Sprechen Sie Deutsch? German Language and Revitalization of Ethnic Identity of the Germans in Bačka
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? German Language and Revitalization of Ethnic Identity of the Germans in Bačka

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes the use of German langue in the public and private spheres of communication among members of three local associations of Germans in Bačka. Their efforts to preserve native idiom, after decades of "ethnic mimicry" of German community in Vojvodina, and under the hardship of asymmetrical bilingualism favoring Serbian and Hungarian languages, are directed not only to preserve German language, but they also play a significant role in the process of (re) construction of their ethnic identity. German language is given the utmost importance by the local leaders of the German association, as a key symbol of "Germanship" in this region. It is used as a tool for drawing and highlighting the symbolic boundaries of the local ethnic German community in Bačka. The tendency of German community members in Bačka to communicate in German language in private communication, and during their gatherings, plus the imperative of raising the level of competition in their native language idiom – have a function of drawing symbolic boundaries in relation to other ethnic communities in the region.

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