puisés dans les réseaux sociaux et des matériels didactiques pour illustrer le phénomène. Nous proposerons une évaluation des arguments en faveur ou contre les catégorisations potentielles de anou pour recommander une classification provisoire comme ‘marqueur pragmatique’.
Ein Jahrhundert der Mehrsprachigkeit im Saarland: Historische Dimensionen der Sprachpolitik von den Nachkriegszeiten bis zur Frankreichstrategie, 2023
Zusammenfassung: Mehrsprachigkeit war und ist im Saarland immer wieder Gegenstand politischer Deb... more Zusammenfassung: Mehrsprachigkeit war und ist im Saarland immer wieder Gegenstand politischer Debatten, besonders in den beiden Nachkriegsperioden des 20. Jahrhunderts. Anhand schriftlicher Quellen und neu erhobener Daten aus Interviews mit Zeitzeug*innen zeichnet dieser Beitrag nach, wie zur Zeit des Völkerbundsmandats in den 1920er Jahren und in der Autonomiezeit der 1950er die Förderung des Französischen mit politischen Motiven unterfüttert war und wie die Ziele zur Erweiterung der Mehrsprachigkeit in der Bevölkerung aufgenommen wurden. Es zeigt sich, dass die Sprachvermittlung im Bildungswesen wenig effektiv war und die politischen Zielsetzungen nur begrenzt durchdrangen. Ein positives Bild von Mehrsprachigkeit und produktive mehrsprachige Praktiken entwickelte sich dennoch: eher trotz als wegen der politischen Unterfütterung. Das Fallbeispiel Saarland dient auch dazu, die Potenziale der zeithistorischen Mehrsprachigkeitsforschung als Teilgebiet der Historischen Soziolinguistik zu verdeutlichen.
Ducoeurjoly 1802: Language Making du créole haïtien en période coloniale, 2023
This research note offers an analysis of a key text in the history of creolistics, the Manuel des... more This research note offers an analysis of a key text in the history of creolistics, the Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue published in 1802 by S. J. Ducoeurjoly. Based on the framework of Language Making, the article retraces the way Ducoeurjoly construes Haitian Creole based on implicit structural and functional norms: He presents the ABSTRACTS Ducoeurjoly et le créole haïtien dans le Manuel des habitans de Saint-D...
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2019
As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in... more As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in the second half of the 20th century on the basis of pioneering works in the last decades of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Yet its research traditions—just like the Creole languages themselves—are much older and are deeply intertwined with the history of European colonialism, slavery, and Christian missionary activities all around the globe. Throughout the history of research, creolists focused on the emergence of Creole languages and their grammatical structures—often in comparison to European colonial languages. In connection with the observations in grammar and history, creolists discussed theoretical matters such as the role of language acquisition in creolization, the status of Creoles among the other languages in the world, and the social conditions in which they are or were spoken. These discussions molded the way in which the acquired knowledge was transmit...
Krämer/Mijts/Bartens Language Making of Creoles in multilingual postcolonial societies, 2022
This article investigates Language Making processes in multilingual postcolonial societies where ... more This article investigates Language Making processes in multilingual postcolonial societies where Creole languages are spoken. It raises the question whether or not Language Making in these settings differs from other contexts given the historical preconditions and social, economic, or political inequalities which persist after the colonial period. The paper discusses the potentials of Language Making to support or impede efforts of decolonization. With the help of examples from several Creole-speaking societies, it shows different approaches to conceptualizing Creole languages as linguistic entities with the creation or emergence of norms, different naming strategies or through language policy and planning. It examines the potential contribution of different agents of Language Making and illustrates cases in which Language Making is countered or languages are un-made. As a conclusion, the article shows that the concept of Language Making may need further expansion or nuancing in order to avoid a "Northern" or "Western" bias.
Krämer/Vogl/Kolehmainen What is Language Making, 2022
This article introduces a new concept called "Language Making". The term covers all kinds of proc... more This article introduces a new concept called "Language Making". The term covers all kinds of processes in which speakers or non-speakers collectively conceptualize linguistic entities. Such processes are usually perpetual, they operate based on language ideologies and attitudes, and they bring about functional and structural norms which determine the boundaries of linguistic entities such as languages, dialects or varieties. The article discusses the significance of standardization, language policy and planning, and of stakeholders and agency for processes of Language Making. Raising the question as to why a new concept is needed in the first place, the article concludes with a demarcation of Language Making from opposite processes which may be called "un-Making" of Languages.
