Slovene-German Language Contact in the Language Enclave Sorica/Zarz in Comparison to Carinthia

Abstract

The Slovene-German language contact in Carniola and the German-Slovene language contact in Carinthia are quite similar. In both countries, there has been a lot of language shift (replacement), such as in Zarz before 1941/45. The language shift in the north and the south of the Karawanks was back-to-front: first the German vocabulary and then the German grammar prevailed in the north, in the south first the Slovene grammar and later the Slovene vocabulary.

The examples given show that the process of extinction of German in Carniola and Slovene in parts of Carinthia was very similar. Due to the German and Slovene language structure, there are comparable and equivalent transition stages, which have often been referred to as “mixed languages”, such as “Windisch” in Carinthia. Their speakers have often been characterized as having a rather “floating national identity”, but this characterization also has other (especially political) secondary meanings. However, realistically speaking, the so-called “mixed languages” are not “languages” proper, but rather linguistic varieties that are bound to individuals who are in the process of being assimilated and are “bilingual” in the truest sense of the word; they do not refer to group languages or “dialects” in a narrow sense of the word. The situation presented here is therefore a good illustration of language-contact in general, which ultimately leads to language change.