Die Sprachsituation der deutschsprachigen Schweiz im Spiegel der Forschung und des öffentlichen Diskurses: Forscht die Wissenschaft am öffentlichen Interesse vorbei?

Abstract

Our contribution addresses the question of how the linguistic research discourse differs from the public discourse in relation to the German-Swiss language situation. We examine public texts on the German-Swiss language situation, with particular emphasis on varieties of German, code-mixing phenomena and language attitudes. These have been scientifically investigated from numerous perspectives. How prevalent are these topics in public discourse in German-speaking Switzerland? The media documentation of the Mundartforum (‚dialect forum‘) and the website of the Swiss public broadcaster SRF (Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen) are used as exemplary sources for the public discourse. The comparative analysis of the range of topics covered in scientific and public contributions shows that there is considerable overlap between scientific and public discourse on the language situation in German-speaking Switzerland. However, if we include forum contributions from private participants in discussions on the SRF internet platform in the analysis, slight deviations become apparent. The forum contributions often seem to be used to critically negotiate linguistic and pragmatic norms. Another striking feature of the forum discussions is the concept of pure dialect. It remains to be discussed on which data basis public interest in language issues can best be captured.