About the Journal
BBG aims at offering a platform for the discussion of linguistic, literary, translatological, and didactic subject matters in German studies. The annual thematic issues may also include other articles on different topics under Varia.
Current Issue
BBG aims at offering a platform for the discussion of linguistic, literary, translatological, and didactic subject matters in German studies. The annual thematic issues may also include other articles on different topics under Varia.
Full Issue
Articles
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Vorwort
Abstract
Die Beschäftigung mit dem Thema Alter und Altern gehört zur conditio humana wie kaum ein anderes. Der Faktor Alter beeinflusst maßgeblich alle relevanten Aspekte des Lebens und das Altern wird seit einigen Jahrzenten immer mehr ins Zentrum des wissenschaftlichen Diskurses gerückt. Allein die Existenz verschiedener spezialisierter deutscher Forschungszentren, die sich das Verstehen dieser Prozesse und die interdisziplinäre Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema Altern zur zentralen Aufgabe machen, sowie die Etablierung solcher Forschungsrichtungen wie der Kulturgerontologie und der Gerontolinguistik zeigen die Bedeutung, die die individuellen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturtheoretischen Implikationen des Phänomens haben. Das Altern ist ein natürlicher Prozess, der uns von der Geburt bis zum Tod begleitet und mal mit Defiziten, mal mit Vorzügen verbunden wird. Die Darstellungsformen des Alterns variieren von Bildern begleitender Erscheinungen wie körperlicher und ökonomischer Probleme einerseits, bis hin zu Aspekten der Reife, Erfahrungsdichte, der erlangten Weisheit oder des Ruhms andererseits. Mehr noch: Nicht nur Menschen, sondern auch Sprachen und Strukturen, Gesellschaften und Kunstwerke sind ebenfalls vom Einfluss des Alters und dem Prozess des Alterns betroffen. Die kulturelle Überformung all dieser Aspekte beleuchtet dieser Band mit dem Titel Alter und Altern: literarisch inszeniert, real, im Vergleich, der auf die gleichnamige Tagung zurückgeht, die im November 2022 am Bukarester Department für Germanische Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Bukarest stattfand.
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Auch Wörter altern. Phraseologisch isolierte Lexeme als Relikte älterer Sprachstufen
Abstract
This paper aims to analyze a special category of lexemes, i.e. the so called bound words. These are words that only live in phrasemes and that can not work independently, e.g. Bärendienst (in jemandem einen Bärendienst erweisen), dingfest (in jemanden dingfest machen), Freite (in auf die Freite gehen), Friedenspfeife (in mit jemandem die Friedenspfeife rauchen), gehupft (in gehupft wie gesprungen), Geratewohl (in aufs Geratewohl), Hungertuch (in am Hungertuch nagen) and many more. An important part of these words testifies to older stages of the language and therewith to disappeared cultures, mentalities, objects or similar. In this study I analyze such words and I follow – starting from the respective etymologies – the whole semantic and formal development of the bound words.
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Aspekte des Alter(n)s im Schwankzyklus Till Eulenspiegel
Abstract
In society and in literature, age is often associated with positive (wisdom, life experience) or negative aspects (stubbornness, impatience). The article examines the extent to which the biological age influences social relationships, experiences and/or behaviour, and the reactions of the archetypal German prankster and his interaction partners.
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alt = 1. vechi; 2. bătrân – Übersetzung deutscher fachsprachlicher Komposita mit dem Adjektiv alt als Determinativ ins Rumänische
Abstract
While compounding is not a preferred method of word formation in Romanian, it is highly productive in German. Composites are used in German to replace complex structures, such as relative clauses and extended attributes, for the sake of language economy. The Romanian compounds found in technical language are mainly loan words or formed using a foreign language model. The translation of compound words from German to Romanian typically necessitates a structural reorganization, resulting in lengthy and intricate phrases. The principal challenge in this type of translation is the identification of semantic connections, as a literal translation is insufficient. This study aims to examine the translation of technical language compounds containing the determiner "alt" into Romanian.