Journal of Postcolonial Linguistics, 2020
This article examines the descriptions of French-based Creole languages in travel guidebooks for ... more This article examines the descriptions of French-based Creole languages in travel guidebooks for major tourist destinations in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. In a corpus of 63 guidebooks spanning over the past 20 years, we extract elements of metalinguistic discourse about the history and characteristics of Creole languages. We show that guidebooks draw on stereotypical and exoticizing views of these languages which can largely be traced back to colonial times. The analysis highlights three areas of tension which the guidebooks have to handle when trying to provide accurate descriptions while simultaneously answering to the desire for otherness in tourism. Ultimately, the metalinguistic comments in guidebooks are embedded in a logic of commodification of language which is widespread in the context of tourism.
A History of Creole Studies, 2019
As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in... more As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in the second half of the 20th century on the basis of pioneering works in the last decades of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Yet its research traditions—just like the Creole languages themselves—are much older and are deeply intertwined with the history of European colonialism, slavery, and Christian missionary activities all around the globe. Throughout the history of research, creolists focused on the emergence of Creole languages and their grammatical structures—often in comparison to European colonial languages. In connection with the observations in grammar and history, creolists discussed theoretical matters such as the role of language acquisition in creolization, the status of Creoles among the other languages in the world, and the social conditions in which they are or were spoken. These discussions molded the way in which the acquired knowledge was transmitted to the following generations of creolists.
Mapping Ancient Identities. Methodisch-kritische Reflexionen zu Kartierungspraktiken (Ed. by Susanne Grunwald, Kerstin P. Hofmann, Daniel A. Werning, Felix Wiedemann) , 2018
In der Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft lieferten Karten wichtige Impulse. In der deutschen Dial... more In der Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft lieferten Karten wichtige Impulse. In der deutschen Dialektologie ließen sich, wie im Projekt Georg Wenkers, seit dem 19. Jh. detailgenau Unterschiede abbilden, ohne die Einheit der (National-) Sprachen in Frage zu stellen. Auch die weltweite Sprachenvielfalt wurde in Karten erfasst, etwa im Sprachatlas von Julius Klaproth. Die Sprachgeographie stützte jedoch lange das Bild einer sprachlich wie ethnisch einheitlichen Nation. Noch heute wirkt die bildhafte Vereinfachung nach, wenn etwa mehrsprachige Räume mit Karten nur unzureichend erfasst werden können. Aktuelle multimodale Ansätze der Linguistik versuchen mit Hilfe von Big Data, der Erforschung von ‚Linguistic Landscapes‘ oder dynamischen Karten diese Einschränkungen zu überwinden.
The Linguistic Heritage of Colonial Practice (Ed. Brigitte Weber), 2019
This article gives an overview of the work of Austrian creolist Adolphe Dietrich, his academic ba... more This article gives an overview of the work of Austrian creolist Adolphe Dietrich, his academic background and the epistemological foundations of his research. Dietrich’s comparative analysis of Indian Ocean Creoles differs from the work of most of his contemporaries: While most 19th century creolists describe creole languages on the basis of a racialist framework, Dietrich and his teacher Hugo Schuchardt avoid such a determinist colonial logic. Based on these observations, the article raises the question whether Dietrich can be seen as a ‘colonial’ linguist at all and what degree of ‘coloniality’ we can attribute to his research.
Youth languages in urban multicultural settings that are often labelled “multiethnolects” have re... more Youth languages in urban multicultural settings that are often labelled
“multiethnolects” have received growing attention in the last two
decades. In public debate, they are sometimes described as a step
towards imminent “creolisation.” Judgements about Creoles and
multiethnolects that form part of public debates show considerable
similarities on many levels: Laypersons’ metalinguistic commentary
reveals that these two types of languages are held in low esteem in
public opinion. They are sometimes seen as the results of linguistic
decay with “impoverished” grammars that are allegedly a hindrance
for mental and moral development of the speakers and also a sign for
the lack thereof. In addition, research on these languages has been
dismissed as a “waste of resources” given that it does not contribute
to a desired refinement of language. An analysis of 1,240 comments
about multiethnolects and Creoles in online discussions shows that
contact phenomena trigger demands for purity and conservation that
reproduce commonplace arguments from standard language ideology.
