Die Stellung des Deutschen im Baltikum: Linguistic Landscapes, gesellschaftliche Funktionen und Perspektiven für die Nutzung im Sprachmarketing

Buchbeitrag

This chapter discusses functions of the German language in the Linguistic Landscape (LL) of the Baltic states, with a focus on the Latvian capital Riga. For this end, it applies the "Spot German" approach (cf. Heimrath 2017) in the context of debates on the international role of German (cf. Ammon 2015). It argues that German is an "additional language of society" (cf. Marten 2017b), i.e. it is not a dominant language in the Baltics but can regularly be found in a variety of functions. These relate both to the historical role of German in the region (including its contemporary commodification) and to current relations between the Baltics and the German-speaking countries. These include tourism, business, or educational and political institutions, but also point to, e.g., discourses on the quality assigned to products from the German-speaking region. In this sense, the Baltic states are part of what may, in accordance with Kachru's (1985) 3-circle-model for English, be labelled as "extended circle" of German. At the same time, the chapter discusses how conclusions from Linguistic Landscape research can be used for understanding marketing both in and for the German language: On the one hand, German carries the potential of persuading customers to opt for a certain product. On the other hand, the abundance of situations where German can be "spotted" suggests that the LL may successfully be used for language-marketing purposes, as exemplified by a brochure and a poster created by the DAAD Information Centre for the Baltic states in Riga.

Object Details

• Language: Deutsch

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Deutsch ; Baltikum ; Linguistic Landscape ; Riga ; Gesellschaft ; Qualität ; Marketing ; Mehrsprachigkeit ; Germanische Sprachen; Deutsch

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Marten, Heiko F.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Berlin [u.a] : Peter Lang ; Mannheim : Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache (IDS) [Zweitveröffentlichung]
• (when): 2023-02-02

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:mh39-114842
• Last update: 06.03.2025, 9:00 AM CET