LINGUIST List 33.521
Fri Feb 11 2022
Disc: Debate about Structural Bias in German Dialectology
Editor for this issue: Everett Green <everettlinguistlist.org>
Date: 06-Jan-2022
From: Stefan Dollinger <stefan.dollinger
ubc.ca>
Subject: Debate about Structural Bias in German Dialectology
E-mail this message to a friend My public talk on Austrian German for ascina.at from August 2021, announced and recorded at
https://linguistlist.org/issues/32.2852/, has triggered a public statement from some of the colleagues whose practice I criticize. In a one-page response I stress that I view the issue as entirely structural, not personal, though, of course, structural views are upheld by individual practice in German dialectology.
My response can be read here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356542159_Response_pertaining_to_the_Statement_from_9_September_2021_by_Alexandra_Lenz_Stephan_Elspass_Gerhard_Budin_Stefan_Michael_Newerkla_and_Arne_Ziegler/stats I think this debate shows well that our interpretations hinge crucially on our social perspectives as linguists, our roles and interdependencies as members of a research community, and, doubtless, on the degree of belief in the objectivity of data. On an epistemological level, it confirms that data requires independent, fully expressed and upfront theory, even when referring to ad hoc simpler issues such as "standard language". It suggests that the notion of "standard", even if used as a reference point of only secondary interest, needs to be defined: do I conceive my study on an aspect of Austrian German in relation to an Austrian standard of German (pluricentric notion, some may prefer the term multi-standard, though the idea is the same) or to a universal standard of German (monocentric notion, single-standard). I don't think there is a way today to leave this issue open, especially in the spirit of de-hegemonial research.
Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s):
German (deu) Language Family(ies): German
Page Updated: 11-Feb-2022