The aim of this paper is to shed light on shared discourse patterns in
Creole societies (Jamaica, Trinidad, Réunion, Mauritius) on the one
hand, and European societies (Germany, Norway, the Netherlands)
on the other. Such a comparative perspective reveals how standard
language ideologies can be adapted in different contexts as means of
delegitimising entire speech communities.
Sprache und (Post)Kolonialismus - Linguistische und interdisziplinäre Aspekte, 2018
Most postcolonial societies make use of the language(s) of the former colonial power(s) and, addi... more Most postcolonial societies make use of the language(s) of the former colonial power(s) and, additionally, of one or several local or Creole languages. This article analyses the complex linguistic relationships within postcolonial societies. As a hypothesis, we assume that the language ideologies in former colonies take a shape similar to those in Europe and we discuss the possibility that these ideologies were brought to the colonies along with the linguistic dominance of European colonialism. In particular, so-called 'standard language ideology' has had a considerable influence upon the way these societies deal with multilingualism. Following an introduction of key concepts, we discuss the individual linguistic situations in four case studies (Suriname, Cape Verde, Mauritius, ABC islands) and outline a comparison of the consequences that standard language ideology entails in the different societies.
The first part of this article investigates the distribution and emergence of front rounded vowel... more The first part of this article investigates the distribution and emergence of front rounded vowels (FRV) in the Portuguese dialect spoken on the Azorean island of São Miguel in light of data taken from the Ethnolinguistic Atlas of the Azores (ALEAç). The analysis confirms previous findings about the distribution of FRV. Additionally, the ALEAç shows that this phenomenon spreads beyond the well-known contexts of stressed positions. FRV also occur in unstressed syllables and the mid-front rounded vowel [ø] alternates with its diphthongised counterparts [øj] and [øw]. This alternation calls for a reflection about the historical and articulatory background of [ø] in Portuguese dialects. The extensive use of FRV opens up further research perspectives in terms of the sociolinguistic significance of the phenomenon.
The second part of this article focuses on the sociohistorical background of the emergence of FRV in Portuguese dialects. The concept of the feature pool provides a framework for the processes of feature selection in a situation of linguistic contacts such as those preceding the settlement period of the Azores and subsequent contact on the islands. A combination of three different concepts of markedness helps understand why a highly unusual feature like FRV emerged and persists until today.
For centuries, the Dutch-based Creole language of the Danish Virgin Islands was documented not by... more For centuries, the Dutch-based Creole language of the Danish Virgin Islands was documented not by the Dutch but mainly by German missionaries and Danish colonialists. This article sheds light on the role of the Dutch language in this complex colonial universe.
Historical sources from the 18th and 19th century will show which sociolinguistic role Dutch played in the society of the islands and which (meta-)linguistic knowledge of Dutch the authors of these sources (C.G.A. Oldendorp, J. M. Magens, and E. Pontoppidan) had. Some reflections on the discursive and epistemological foundations of the sources and the significance they attribute to the Dutch language will conclude the article in order to show that the linguistic complexities of this archipelago are different from most other Creole-speaking areas.
===
La langue créole à base néerlandaise des Îles Vierges danoises a été documentée pendant des siècles non par des Néerlandais, mais par des missionnaires allemands et des fonctionnaires coloniaux danois. Cet article a pour objectif de retracer la place du néerlandais dans cet univers colonial complexe. Nous examinerons des sources historiques des xviiie et xixe siècles pour déterminer le rôle sociolinguistique de la langue néerlandaise et du créole avant de dépister des indices sur les connaissances (méta-)linguistiques du néerlandais des créolistes (C.G.A. Oldendorp, J. M. Magens et E. Pontoppidan). En outre, nous offrirons quelques réflexions sur les fondements discursifs et épistémologiques et la place que les auteurs accordent à la langue de base du créole local. Nous montrerons que les complexités linguistique et métalinguistique de cet archipel sont bien différentes de la plupart des autres colonies créolophones.
We discuss an intervention programme for kindergarten and school teachers’ continuing education i... more We discuss an intervention programme for kindergarten and school teachers’ continuing
education in Germany that targets biases against language outside a perceived
monolingual ‘standard’ and its speakers (www.deutsch-ist-vielseitig.de). The programme
combines antibias methods relating to linguistic diversity with objectives of raising
critical language awareness. Evaluation through teachers’ workshops in Berlin and
Brandenburg points to positive and enduring attitudinal changes in participants, but not in
control groups that did not attend workshops, and effects were independent of personal
variables gender and teaching subject and only weakly associated with age. We relate
these effects to such programme features as indirect and inclusive methods that foster
active engagement, and the combination of ‘safer’ topics targeting attitudes towards
linguistic structures with more challenging ones dealing with the discrimination of
speakers.
