Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/csi.4807
Literary Text as a Sociolinguistic and Contact Linguistic Source – the Example of Arthur Achleitner’s Prose Collection „Aus Kroatien“
Kristian Novak
; Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper examines the use of literary texts as sources
within the fields of historical sociolinguistics and contact
linguistics. Although literary texts are often considered unreliable
testimonies of linguistic practice due to their fictional
nature, it cannot be ignored that some contain numerous
potentially indicative sociolinguistic elements. Using the
example of the short story collection “Aus Kroatien” (1920)
by the forgotten German writer Arthur Achleitner, the paper
showcases certain moments and challenges in the linguistic
treatment of such material. The assumption is made that,
regardless of various degrees of fictionality and linguistic
mimesis, the language of literary texts can never fully reflect
actual linguistic practice. However, in the study on the
social history of language, every surviving document should
be considered a potential source of new insights or confirmations
of already established assumptions. The paper critically
examines the possibilities and limitations of studying
literary works in this context and proposes elements of a possible
methodological framework for analysing language as
a reflection of sociolinguistic reality.
Keywords
Arthur Achleitner; historical sociolinguistics; language contact; literary text; methodology
Hrčak ID:
334060
URI
Publication date:
25.7.2025.
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