Orthography, Legitimation, and the Construction of Publics: The 1996 Reform of German Sally Johnson Department of Linguistics and Phonetics School of Modern Languages and Cultures University of Leeds

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1 The 1996 reform of German orthography – Aim of Reform – Implementation – Disputes

1.2 Languages, publics and legitimation – Languages and Publics: The Making of Authority (Gal & Woolard, 2001) – Habermas and the public sphere

2. LEGITIMATION CRISIS (Habermas, 1976)

2.1 Legitimation crises: a brief overview – Changing nature of the public sphere – State intervention into private sphere – From rationality deficit… – …to legitimation crisis – Legitimation crises in educational domains

Whereas school administrations formerly merely had to codify a canon that had taken shape in an unplanned, nature-like manner, present curriculum planning is based on the premise that traditional patterns could as well be otherwise. Administrative planning produces a universal pressure for legitimation in a sphere that was once distinguished precisely for its power of self-legitimation. (Habermas, 1976: 71-2)

2.2 Language standardisation and problems of legitimation – State involvement per se – Standardisation as encoding of socio-regional privilege – Positivistic rule-optimism – ‘Standard’ language as oxymoron – Standardisation as ‘mis-recognition’

3.GERMAN ORTHOGRAPHIC REFORM AS LEGITIMATION CRISIS – German orthography pre-19 th century – State-sanctioned codification and public pressure for legitimation – Orthographic standardisation and the ‘common good’ – Functional efficacy vs unificatory/disciplinary functions

3. Continued – No mechanism for re-standardisation in 1901 – State devolvement to Duden corporation in 1955 – Citizen’s rights in Basic Law of 1949 – ‘Juridification’ of social life in late 20th century

CONCLUDING REMARKS