Invisibilising Austrian German: On the effect of linguistic prescriptions and educational reforms on writing practices in 18th-century Austria

Description

This book provides an insight into the standardisation process of German in eighteenth-century Austria. It describes how norms prescribed by grammarians were actually implemented via a school reform carried out by educationalist Johann Ignaz Felbiger on the order of Empress Maria Theresa. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken of certain Upper German features (e-apocope, the absence of the prefix ge- and the ending -t in past participles, and variants of the verb form sind) in reading primers, issues of the Wienerisches Diarium / Wiener Zeitung and petitionary letters. These reveal how such variants became increasingly 'invisible' in writing. This process of 'invisibilisation', i.e. a process of stigmatization which prevents the use of certain varieties and variants in writing, can be attributed to a number of factors: Empress Maria Theresa's appeal for a language reform, the normative work by eighteenth-century grammarians, the implementation of educational reforms, and the early introduction of East Central German variants in newspaper issues. Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations and notes on presentation 1. Introduction 2. Language, Enlightenment and education in 18th-century Austria 3. Grammarians’ norm prescriptions 4. The implementation of the language reform 5. Conclusion Appendix Bibliography Index