German – After Babel

Is the European language policy an adequate answer?

The European Union today is situated in a world that has undergone rapid change. As our world becomes ever more globalized, so do our markets, thus leading to the creation of large markets spanning over oceans and across the globe. Reaching a large market presupposes the ability to communicate. In Europe, English has become the lingua franca of trade and commerce, and an increasing number of Member States are integrating English language teaching into school curricula. The drive to upgrade English however runs parallel to the drive to maintain Europe’s linguistic diversity and the states of the EU are thus faced with the seemingly incompatibility of the two policy initiatives. Is the European language policy as it stands now adequate for our time? Where is the EU heading with this policy? Should it be altered, and with that the EU’s position in the global market?

Continue reading Is the European language policy an adequate answer?

Bairisch ist nicht gleich Bairisch (und nicht gleich Bayrisch!)

Der bairische Dialekt is so unterschiedlich wia de Leit, de an redn.– Rudi Bögel, Chef der tz

Bairisch ist ein Dialekt mit vielen interessanten Besonderheiten. Da ich in der oberpfälzischen Stadt Regensburg geboren bin und meine ganze Verwandtschaft in Bayern lebt, habe ich einen besonderen Bezug zum diesem Dialekt und fühle mich damit verbunden. Aber was genau ist eigentlich Bairisch und wo wird es gesprochen? Und welche Unterschiede gibt es innerhalb des Bairischen? Diesen und weiteren Fragen möchte ich in diesem Blogeintrag auf den Grund gehen.

Wos is na eigentlich Bairisch?

Grossgmain Als Bairisch wird ein Dialektverbund des Hochdeutschen im Süden des deutschen Sprachgebietes bezeichnet. Das Gebiet, in dem Bairisch gesprochen wird, umfasst die bayerischen Regierungsbezirke Oberbayern, Niederbayern und die Oberpfalz, sowie Teile Ober- und Mittelfrankens und Schwabens. Außerdem wird Bairisch in Österreich mit Ausnahme Vorarlbergs gesprochen, sowie in Südtirol und in Teilen Oberitaliens und Sachsens. Das Bairische ist somit das größte zusammenhängende Dialektgebiet im mitteleuropäischen Sprachraum. Insgesamt gibt es mehr als 14 Millionen Sprecher des Bairischen in all diesen Gebieten.

Continue reading Bairisch ist nicht gleich Bairisch (und nicht gleich Bayrisch!)

Linguistic Landscape at the Drielandenpunt

Last week Lia, Luca and me went to the Drielandenpunt in Vaals, where the borders of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium coincide. We looked at the linguistic landscape and wanted to find out what languages are used in signs, maps, cafes, and the like. This video shows what we discovered. Enjoy it!

Italian Media in Germany

Germany is together with Argentina the country with the biggest Italian population outside Italy. Therefore, it is no surprise that next to Italian Restaurants you can also find a variety of Italian magazines either in bookshops or online. One example of these is the so called ‘Ciao! Magazin‘.

‘Ciao!’ is a magazine that provides information on current Italian events and culture. The spread of Italian culture and the promotion of the encounter between the two cultures is the primary objective of the newspaper. It also seeks to be a platform for the German-Italian dialogue, which deepens the connections of the two nations within the framework of the European idea. It publishes its articles in both, German and Italian.

‘Ciao!’ is a good example of the bottom-up policy approach (laid out by Kelly-Holmes e.a.), as it was founded in 1993 by the German-Italian cultural association ‘CONTRASTO’ in order to promote intercultural dialogue.

Italian in Germany represents one of the more viable minority languages. German has a Italian population of roughly 553.000. Although the first Italians arrived in Germany already in the Middleages, the biggest shift came in the 1960s with the rise in economic properity in Germany after World War II. With the highly democratic and economic outlook in Germany, it is a certainty that in no time soon, will the Italian language disappear. Rather it will increase, as ever more Italians seek new opportunities in Germany. Cultural associations such as CONTRASTO further ensure, that the Italian heritage is maintained and public schools in Germany offer very popular Italian language courses. Moreover, German Universities take part in the Erasmus programme and give the students the opportunity to get to know Italian and welcome Italian students in Germany.

I believe that the magazine is a very good opportunity for people, whether German or Italian, or from any other background get to read about Italy and current events. They can read it in either German or Italian and therefore compare each language and how the news are broadcasted. Although it is not clear how many readers the magazine reaches and how it advertises itself, everybody has the possibility to access it if interested, which makes it highly efficient.