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Liebe Seniorinnen und Senioren! vs. Dragi seniori! Wortschatzveränderungen im Bereich der Altersgruppenbezeichnungen im Deutschen und Rumänischen
Abstract
The fact that certain social groups in a language community, people over 55 are elevated to the subject of discourse allows conclusions to be drawn both about the cultural attention paid to these groups and about the defining group. The formation of new names for certain groups can also be understood as an indication of changes in the group of those responsible for the foreign designations, which lie between an unmarked "we" and the conceptually marked "other". In the semiotic changes of language use, the collective formation of social categories, including their contradictions, becomes palpable in specific terms – making the conceptual historical analysis group designations a practicable linguistic tool of cultural analysis.
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„Sonnenpferde der Zeit“. Ansätze des jungen J.W. Goethe zur ästhetischen Subjektreflexion anhand von altersgruppenspezifischen Merkmalen
Abstract
The article starts by drawing attention to the historical, western discourse of the eighteenth century, addresses the topic of a newly founded reflection on age groups, provides information on genetic aspects, on new evaluations of Goethe’s early, aesthetic, reflection on age-groups, focuses on his two historical dramas Götz von Berlichingen and Egmont, shows how the reflection on age groups is launched and is primarily generated by the interaction of literary figures that belong to different age groups: Götz – Georg, Götz – Karl, Egmont – Richard, Clara – Clara’s mother, Ferdinand – Ferdinand’s father, Ferdinand – Egmont. This interaction produces self-representations and interpretations of the counterpart that emerge in dependence on or in difference from certain age-group characteristics.
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Zeitgemäße Lehrwerke unter der Lupe: Potentiale (nie) alternder Kursbücher im DaF-Unterricht
Abstract
In the present study, several educational systems of German as a foreign language are considered based on different criteria. They serve as a tertium comparisonis in didactic analysis. The selected teaching systems of German as a foreign language represent their time and when choosing them, it is crucial that they are composed by the same author team and published by the same publishing house. Moreover, the language level to be reached after the respective training course with all of them is the same, namely A1. Textbooks are analyzed in chronological order, ie presented according to when they were approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria.
The aim of the research is to prove that not only the current vocabulary, the degree of digitization and interaction, but also the choice of topics, the use of appropriate methods, and the impulses for differentiated work contribute to the effectiveness and adaptability of the given foreign language teaching system. One of the important conclusions of the article is precisely that the potential of a foreign language teaching system can be developed over time if from the beginning a concept that is open to change and updating is laid down and applied.
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Interferenzen und Überschreitungen von Literatur und Welterbediskurs am Beispiel von Judith Schalanskys Verzeichnis einiger Verluste (2018)
Abstract
The present article looks at how the contemporary discourses concerning cultural and natural heritage are literarily reworked in Judith Schalansky’s book An Inventory of Losses (Verzeichnis einiger Verluste, 2018). Schalansky’s hybrid book which consists of twelve micro-narratives around natural and art objects that have been destroyed or lost over the course of time partakes in the cultural discourse on preservation, memory and intergenerational dialogue, contributing its own views on the practices of valuation of old artefacts and knowledge. The present paper focuses on the common aspects – first of all the intertwining of nature and culture – and the key differences – such as the critique on the essentialist concept of sustainability – between Schalansky’s book and the preservation discourse as it is articulated in collective texts such as the World Heritage Convention.
