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Historische Texte der DDR aus der Perspektive des linguistic turn
Historical texts of the GDR from the perspective of the linguistic turn
[journal article]
Abstract "Though the second German state existed only four decades, it was well on its way to developing an odd language of its own, not immediately understandable to a Western audience. Inspired by the linguistic turn, this article attempted to analyze the effect of this separation of speech on historical r... view more
"Though the second German state existed only four decades, it was well on its way to developing an odd language of its own, not immediately understandable to a Western audience. Inspired by the linguistic turn, this article attempted to analyze the effect of this separation of speech on historical research. To begin with, GDR publications used a different vocabulary which was characterized by a kind of double-speak, a noticeable difference between official declarations and personal communications. There was a clean hierarchy with political pronouncements in the lead, ideological transmission texts in the middle and actual daily usage following behind. The SED version of Marxism-Leninism created a new master narrative of German history, led by the working class and culminating in the creation of the GDR which had the effect of creating a public norm. This mixture of ideology, Soviet phrases and party-speak constrained methodological innovation and also led to the swift disappearance of this style after 1989." (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
German Democratic Republic (GDR); GDR research; language; language change; historical analysis; science of history; text; text analysis; communication; Socialist Unity Party of Germany (GDR); Marxism-Leninism; narrative; ideology; linguistics; impact; dictatorship; Weltanschauung; political influence; discourse; rhetoric
Classification
General History
Science of Literature, Linguistics
Method
historical; theory application
Document language
German
Publication Year
2012
Page/Pages
p. 229-248
Journal
Historical Social Research, Supplement (2012) 24
Issue topic
Contemporary history as transatlantic project: the German problem 1960-2010
ISSN
0936-6784
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed