German and Bosnian Language Contact. Bosnian Cultural Specifics in Milena Preindlsberger-Mrazović’s Die Bosnische Ostbahn

Abstract

After annexing Bosnia-Herzegovina, the role of Austria-Hungary in the territory was also shaped by an effort to culturally “missionize” the country and bring it closer to Central European cultural trends. The ongoing industrialization and huge infrastructure projects like the construction of railway lines were considered necessary steps in “civilizing” the province. The Croatian-born journalist, ethnographer and writer Milena Preindlsberger-Mrazović was a loyal citizen of the Monarchy in Bosnia-Herzegovina, who understood the Austro-Hungarian presence there as a “civilizing and emancipating” mission. Her 1908 guidebook Die Bosnische Ostbahn (“The Bosnian Eastern Railway Line”) was written with an effort to present the unknown land along the Bosnian Eastern Railway Line to German-speaking audiences. The paper analyzes the methods used by the guidebook author in transferring Bosnian culturally specific items to German with the aim of bringing them closer to the German-speaking readership abroad as well as to the numerous Austro-Hungarian immigrants in Bosnia-Herzegovina itself.