The status of Russian German in Siberia. A Case Study of Three Women Living in the Region of

Krasnoyarsk (East Siberia, Russia)

Christiane Andersen

Department of Languages and Literatures

University of Gothenburg, Sweden 

 

Map of RussiaSaratov at the river Volga and Krasnoyarsk in Siberiahttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Maps_of_Russia 2

Language map of the Volga German ”Mother colonies” by Georg Dinges, ca. 1922

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Map of the Volga RepublicBasic map from 1925 4

The study of German dialects in RussiaGerman dialects in Siberia

• Nordbairisch – Altai• Oberhessisch – Siberia• Schwäbisch – Kazakhstan, Tadshikistan• Niederdeutsch – Ural, West Siberia• Wolhynisch – West Siberia, Kazakhstan

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Word map of Volga Republic: Bretterzaun (timber fence)(1927)16 lexeme variants incl. the Russian loan word Sabor,

Saborwand 6

The study of language islands

A language island is an exclave of a language that is completely surrounded by another language. (Auer, Hinskens, Kerschwill 1996: 221)

Sprachinseln sind räumlich abgrenzbare und intern strukturierte Siedlungsräume einer sprachlichen Minderheit inmitten einer anderssprachlichen Mehrheit. (Hutterer 1982: 178)

The term 'Sprachinsel' was used for the first time in 1847 to designate a Slavonic community surrounded by a German-speaking population close to Konigsberg, East Prussia. (Mattheier 1996: 812)

Village in the region of Krasnoyarsk,East Siberia,June 2010

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Syntax in contact. The Siberian case studyHow language proficiency figures in

* RGV as L1 in their birth village, Volga Republic (first years in a German speaking Elementary school)* since 1941, Russian gets L2 during deportation to Siberia (at the age of 4 to 14)* after 1941, Russian becomes the dominant language in everyday life; German village community is dissolved; RGV only in private discourse; their children do not speak RGV* today, living isolated in Russian villages (rarely use of RGV)

The status of the Russian German variety (RGV) in our case study

 

* L1 as spoken language, none or very little written language proficiency

* Russian (L2) as spoken language, hardly no written communication in Russian

* limited spoken language proficiency in L1: childhood, cooking, household, biography, private communication

* none or few dialect awareness: “daitsch”

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Analysis of contact phenomena in the Spoken Language Corpus of the Russian German varieties in Siberia

Language proficiency and codeswitching

• Our analysis approach is based “on the notion that production procedures begin at the conceptual level, well before procedures set in motion the projection of surface structures. […] Bilingual speakers have even more to consider at this level. […] If they do engage in codeswitching or other forms of contact language, they will have to select – again generally unconsciously – a Matrix Language to provide morphosyntactic structure for bilingual speech.” (Myers-Scotton 2002: 23)

Carol Myers-Scotton (2002) Contact Linguistics.

Bilingual Encounters and Grammatical Outcomes.

Oxford University press. NY.

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The codeswitching case of Emma German and Maria Kadotchnikova – two women living in the village Krasnyj Paxar, East Siberia (Russia)

day of documentation: 2010-06-06

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Russian discourse markers The entire discourse structure is running in Russian.

hier haben se eine zeit lang alle deutsche zusammengenomme. da?Here have they a time long all Germans together take. Da? (yes, conversation particle)

 

nu, war ich auch dort. Un da waren kein, die was singen auf deutsch

nu (well, conversation particle) was I too there. And there were nobody, who something sing in German

 

konnten. wie sich’s gehört. ja? nu vot – <stammelt, gestikuliert>

could. ´as is right and proper`(idiom) Yes? Nu vot ( there you are!) <stammers, gesticulates>

 

verwechse worden ( ) bei der deutsche, wie die deutsch so sind. das bei

changed been ( ) at the (det, fem. - dat.)Germans, how the German (adj.? noun?) like are. That at

 

dene, wo wir jetzt sind. nu, wie ich hin bin ko ( ) äh, äh, pervy. un da

them, where we now are. Nu (well, conversational particle), how I up to am ca( ) (came, discontinued) ah yes, ah yes (conversational particle), pervy (first). And like

 

habe se gleich, hier war eine, die hat deutsch ( ) war – i ( ) njet – lidja ivanovna. ona ( ) ona ranshe – have they at once, here was one, who has German ( ) was - i (and) ( ) njet (no, conversation particle) – lidija ivanovna (Sg. – nom- -fem., first name, fathers name). Ona ranshe (she before)

 

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• Discourse markers assign discourse-level thematic roles in the sense that they restrict the interpretation of the CP of which they are a part.  