I personally did not know it before but am definitely interested in reading more of its articles as so I can improve my Italian skills and be informed about what goes on in the country I have spent five months in. As the magazine already exists for 22 years, I believe that it can set an example to other minority languages to promote their identity and get involved with further integration into the German society.

Welcome to the English Zone…

First things first: Up to this point it never occurred to me English as a medium of instruction (or EMI) could be so controversial. Call it native ignorance or possibly even arrogance but I never even once considered studying in a language other than English. Sure, I could just as well have done it in German but honestly speaking that thought never even crossed my mind. Continue reading Welcome to the English Zone…

Studium auf Englisch – Ja oder Nein?

Studieren auf Englisch – das ist längst nichts Besonderes mehr. Englischsprachige Studiengänge sind im Trend und es gibt sie mittlerweile in vielen Ländern und Fachrichtungen. Ich selbst studiere nun seit drei Jahren European Studies an der Universität Maastricht, einen komplett englischsprachigen Studiengang, und habe generell positive Erfahrungen mit English Medium Instruction (EMI) gemacht. Allerdings habe ich auch einige Nachteile dieser Art des Lehrens erlebt, wie die Fokussierung meines akademischen Vokabulars auf die Englische Sprache.

Continue reading Studium auf Englisch – Ja oder Nein?

My experience with English Medium Instruction

. . . and the frustrations and rewards that it can bring

From 10 year old me, a two year crash course, and EMI . . .

English Medium Instruction is a concept that I got to experience from very early on. The secondary school I entered was a bilingual one, where students would begin being taught content courses in English from grade 7, with an increasing number of subjects being taught so in the following years. Continue reading My experience with English Medium Instruction

From Russia to Germany. From England to the Netherlands.

The tongues I speak…

Hi my name is Ilja, I was born in St. Petersburg, grew up in Germany, spent a year in England, currently study in Maastricht and lived half a year in Turkey during my Ersamus. I already came into contact with many different cultures and their languages and do not intend to stop anytime soon.

When I was little me and my parents lived in an area in Hanover (Germany) with a higher amount of immigrants. Therefore, I had a couple of other Russian speaking friends which I saw practically everyday at the local playground. Our families became friends and thus an environment was created for all of us to learn and practice our mother tongue in a foreign country. In kindergarden and primary school I simultaneously learned the German language and German values that were communicated advancing in this language much faster then my parents did. When I entered high school we were already living in another area of the town and the new friends I made were more or less all German. Speaking Russian was now bound to the setting at home and even conversations with my Russian peers were held in German as this language simply occupied more of our personal life. Now that I moved out and do not even have Russian conversations on a regular basis I myself observe the demise of my Russian vocabulary and even an accent that is continously getting worse to my pitty.

Collecting languages and cultural impressions around the world…

The year after my graduation I spent in London doing an European Voluntary Service (EVS). There I was working at the West London YMCA, which is a on-profit organisation that offers social housing to homeless young people. During that time I could practice my English language skills as I spoke English everyday in my workplace and with my very British host family. I realised for the first time how different cultures can be expressed through their languages. As opposed to the Germans I found that people in England were much more indirect. If somebody wants something from you it is almost never asked in a direct way, almost hidden. Therefore, you have to be accustomed to identify what your conversation partner really wants from you. Confrontations, how I found them, were also tried to be avoided.

All in all I can say that knowing 3 languages and a bit of French only brought advantages to me. Even the bits of Turish I learned during my stay in Ankara are already a good tool to start communication with Turkish people. At the last exebition for example where I worked as a barkeeper, I could make use of some Turkish words making myself very prominent amongst the Turkish visitors, which then were returning more often. From this couse I expect to learn more abut the impact of language on the different cultures and how these define themselves over their languages. I want to explore the history of certain languages and understand in what way these have changed overtime.

Excuse me, onde ist thuis?

Hey, my name is Nik. I am 23 years old and just like everyone else in the “After Babbel” course I am studying European Studies in Maastricht. In my view, language, culture and identity are deeply connected to each other and you can’t talk about the one without naming the others. So instead of starting out which languages I speak, let’s begin with where I am from. Continue reading Excuse me, onde ist thuis?

Guide for this Blog: My Language Profile

J’ai appris l’Italien pour exprimer mes sentiments, le hongrois pour parler à ma grand-mère, l’anglais pour l’université, l’allemand pour parler à mes amis et le francais pour l’Union européenne.

Freely adapted from Charles V, the statement above presents my language profile in a nutshell. I am Matthias, 23 years old and have been born and raised in Germany. However, despite this manifest German background I have been exposed to a variety of languages since my early childhood.

Continue reading Guide for this Blog: My Language Profile