Schiegg M (2021)
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2021
Original Authors: Markus Schiegg
Book Volume: 9
Pages Range: 35-46
Issue: 1
This paper presents a case study on the lexical substitution of Wärter (‘guard’) by Pfleger (‘nurse’) in records from a southern German psychiatric hospital around 1900. Its goal is to shed light on language variation and change from the perspective of idiolects. Therefore, I analyse how this change, implemented by official documents in 1876, spreads ‘from above’ into the written language of 108 patients and 10 family members. The results show a quick implementation of the new variant, comprising its semantic generalization and the near-complete replacement of the older variant. This process can sometimes be observed in individual lifespan changes, while other writers continue using Wärter in idiosyncratic ways. Finally, a comparison with two more general corpora (DWDS and Google Books) shows that this lexical change appears delayed and less consistent outside the hospital context.
APA:
Schiegg, M. (2021). Variation and change in idiolects: Tracing a lexical substitution inside a psychiatric hospital around 1900. Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association, 9, 35-46. https://doi.org/10.1515/gcla-2021-0002
MLA:
Schiegg, Markus. "Variation and change in idiolects: Tracing a lexical substitution inside a psychiatric hospital around 1900." Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association 9 (2021): 35-46.
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