• We are careful to distinguish discourse markers as content morphemes from content morphemes that participate in the thematic grid of the CP. (M-S 241)

Discourse markersSyntax in contact. The Siberian case study

Compromise strategiesSyntax in contact. The Siberian case study

njet (-) in vinotsinsk, in vinotsinske (-) <schüttelt mit dem Kopf> in (-) am sever.

Njet (no, adv.) in vinotsinsk (Sg.- Nom., geogr. name), in vinotsinske (Sg.-prepositive, geogr. name) <shakes her head> in (-) at (+ det.) sever (the north, sg.- nom. – masc.).

 njet a ja gavaryu von dort, wie wir dort waren in dem ( ) i vinotsinsk, nje

njet a ja gavaryu (no but I say) from there, how we there in this ( ) i (and) vinotsinsk (sg.-nom.-mask., geogr. name), nje (no)

vinotsinsk in dem (-) kakzhe eë (-) na wo die großmutter war auch (-) nigolina ( )

vinotsinsk (sg.-nom. – masc., geogr. name) in this kakzhe eë (how is this?) well where the grandma was too nigolina (sg.- nom. - fem., name)

dort sein dashe eto in dem dorf in dem stadt, in der bamberg, amerikanske tsone,

there be (infinitive) dashe eto (even that) in the ( dem, det masc. – dat.) village in the city, in the (der, det.-masc.) Bamberg, amerikanske tsone (mixed adjective, mixed noun)

 

in vinotsinsk

in vinotsinske

i vinotsinsk

nje vinotsinsk in dem kakzhe eë (how is this?)

[Russian - vo vinotsinske (in + prepositive)]

in sever

am sever

in dem dorf in dem stadt, in der bamberg, amerikanske tsone

German standard - amerikanische Zone (fem., nom., sing.)

Russian - amerikanskaya zona (fem., nom., sing.)

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‘sufficient congruence’

Word orderSyntax in contact. The Siberian case study

V2

Ungrammatical ?

 

vinotsinsk in dem (-) kakzhe eë (-) na wo die großmutter war AUCH (-) nigolina ( )

vinotsinsk (sg.-nom. – masc., geogr. name) in this kakzhe eë (how is this?) well where the grandma was too nigolina (sg.- nom. - fem., name)

 

mitgeholfen. Aber (-) die wollte haben, ich sollte ALLEIN singen DAS. <lacht>

helped. But they wanted have, I should ALONE sing that. < laughter>

 

[ich] [sollte] [allein] [singen] [das]

SUBJ – FINIT – ADV – V – *OBJ

V2, V1

Spoken language standard ?

emma (-) ich bin geb=gebore in engels wol (-) au an der wolga. Unne (-)

Emma I am born in engelsk vol- and at the volga. And

 

haben wir gewohnt in vinotsinske. In vinotsinske haben wir gewohnt neun monat. a

have we lived in vinotsinske (Sg.-prepositive, geogr. name). In vinotsinske (sg.-prepositive, geogr. name) have we lived nine month. (sg.?) A (but, conversation particle)

 

[In vinotsinske] [haben] [wir] [gewohnt] [neun monat]

ADV – FINIT – SUBJ – V – ADV

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The Case Study of three Women Living in the Region of Krasnoyarsk (East Siberia, Russia)

The status of Russian German in Siberia?

Russian German in East Siberia (case study)• Split ethnic and L1-identity• None or few reading and

writing skills in German• German standard unknown• No language transmission

to next generation

• Codeswitching to Russian - dominant on the conversational level

• Typical compromise strategies on grammar level

• Matrix Language structures in word order

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