Etudes créoles, 2024
Cet article offre une première interprétation des structures adhortatives (impératifs de première... more Cet article offre une première interprétation des structures adhortatives (impératifs de première personne du pluriel) dans les langues créoles à base française. Il adopte une perspective comparative à partir des descriptions disponibles pour les différentes langues créoles tout en se situant aux intersections entre grammaire et pragmatique. L’article introduira d’abord les concepts théoriques nécessaires pour l’analyse des structures adhortatives. Il s’intéressera ensuite au statut grammatical de l’élément anou en discutant de différentes options : Anou est-il situé dans le groupe nominal ou peut-on l’interpréter comme ‘verbe adhortatif’ ? Ou bien faut-il le classifier comme particule ? Si tel est le cas, quelle est sa position parmi les autres particules (préverbales) des langues créoles ?
Nous dépouillerons la littérature existante, notamment les grammaires des différentes langues créoles, et nous nous servirons d’exemples puisés dans les réseaux sociaux et des matériels didactiques pour illustrer le phénomène. Nous proposerons une évaluation des arguments en faveur ou contre les catégorisations potentielles de anou pour recommander une classification provisoire comme ‘marqueur pragmatique’.
Ein Jahrhundert der Mehrsprachigkeit im Saarland: Historische Dimensionen der Sprachpolitik von den Nachkriegszeiten bis zur Frankreichstrategie, 2023
Zusammenfassung: Mehrsprachigkeit war und ist im Saarland immer wieder Gegenstand politischer Deb... more Zusammenfassung: Mehrsprachigkeit war und ist im Saarland immer wieder Gegenstand politischer Debatten, besonders in den beiden Nachkriegsperioden des 20. Jahrhunderts. Anhand schriftlicher Quellen und neu erhobener Daten aus Interviews mit Zeitzeug*innen zeichnet dieser Beitrag nach, wie zur Zeit des Völkerbundsmandats in den 1920er Jahren und in der Autonomiezeit der 1950er die Förderung des Französischen mit politischen Motiven unterfüttert war und wie die Ziele zur Erweiterung der Mehrsprachigkeit in der Bevölkerung aufgenommen wurden. Es zeigt sich, dass die Sprachvermittlung im Bildungswesen wenig effektiv war und die politischen Zielsetzungen nur begrenzt durchdrangen. Ein positives Bild von Mehrsprachigkeit und produktive mehrsprachige Praktiken entwickelte sich dennoch: eher trotz als wegen der politischen Unterfütterung. Das Fallbeispiel Saarland dient auch dazu, die Potenziale der zeithistorischen Mehrsprachigkeitsforschung als Teilgebiet der Historischen Soziolinguistik zu verdeutlichen.
Ducoeurjoly 1802: Language Making du créole haïtien en période coloniale, 2023
This research note offers an analysis of a key text in the history of creolistics, the Manuel des... more This research note offers an analysis of a key text in the history of creolistics, the Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue published in 1802 by S. J. Ducoeurjoly. Based on the framework of Language Making, the article retraces the way Ducoeurjoly construes Haitian Creole based on implicit structural and functional norms: He presents the ABSTRACTS Ducoeurjoly et le créole haïtien dans le Manuel des habitans de Saint-D...
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2019
As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in... more As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in the second half of the 20th century on the basis of pioneering works in the last decades of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Yet its research traditions—just like the Creole languages themselves—are much older and are deeply intertwined with the history of European colonialism, slavery, and Christian missionary activities all around the globe. Throughout the history of research, creolists focused on the emergence of Creole languages and their grammatical structures—often in comparison to European colonial languages. In connection with the observations in grammar and history, creolists discussed theoretical matters such as the role of language acquisition in creolization, the status of Creoles among the other languages in the world, and the social conditions in which they are or were spoken. These discussions molded the way in which the acquired knowledge was transmit...
Krämer/Mijts/Bartens Language Making of Creoles in multilingual postcolonial societies, 2022
This article investigates Language Making processes in multilingual postcolonial societies where ... more This article investigates Language Making processes in multilingual postcolonial societies where Creole languages are spoken. It raises the question whether or not Language Making in these settings differs from other contexts given the historical preconditions and social, economic, or political inequalities which persist after the colonial period. The paper discusses the potentials of Language Making to support or impede efforts of decolonization. With the help of examples from several Creole-speaking societies, it shows different approaches to conceptualizing Creole languages as linguistic entities with the creation or emergence of norms, different naming strategies or through language policy and planning. It examines the potential contribution of different agents of Language Making and illustrates cases in which Language Making is countered or languages are un-made. As a conclusion, the article shows that the concept of Language Making may need further expansion or nuancing in order to avoid a "Northern" or "Western" bias.
Krämer/Vogl/Kolehmainen What is Language Making, 2022
This article introduces a new concept called "Language Making". The term covers all kinds of proc... more This article introduces a new concept called "Language Making". The term covers all kinds of processes in which speakers or non-speakers collectively conceptualize linguistic entities. Such processes are usually perpetual, they operate based on language ideologies and attitudes, and they bring about functional and structural norms which determine the boundaries of linguistic entities such as languages, dialects or varieties. The article discusses the significance of standardization, language policy and planning, and of stakeholders and agency for processes of Language Making. Raising the question as to why a new concept is needed in the first place, the article concludes with a demarcation of Language Making from opposite processes which may be called "un-Making" of Languages.
Journal of Postcolonial Linguistics, 2020
This article examines the descriptions of French-based Creole languages in travel guidebooks for ... more This article examines the descriptions of French-based Creole languages in travel guidebooks for major tourist destinations in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. In a corpus of 63 guidebooks spanning over the past 20 years, we extract elements of metalinguistic discourse about the history and characteristics of Creole languages. We show that guidebooks draw on stereotypical and exoticizing views of these languages which can largely be traced back to colonial times. The analysis highlights three areas of tension which the guidebooks have to handle when trying to provide accurate descriptions while simultaneously answering to the desire for otherness in tourism. Ultimately, the metalinguistic comments in guidebooks are embedded in a logic of commodification of language which is widespread in the context of tourism.
A History of Creole Studies, 2019
As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in... more As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in the second half of the 20th century on the basis of pioneering works in the last decades of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Yet its research traditions—just like the Creole languages themselves—are much older and are deeply intertwined with the history of European colonialism, slavery, and Christian missionary activities all around the globe. Throughout the history of research, creolists focused on the emergence of Creole languages and their grammatical structures—often in comparison to European colonial languages. In connection with the observations in grammar and history, creolists discussed theoretical matters such as the role of language acquisition in creolization, the status of Creoles among the other languages in the world, and the social conditions in which they are or were spoken. These discussions molded the way in which the acquired knowledge was transmitted to the following generations of creolists.
Mapping Ancient Identities. Methodisch-kritische Reflexionen zu Kartierungspraktiken (Ed. by Susanne Grunwald, Kerstin P. Hofmann, Daniel A. Werning, Felix Wiedemann) , 2018
In der Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft lieferten Karten wichtige Impulse. In der deutschen Dial... more In der Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft lieferten Karten wichtige Impulse. In der deutschen Dialektologie ließen sich, wie im Projekt Georg Wenkers, seit dem 19. Jh. detailgenau Unterschiede abbilden, ohne die Einheit der (National-) Sprachen in Frage zu stellen. Auch die weltweite Sprachenvielfalt wurde in Karten erfasst, etwa im Sprachatlas von Julius Klaproth. Die Sprachgeographie stützte jedoch lange das Bild einer sprachlich wie ethnisch einheitlichen Nation. Noch heute wirkt die bildhafte Vereinfachung nach, wenn etwa mehrsprachige Räume mit Karten nur unzureichend erfasst werden können. Aktuelle multimodale Ansätze der Linguistik versuchen mit Hilfe von Big Data, der Erforschung von ‚Linguistic Landscapes‘ oder dynamischen Karten diese Einschränkungen zu überwinden.
The Linguistic Heritage of Colonial Practice (Ed. Brigitte Weber), 2019
This article gives an overview of the work of Austrian creolist Adolphe Dietrich, his academic ba... more This article gives an overview of the work of Austrian creolist Adolphe Dietrich, his academic background and the epistemological foundations of his research. Dietrich’s comparative analysis of Indian Ocean Creoles differs from the work of most of his contemporaries: While most 19th century creolists describe creole languages on the basis of a racialist framework, Dietrich and his teacher Hugo Schuchardt avoid such a determinist colonial logic. Based on these observations, the article raises the question whether Dietrich can be seen as a ‘colonial’ linguist at all and what degree of ‘coloniality’ we can attribute to his research.
