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Language study: "Viertel elf" is becoming increasingly rare

2019-12-11T19:14:08.308Z


Quarter past ten? Ten fifteen? Or quarter of eleven? How to correctly indicate the time has been causing discussions in Germany for decades. Now, a variant seems to prevail in many parts of Germany.



The language of the people in Germany has become much the same in the past decades. Region-specific terms such as dumplings or meatballs for meatballs are being used more and more rarely, researchers from the universities of Bern, Zurich and Salzburg report in a study in the journal "PLOS One". Accordingly, the High German version is gradually becoming established in the designation of the time.

The scientists had evaluated answers from an online quiz for the study, which was also published on SPIEGEL ONLINE. (Here you can re-enact it.) For example, they asked if the time 10:15 clock with "quarter past ten" indicates or "quarter eleven" or if balls of minced meat "meatball", "Klops" or "Fleischpflanzerl". Twenty-four terms were queried and more than 770,000 people participated in the survey. The researchers compared the results with a previous study from the 1970s.

"The fact that the language is adapted is partly because people are more mobile than before," explains Adrian Leemann from the University of Bern. "If you want to understand yourself, you adapt." High German but also prevail because it is in many regions more respected than dialect.

Meatballs or beefsteak?

This is particularly evident in East Germany, the researchers report. In Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland dialect, on the other hand, has a high priority. This does not change the language quite so fast. This is also evident in the terms that people in the east and south use for a meatball.

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Linguistic research "Dialects are dying out in Germany"

In eastern Germany, the words Klops and Bulette increasingly replace the even more regional terms of dumplings, dumplings or beefsteak. In southern Germany, however, local designations persist stubbornly: In Baden-Württemberg they say Fleischküchle, in Bavaria Fleischpflanzerl.

The term "swallowing" is increasingly being replaced by the word hiccup in parts of eastern Germany.

In addition, when specifying times, the High German variant prevails quite gradually. So the term "quarter eleven" for 10.15 clock compared to the seventies lost some of its popularity. In this case, however, both East Germans and Franks, Baden and Württemberger persistently show that "quarter eleven" is still more popular there than "quarter past ten".

Bolt has prevailed

Nearly disappeared, however, are some synonyms for football matches. The word originally known in Westphalia "pöhlen" is hardly common anymore. It is similar with "bäbbeln" in Saxon. "Bolt" and "play football" have prevailed. In addition, in Baden-Württemberg and Austria "kicked", in Switzerland especially "debris".

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Image of DialectsFreindlich samma! But dork?

The change from local to more supraregional word variants can be seen in other languages, says Leemann. "Linguistic diversity is also lost in England, the Netherlands or France."

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2019-12-11

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