[...]
The aim of this work will be, on the one hand, to describe the history of German
settlement on both continents, and more importantly of the influence of German on
American English as well as on Australian English. On the other hand, a direct
comparison between the German influences will be made, and hopefully it will prove
that even though half the globe separates both continents from each other, there are
similarities to be found. It is to be expected though, that if there are analogies, they
will be regionally restricted, since both in the United States and in Australia, contact
situations seem to be restricted to those areas where Germans settled from the
earliest days on.
Beside the clarification of some general definitions, which will prove necessary for an
understandable analysis, the difficulties in researching this topic will be made evident.
One thing that will not be considered in this examination is the influence of Yiddish-
German on American English since, one the one hand, it proves hard to differentiate
exactly between the German and the Yiddish aspects and on the other hand because
the Jewish impact on Australian English is marginal. Therefore Yiddish-German is
rather unimportant in the comparison of both varieties.
[...]
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Definitions
- German-American
- An historical overview of German emigration to the United States
- German influence on American English
- Difficulties in research
- Loanwords
- The spoken word
- Grammar
- Semantics
- German-Australian
- An historical overview of German emigration to Australia
- German influence on Australian English
- Loanwords
- The spoken word
- Grammar
- German Influence on Australian Toponymy
- Comparison and Conclusion
- Bibliography
Objectives and Key Themes
This work aims to describe the history of German settlement in America and Australia and, more importantly, the influence of German on American and Australian English. A direct comparison between these influences will be made to identify similarities, despite the geographical distance between the continents. The study will also address the difficulties in researching this topic and clarify relevant definitions.
- Historical overview of German emigration to both the United States and Australia.
- Analysis of German loanwords and their integration into American and Australian English.
- Examination of the impact of German on the spoken word, grammar, and semantics of both varieties of English.
- Comparison of German influences on American and Australian English, focusing on regional variations.
- Discussion of the methodologies and challenges involved in researching language contact situations.
Chapter Summaries
The Introduction establishes the shared British origin of American and Australian English, highlighting the significant influence of native populations and German immigrants. The Definitions section clarifies key terminology related to loanwords and borrowing processes, differentiating between "cultural borrowing" and "intimate borrowing". The German-American section provides a historical overview of German emigration to the United States and explores the various ways German has impacted American English, including loanwords, spoken language, grammar, and semantics. The German-Australian section similarly examines the history of German settlement in Australia and its linguistic consequences, with a focus on loanwords, spoken language, grammar, and toponymy.
Keywords
German influence, American English, Australian English, loanwords, language contact, historical linguistics, cultural borrowing, intimate borrowing, toponymy, semantics, grammar, spoken language, emigration.
- Quote paper
- Lars-Benja Braasch (Author), 2008, The German Influence on Australian and American English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/124338