Youth languages in urban multicultural settings that are often labelled “multiethnolects” have re... more Youth languages in urban multicultural settings that are often labelled
“multiethnolects” have received growing attention in the last two
decades. In public debate, they are sometimes described as a step
towards imminent “creolisation.” Judgements about Creoles and
multiethnolects that form part of public debates show considerable
similarities on many levels: Laypersons’ metalinguistic commentary
reveals that these two types of languages are held in low esteem in
public opinion. They are sometimes seen as the results of linguistic
decay with “impoverished” grammars that are allegedly a hindrance
for mental and moral development of the speakers and also a sign for
the lack thereof. In addition, research on these languages has been
dismissed as a “waste of resources” given that it does not contribute
to a desired refinement of language. An analysis of 1,240 comments
about multiethnolects and Creoles in online discussions shows that
contact phenomena trigger demands for purity and conservation that
reproduce commonplace arguments from standard language ideology.
The aim of this paper is to shed light on shared discourse patterns in
Creole societies (Jamaica, Trinidad, Réunion, Mauritius) on the one
hand, and European societies (Germany, Norway, the Netherlands)
on the other. Such a comparative perspective reveals how standard
language ideologies can be adapted in different contexts as means of
delegitimising entire speech communities.
Sprache und (Post)Kolonialismus - Linguistische und interdisziplinäre Aspekte, 2018
Most postcolonial societies make use of the language(s) of the former colonial power(s) and, addi... more Most postcolonial societies make use of the language(s) of the former colonial power(s) and, additionally, of one or several local or Creole languages. This article analyses the complex linguistic relationships within postcolonial societies. As a hypothesis, we assume that the language ideologies in former colonies take a shape similar to those in Europe and we discuss the possibility that these ideologies were brought to the colonies along with the linguistic dominance of European colonialism. In particular, so-called 'standard language ideology' has had a considerable influence upon the way these societies deal with multilingualism. Following an introduction of key concepts, we discuss the individual linguistic situations in four case studies (Suriname, Cape Verde, Mauritius, ABC islands) and outline a comparison of the consequences that standard language ideology entails in the different societies.
The first part of this article investigates the distribution and emergence of front rounded vowel... more The first part of this article investigates the distribution and emergence of front rounded vowels (FRV) in the Portuguese dialect spoken on the Azorean island of São Miguel in light of data taken from the Ethnolinguistic Atlas of the Azores (ALEAç). The analysis confirms previous findings about the distribution of FRV. Additionally, the ALEAç shows that this phenomenon spreads beyond the well-known contexts of stressed positions. FRV also occur in unstressed syllables and the mid-front rounded vowel [ø] alternates with its diphthongised counterparts [øj] and [øw]. This alternation calls for a reflection about the historical and articulatory background of [ø] in Portuguese dialects. The extensive use of FRV opens up further research perspectives in terms of the sociolinguistic significance of the phenomenon.
The second part of this article focuses on the sociohistorical background of the emergence of FRV in Portuguese dialects. The concept of the feature pool provides a framework for the processes of feature selection in a situation of linguistic contacts such as those preceding the settlement period of the Azores and subsequent contact on the islands. A combination of three different concepts of markedness helps understand why a highly unusual feature like FRV emerged and persists until today.
For centuries, the Dutch-based Creole language of the Danish Virgin Islands was documented not by... more For centuries, the Dutch-based Creole language of the Danish Virgin Islands was documented not by the Dutch but mainly by German missionaries and Danish colonialists. This article sheds light on the role of the Dutch language in this complex colonial universe.
Historical sources from the 18th and 19th century will show which sociolinguistic role Dutch played in the society of the islands and which (meta-)linguistic knowledge of Dutch the authors of these sources (C.G.A. Oldendorp, J. M. Magens, and E. Pontoppidan) had. Some reflections on the discursive and epistemological foundations of the sources and the significance they attribute to the Dutch language will conclude the article in order to show that the linguistic complexities of this archipelago are different from most other Creole-speaking areas.
