Spelling Trouble?

by Sally Johnson

Overview

In 1995 an official reform of German orthography was announced and subsequently introduced into schools, unleashing a wave of public protest that culminated in action by the Federal Constitutional Court. Johnson (linguistics, U. of Leeds) explores the linguistic, cultural and political questions underpinning the constitutional challenge against the reform and analyzes the conflicting views of language evident in the debate. She also places the dispute in its historical context. Distributed in the US by UTP Distribution. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781853597855
Publisher:	Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Publication date:	03/16/2005
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Sally Johnson is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Leeds. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, language politics, language and gender, and the linguistics of German. She has previously published Gender, Group Identity and Variation in the Berlin Urban Vernacular (Peter Lang, 1995), Language and Masculinity (co-edited with Ulrike Hanna Meinhof – Blackwell, 1997) and Exploring the German Language (Arnold, 1998).

Editorial Reviews

The book's concentration on the debates and legal rulings makes it especially insightful. This book will appeal not only to those focused on the German sociolinguistic situation but also to the wider readership interested in broader issues of the politics of standardization and the relationship between individuals, society, institutions, government and language.

Helen Kelly-Holmes