Prototypenorientierte Genuszuweisung vom Althochdeutschen zum Neuhochdeutschen und Vorschläge für eine Didaktisierung (mit Exkurs zum Gotischen)

Abstract

Abstract The system of gender represents one of the greatest problems for learners of German as a foreign language, because it seems to be arbitrary as far as suffixless simple words are concerned. Leiss (1997) showed that the system of gender once was semantically motivated and was available in a complete Indoeuropean paradigm. In Old High German this system is still available in numerous lemmata with double- and triple-gender, but first tendencies of dissolving are recognizable. Following this idea it can be shown that predictability for a certain gender increases, if phonological markers are considered in addition to the semantic ones. The amount of coda consonants and their quality seem to be particularly relevant for fixing the masculine, feminine or neuter gender. In New High German too a huge amount of semantical characteristics exists which allows to predict the gender; but it can be shown that in a lot of cases the rate of predictability increases in a significant way when semantical charactaristics are combined with those phonological marks which are relevant already in Old High German. Nevertheless a small amount of words (especially feminines) remains which is arbitrary. The final didactical proposal for teaching German as a foreign language are based on these results.