FRAGL 30: Longue durée and social styles: Shifting indexicalities in the Berlin vernacular from the perspective of historical sociolinguistics

Abstract

 
This paper gives an overview of the sociolinguistic history of the city of Berlin from around 1500 to the 20th century. It is argued that the city’s linguistic history is embedded into two events of longue durée: the transition from Low German to High German; and the emergence of an oral standard language norm in Germany. It is further argued that an adequate understanding of the sociolinguistic history of Berlin requires a description of (social) styles instead of single linguistic variables. Even though some of these variable features persist over the entire period, their social meaning varies and can only be elucidated by taking into account their specific role in the enregisterment of these social styles and the social personae they are linked to.

 

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