===
La langue créole à base néerlandaise des Îles Vierges danoises a été documentée pendant des siècles non par des Néerlandais, mais par des missionnaires allemands et des fonctionnaires coloniaux danois. Cet article a pour objectif de retracer la place du néerlandais dans cet univers colonial complexe. Nous examinerons des sources historiques des xviiie et xixe siècles pour déterminer le rôle sociolinguistique de la langue néerlandaise et du créole avant de dépister des indices sur les connaissances (méta-)linguistiques du néerlandais des créolistes (C.G.A. Oldendorp, J. M. Magens et E. Pontoppidan). En outre, nous offrirons quelques réflexions sur les fondements discursifs et épistémologiques et la place que les auteurs accordent à la langue de base du créole local. Nous montrerons que les complexités linguistique et métalinguistique de cet archipel sont bien différentes de la plupart des autres colonies créolophones.
We discuss an intervention programme for kindergarten and school teachers’ continuing education i... more We discuss an intervention programme for kindergarten and school teachers’ continuing
education in Germany that targets biases against language outside a perceived
monolingual ‘standard’ and its speakers (www.deutsch-ist-vielseitig.de). The programme
combines antibias methods relating to linguistic diversity with objectives of raising
critical language awareness. Evaluation through teachers’ workshops in Berlin and
Brandenburg points to positive and enduring attitudinal changes in participants, but not in
control groups that did not attend workshops, and effects were independent of personal
variables gender and teaching subject and only weakly associated with age. We relate
these effects to such programme features as indirect and inclusive methods that foster
active engagement, and the combination of ‘safer’ topics targeting attitudes towards
linguistic structures with more challenging ones dealing with the discrimination of
speakers.
Die Beliebtheit des Spanischen als Fremdsprache nimmt in Deutschland seit Jahren zu. Aus welchen ... more Die Beliebtheit des Spanischen als Fremdsprache nimmt in Deutschland seit Jahren zu. Aus welchen Gründen wird es gelernt? Das Buch nähert sich dieser Frage anhand von Befragungen verschiedener Gruppen von Lernenden in Berlin: Welche Motivationen stehen hinter dem Wunsch, Spanisch zu lernen? Welche Einstellungen verbinden sie mit der Sprache?
Im Mittelpunkt stehen Lernende an Hochschulen und Beschäftigte im Tourismus. Auf der Grundlage des Konzepts 'Language Making' wird gezeigt, wie sie dazu beitragen, eine bestimmte Vorstellung des Spanischen zu formen und die globale Sprache damit als lokale Fremdsprache zu verorten.
Selbst in stark ökonomisierten Kontexten zeigt sich, dass ein Bild des Spanischen vor allem aus einer affektiven Perspektive heraus entsteht. Die Befunde des Buches liefern damit auch Aufschlüsse für die künftige Förderung des Spanischen als Fremdsprache, die über die Betonung des wirtschaftlichen Wertes hinausgehen sollte.
- Empirische Studie zu Spracheinstellungen zum Spanischen
- Einblicke in die Motivation aus Perspektive der Lernenden
- Konkretes Fallbeispiel für das neue Konzept 'Language Making'
Kreolistik und Kolonialismus waren jahrhundertelang eng miteinander verflochten. Ohne die kolonia... more Kreolistik und Kolonialismus waren jahrhundertelang eng miteinander verflochten. Ohne die koloniale Expansion wären Kreolsprachen und kreolische Kulturen nicht entstanden, ohne koloniale Strukturen war ihre wissenschaftliche Erforschung lange Zeit undenkbar.
Dieses Buch erschließt erstmals umfassend die grundlegenden Texte der französischen Kreolistik des späten 19. Jahrhunderts. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die Verbindungen zwischen Sprachbetrachtung und Rassedenken: Wie wurde Kreolisierung im Rahmen der Ideologie vermeintlicher Rassenhierarchien erfasst? Wie gelang es zu dieser Zeit, sich vom festgefügten Bild der „Schwarzen“ in der Sprachbeschreibung zu lösen?
Als Philologie umfasst die damalige Kreolistik neben der Grammatikschreibung auch das Studium der Oralliteratur sowie Fragen der Verschriftlichung. Sie verwebt dabei Sprache und Text mit historisch-genealogischer Herkunftssuche zur Trennung des Eigenen vom Fremden. Für aktuelle linguistische und kulturwissenschaftliche Debatten um Eingrenzung von Konzepten wie Kreolisierung oder Hybridität liefert das Buch ausgehend von der Disziplingeschichte fruchtbare Erkenntnisse.
