Linguistic Jokes-Linguistic Games-Linguistic Realities. On Language in Divided and Unified Germany

The sociological realities in both divided & unified Germany are addressed. The putative existence of a distinct DDR-Deutsch (East German language) is discussed in structuralist terms; importance is placed on the shifting status of the sign & changes in the relationship between signifier & signified before & after the political events of 1989/90. An illustrative example is adduced: the usage of the term Wendehals (lit. 'turn-neck') in the two halves of reunified Germany. Usage of the term throughout Germany is analyzed, as are jokes employed at the expense of the Wendehals (a political opportunist); speculations on the psycholinguistic reality of such a person are offered. Also discussed are jokes about former East Germany that have been widely disseminated since 1989, as is prose fiction portraying the attitudes within Germany regarding its division & reunification. 57 References. A. Cohen-Siegel