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This paper analyzes the specific linguistic situation of print media in German language abroad based on the example of the "Batschkaer Spuren", a regional newspaper of the German minority in Hungary. The goal is a linguistic assessment of the current manifestations of the used media language regarding its typological structures and fundamental characteristics. Additionally, journalistic possibilities and types of procedures, specifically with regards to regionalisms (informed by local dialects), multilingualism, and inter- as well as transculturality are discussed. The study identified a spectrum of minority-specific patterns und types of linguistic composition with highly variable characteristics of German. The analyzed linguistic practices of the newspaper show a type of dynamic multiliteracy that in itself causes an emergence of new patterns. The majority of findings can be attributed to multilingual or language-contact induced phenomena on different levels: from word to text/discourse (the text routines are occasionally influenced by the contact language Hungarian). The other central aspect of the analyzed text world lies in the regionalisms that are influenced by local dialects. The complete picture is determined by heterogeneity and inconsistency and presents itself as a mixture of linguistic and stylistic forms. Especially noteworthy is the established conflict between orality and scribality i.e., between a "language of proximity" and a "language of distance". Hence, the analyzed newspaper articles present a large quantity of forms and structures of every-day written language that metaphorically can be termed "Parlando texts". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article surveys ethnological museums and collections in the Federal Republic of Germany that document the history and culture of German minorities in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. For context, the author discusses such topics as the Bundesvertriebenengesetz (Federal Refugee Services Act), the legal basis for government aid to these museums, the history of community museums in Germany, and a system of sponsorships of geographically based refugee groups by specific German cities. Specific ethnic German groups discussed include the Donauschwaben (Danube Swabians) and Siebenbürger Sachsen (Transsylvanian Saxons).

This article discusses the Limburgs and Swabian speech communities in Australia. The study of multilingualism in Australia has always placed great emphasis on the investigation of the language-maintenance and language-shift patterns of immigrant communities. It has been regarded as an important area of research which contains information crucial to related issues such as language policy and bi- and multilingual education. Ever since Ferguson first introduced diglossia to the Anglo-American and Germanic (socio)linguistic spheres, the concept has been surrounded by controversy. By the mid-1960s the main point of confrontation had become the question of which criteria and how many features as described by Ferguson were necessary to label a language situation as diglossic. Two language varieties, Standard Dutch and a Limburgs dialect, seemed to constitute the language repertoire of all the Limburgs informants. In the informants' opinions there was a clear-cut distinction between Standard Dutch and the Limburgs dialect at both the linguistic and functional levels: the two varieties were seen as separate language systems, each with its own phonology and lexicon, which did not greatly overlap.