Cosmopolitanism and dialects: citizens of the world speak schwäbisch

Schwäbisch a compelling good reason to keep the dialect of a slow death to die? No. Quite to the contrary.

"Klingd quite schregglich"? Winfried Kretschmann speaks photo: Reuters

a few years Ago, I stood, trapped between the tightly-Packed backpacks of teenagers in blue-and-white school uniforms, the Bus number 88 in the direction of Zhongshan Park in Shanghai. "Next Stop: Gubei Road," announced the loudspeaker voice in English and then in bell clear Mandarin Chinese, while I tried, between the jerk of the balance bags.

Then a snotty followed me all the more incomprehensible of porridge from the Äs and the Ös language, also from the angel the same speaker voice. "The stops are announcements now also in Shanghainese," said to me later, and by the sound of Pride. I was somewhat depressed. Ten years to the Chinese files, but not correctly, and listen to join the conversation?

"Sang-eh-o", to Mandarin Chinese, Shanghai-hua, belongs to the language family of Wu Chinese, and is for the most Mandarin-speakers almost entirely incomprehensible. Nevertheless, the dialect has experienced several years of a high phase. While local schools had to address at the beginning of the Nineties, exclusively in Mandarin Chinese, today there are kindergartens, where on Fridays only dialect is spoken. In television, a popular comedian, makes his jokes on Shanghainese. And of the three languages, and announcements in public transport, particularly over 60 are not intended to benefit-Year-olds often speak correct Mandarin Chinese, and still more frequently with the Bus.

Shanghai has been striving for over ten years, to save the local dialect from extinction. In any case, with the intention to replace the head of state, Xi Jinping, as-fired nationalism, regional identity. But in this mega city of over 24 million inhabitants, it seems sensible to keep to the anchors for retaining the look-out.

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Exactly want to Winfried Kretschmann, is now also. Of course, not in a mega city and not a Chinese dialect, but with Schwäbisch. It was up to Kretschmann, what happens 8.873 km to the East of Stuttgart would be implemented, and soon at home with him. The green Prime Minister launches an Initiative for the preservation of baden-württemberg dialects. The Stuttgarter Zeitung said Kretschmann, dialect-creating traction. In addition, the various mouth types of diversity in the country would reflect.

Just in Schwäbisch an impressively good reason you can give to the dialect of a slow death to die: It klingd quite schregglich. More terrible than Shanghainese. At least for the ears of a brown schweigerin.

Worse than this matter of taste is something else. If it is the so-called German identity is the preservation of a fraction, then a dull concern to you will quickly the thoughts carousel of modern cosmopolitan: return on dialects, on the Regional, the small piece? This can only be exclusionary, backward-looking, because it is Tradition, to Preserve a locally specific "German identity" and preserve comes from a conservative and conservative is tending to the right, and the right one is already close to a Nazi.

If you are sorted then, but the thoughts in peace, and with a bit of distance, it becomes clear: It is dangerous, the search for identity in the Traditional and well-Known reflex type as backward, to dismiss. In this respect, Winfried Kretschmann was right, if he doesn't, to leave this topic to home on the Right.

This Region is not the same Nation and the preservation of linguistic diversity, with its acoustically pleasant and less tolerable pages, absolutely necessary

cosmopolitanism has become, at least among those who call themselves as world citizens, to a kind of new home. There's the digital nomads: people who claim they could be anywhere in the world at home. For the sedentariness not the purpose of life is, but the cottage garden seems to be a decay symptom. Or, most probably true: The feeling of city residents to be inside somewhere at the other end of the world is much closer than the village residents in the nearby state of Brandenburg.

I see the world as a Whole. As the fluids community, connected by a Human rather than separated by inventions such as the nation-state. Nevertheless, this idea is not free from exclusion and group formation. You shall be liable to a certain amount of arrogance, an urban agent is coating of the Arrogance of the modern, polyglot city society ("A Flat White and a Brioche, please"), the hillbilly province ("'N coffee, and a Schrippe nehm ick").

Within this citizen of the world stress is very keen to be against the nation-state. Often so much quickly an automatism resonates to demonize each identity level below that of Europe, or actually even below the world community as bad. This Region is not the same Nation and the preservation of linguistic diversity, with its acoustically pleasant and less tolerable of the pages, is absolutely necessary. Because it makes us richer and wiser.

cosmopolitanism without dialects is nonsense. Linguistic diversity creates a further level, on the can meet people who have rather less in common. Imagine, it is a Swabian and a Shanghainesin. The are most likely null if they speak their respective dialect. But what do you think, how these two people can be, if you communicate in a common language about what it means to your dialect for you? Or how the Rest of the surrounding Nation power over the respective dialect speakers funny? This could bring you closer to each other, of nationalities, of social position, or Religion. A bit romantic I think.

The world moves apart, when schools also dialects are taught. As long as the principle does not follow a racist and rigid logic, in the Schwäbisch and Bayerisch to the important feature of "our home" – the specific language use of immigrant women as "wrong English" is stamped. The fault is not in the promotion of diversity, in the preservation of the Swabian. The error lies in the discriminatory dealing with new language forms.

Sometimes a similar meticulous purity law for German beer, it seems to me, as would apply to the German language. In any case, for immigrant. My mother is corrected, up to today, is constantly being asked by others, if you swapped personal pronouns, or arugula – is called first and then for the fun of it – Dracula. If some of the young people with a migration history as a virtuoso grammar and words from two or more languages, bring together, often as a deficit.

Similar to running from uptight, the public debate on multilingualism: to speak Two mother languages, in the capitalist logic of Exploitation is a great Plus on the CV. But if the newspaper headline that only one of 103 children speak English at home and wants to stigmatize as the decline of the West country, and a scandal.

And now? The conclusion is actually quite simple: If you receive the Old and New promotes, then this is not purely conservative, but progressive. Multilingualism is the logical reality of a world growing ever closer together and at the same time so complex is that we crave the Familiar. And who speaks more languages – including dialects – understand the world a little bit better.

so that's Why: Without Schwäbisch not a true cosmopolitanism. But no cosmopolitanism without the ambiguity of "potato", a more relaxed attitude to personal pronouns or kiezdeutsche phrases such as "Lassma wall Park".