The enormous linguistic diversity found in many medium-sized towns in Germany has scarcely been studied to date. In this educational project, we aim to investigate the linguistic diversity of such a town, using Delmenhorst as a case study. Together with stakeholders in Delmenhorst – schools, public authorities, churches, clubs, NGOs and museums – we will gain an understanding of the town’s linguistic landscape, its history and origins, as well as its current forms of expression, and examine the significance of these languages for their speakers and for the town as a whole.

In their own small-scale research projects, students will investigate language repertoires, linguistic strategies, language biographies, attitudes towards language, language experiences and language policy, both among individuals and within institutions in Delmenhorst. For example, we will investigate who speaks which languages with whom, when and where; the origins and history of the languages we find in Delmenhorst; what the speakers associate with these languages; how they maintain them and what they hope for them; how communication takes place between generations, amongst neighbours, with public authorities, and which languages are visible and audible on the streets. In the process, participants learn to prepare, carry out and present their own linguistic research projects.

The teaching project is primarily aimed at students on linguistics degree programmes, but is also open to students from other disciplines.

Participation in the following course can count towards credits for the area of specialisation: 10.34.011 Multilingualism in a medium-sized town – the example of Delmenhorst

If you have any questions or are interested, please contact:

Prof. Dr Jan Patrick Zeller (jan.patrick.zeller@uol.de)

The project is being carried out in collaboration with Prof. Dr Yaron Matras, currently a visiting professor at the University of Hamburg (https://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/afrika/personen/matras.html), who has been active in the field of multilingualism and the documentation of smaller languages for many years. The project is supported by the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg in Delmenhorst and by the City of Delmenhorst.