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Die Einstellungen des Alters und des Alterns in den deutschen Werbespots
Abstract
Depending on the cultural context, age characteristics or specific portrayals of age are presented differently in television advertisements. Advertising agencies often attempt to convey certain cultural images, family values and principles or even illustrate humorous age stereotypes, which can be identified for example in the two analyzed commercials from Bluna and Teekanne, in order to attract the interest and attention of the audience. Since childhood, each person has certain image ideas that have a great influence on them from literature, society, the media, but especially from television. These influence our perception of the natural process of aging, either positively or negatively. However, such age stereotypes are also culture-dependent, because in Asian cultures the portrayal of old age is perceived differently, in the sense of wisdom, spiritual experience, long longevity, and from a state of healthy well-being. In contrast, in European cultures, perceptions of old age differ significantly, with a greater association with severe physical conditions or mental illnesses.
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„Das Kind hat mehr Zeit als wir.“ Zeitwahrnehmung bei Kindern und Erwachsenen in Michael Endes Momo
Abstract
The concepts of time and time perception are crucial in this article. Moreover, the fact that time is perceived differently from children to adults is exemplified through theory and practice. The main object of analysis is the cult classic fantasy novel Momo by Michael Ende. Published in 1973, the book emphasizes the fact that children and adults have different visions and different usage of time. While children seem to have time in abundance, focusing on play and fun ways to spend it, adults fear they don’t have enough time on their hands. Michael Ende proposes a possible worlds dystopic scenario in which relentless and cunning so-called time-thieves have power over human time. It is only little Momo with her unique, effortless approach to temporality that can save humankind from extinction. Counting on his readership being entertained by his book, Michael Ende’s novel also has the power to make us highly aware of the consequences of poor time management. For this reason, the following article also ponders over the moralizing aspects of this timeless novel.
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„Ich küsse deine Augen, Oma!“ – Wertschätzung im Alter. Ein didaktischer Streifzug aus interkultureller Perspektive
Abstract
Understanding social reality as well as political developments and contexts is not only an important part of our participatory life, but also one of the main tasks of teachers in language integration work. This fundamentally involves juxtaposing the familiar and the target culture, which often becomes a topic in the classroom. These confrontations are closely accompanied by ideas and feelings of belonging and attachment as well as perceived foreignness and otherness. The relationships between the generations and the connections to one's own family play an important role here, especially as they are characterised by emotionality. The article will therefore analyse how the position of older members of the family and society is presented in the textbooks for integration courses, with respect to both the linguistic and intercultural embedding. Based on the existing offer, ideas for supplementary materials will be developed and presented as examples. Particular attention is paid here to a constructive approach, which primarily looks for connecting. The emphasis is deliberately not placed on the differences, as is the case with the prevailing conception, but a narration of the points of contact is sought.
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Der Weg zum Erwachsenwerden und die Suche nach Identität in Warten bis der Frieden kommt von Judith Kerr
Abstract
Warten bis der Frieden kommt is the second part of an autobiographical trilogy in which the author Judith Kerr presents both her own experiences and the historical context of the 1930s and 1940s of the past century in a literary manner. The main character Anna has to flee from Germany together with her family in the year 1933. They first arrive in Switzerland, then in France and finally in England. While in the first book we encounter a very young and partly naive nine-year-old protagonist who tries to understand and interpret the world surrounding her, in the second part we are being presented with Anna as a teenager who spent the last seven years of her life as a refugee in foreign countries. As a consequence we can observe a change of perspective from the point of view of individual and collective memory. In the following article I aim to analyse to what extent the age of the main character influences the literary discourse in regard of the historical narrative.
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„...dieweil er aber alt und schwach ist”. Alter und Altern in den siebenbürgisch-sächsischen Urkunden aus dem 15.-17. Jahrhundert
Abstract
The aim of this article is to trace the phenomenon of age and ageing as it is reflected in the German-language documents from Transylvania. Four directions can be recognized. On the one hand, ageing is associated with frailty, weakness and illness, so that the elderly must be supported by family and descendants. On the other hand, old age is associated with experience, wisdom and tradition. Sometimes "old" is only used as an identifier in comparison to other people names. Another aspect is society's disparaging attitude towards older people, which is reflected in the documents in swear words containing the adjective "old".