-Introduction : Le néerlandais dans l’espace scientifique extra-européen : une présence-absence (... more -Introduction : Le néerlandais dans l’espace scientifique extra-européen : une présence-absence (P. Rabault-Feuerhahn)
-Merchants, scholars and languages: The circulation of linguistic knowledge in the context of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) (A. Pytlowany & T. van Hal)
-Pioneering dutch scholarship on historical indology and linguistic sciences (T. K. Bhatia et K. Machida)
-Dutch as the language of science and technology in Japan: the Bangosen lexical works (H. de Groot)
-Le hollandais et une nouvelle approche scientifique ou les rangaku (les études hollandaises) et les médecins traducteurs japonais au XIXe s. (M. Macé)
-Combien de néerlandais ? Histoire linguistique et histoire de la linguistique dans les Îles Vierges danoises (P. Krämer)
11th International Conference on Language Variation in Europe - ICLaVE|11 (12-14 April 2022) P... more 11th International Conference on Language Variation in Europe - ICLaVE|11 (12-14 April 2022)
Panel: On „foreign language making“: selecting language varieties for educational purposes
Ulrike Vogl (Ghent University), Leena Kolehmainen (University of Turku) & Philipp Krämer (European University Viadrina)
Language making (cf. Krämer 2020; Krämer et al, in preparation) refers to conscious or unconscious human processes in which languages and language use are labelled, delimited and codified, by various agents such as linguists, teachers or language learners. While standardization can be a surface form of language making, it does not presuppose standardization. On the contrary, in many language making processes, norms tend to remain implicit. Selected norms can be of a structural nature (e.g. grammars, spelling) and/or a functional nature (implicit or explicit conventions of use, status or prestige). The norms are based on hierarchies which select and/or exclude particular features or practices. This selection is made based on language ideologies, and differing levels of language awareness can contribute to the conscious or unconscious character of the language making process. It involves various types of agents (bottom-up or top-down) with different degrees of agency. Agents usually conceive of their own linguistic practices as separate and coherent, even if they are not part of a „standard“.
In this panel, we focus on the „making“ of languages to be learned or taught, i.e. on „foreign language making“. Our focus is, therefore, on language teachers, educational policy makers, textbook authors and second or foreign language learners, as agents in foreign language making. These agents have a strong impact on the varieties or forms that are selected as appropriate to learn for specific educational contexts. In some cases, one variety will be selected for a specific function (e.g. Standard Dutch as a language of instruction at Flemish universities); in other cases language making may result in increasing variation (e.g. raising awareness for varieties of Dutch in language classes).
The authors participating in this panel address different contexts where „foreign language making“ takes place. These include:
• Learning a global lingua franca (Spanish) as a local foreign language
• Teaching in a global lingua franca (English) in higher education
• Teaching a closely related language as a foreign language (Dutch for German speakers)
• Teaching a pluricentric language (Dutch) as a foreign language
• Learning a foreign language as a heritage language (German in Finland)
It is our aim to review and refine the concept of language making by approaching these contexts from a variety of theoretical and methodological angles, including language policy research, critical discourse analysis, language ideology research, foreign language didactics and historical sociolinguistics. We compare and contrast different language constellations (including lingua francas, creole languages and regional varieties) and we add a historical perspective to foreign language making (by paying attention to foreign language textbook authors in early modern Europe). More specifically, we aim at identifying common stages or steps with regard to foreign language making: e.g. a stage of differentiation when agents construct linguistic differences in order to justify that a variety is worth learning (cf. ideological processes of linguistic differentiation (Irvine & Gal 2000)); or agents participating in processes of hierarchisation (Milroy 2001) to indicate which language is prestigious enough to be learned.
Hüning, Matthias (2019): 'Matthias Kramer und seine Holländische Grammatica (1716).' Nachbarsprache Niederländisch 34, 94–120.
Irvine, Judith T. & Gal, Susan (2000): Language ideology and linguistic differentiation. In:
Paul V. Kroskrity (ed.): Regimes of language. Ideologies, polities, and identities. Santa
Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, 35–84.
Krämer, Philipp, Ulrike Vogl, Leena Kolehmainen & Angela Bartens (in preparation): What is Language Making? To appear in Language Making [Thematic Issue of International Journal of the Sociology of Language]. Co-edited by Philipp Krämer, Ulrike Vogl, Angela Bartens & Leena Kolehmainen.
Krämer, Philipp (2020): Spanisch in Berlin. Einstellungen zu einer globalen Sprache als lokale Fremdsprache. Berlin: de Gruyter.
Milroy, James (2001): Language ideologies and the consequences of standardization. Journal of Sociolinguistics 5 (4), S530–555.