Кёльнский диалект: тенденции развития

Abstract

The article studies the Cologne dialect in the process of its historical development. The current state of the dialect is notable for a wide and in different ways varied range of regional, social, functional and stylistic layers (levels) in close coordination with one another. Notably, this system is not stable, it constantly changes under the influence of the social, technical, cultural, historical and other factors. The research on language change often disregards the dialect material featuring prominently in the historical context of linguistics. The article focuses on the changes in the Cologne dialect which have taken place in the last decades. The research is based on dialect songs of carnival performers in the Cologne dialect. This dialect, spoken in the city and surrounding areas, is much more than a language variety. It has close associations with cultural events and especially with the carnival. The song texts in Cologne dialect of two carnival exponents are used as the practical material for the study and comparison of the most characteristic phonetic and grammatical properties of the Cologne dialect. In the course of their linguistic analysis from the beginning of the 20th century up to now, it has been determined that the Cologne dialect has undergone some changes; however, there is no clear trend towards moving closer to the standard German. The conclusions offer an insight into the current state of the regional language variant and the relationships between the dialect and the standard German language.