The Linguistic Landscapes of Swedish Heritage Cookbooks in the American Midwest, 1895–2005

Abstract

Recipe names and other elements in the discourse of cookbooks reveal important clues about language contact in communities settled by immigrants. In the case of cookbooks printed in Swedish-American networks, a number of recipe collections have been periodically updated and re-published. Linguists who tap into this printed material can thus carry out longitudinal discourse analysis of the names of recipes and of menu items to be served on a smörgåsbord. The present study examines cookbooks produced in selected localities and reports on linguistic patterns found in the cookbooks published in two small towns in central Kansas as well as in the urban centers of Kansas City and Chicago. The data are analyzed for evidence that Swedish, Heritage Swedish, and English have co-existed in varying proportions across the time period of study, which is 1895 to 2005, and across geographical space in the American Midwest. Looking at the phenomena of heritage as expressed linguistically, and to some extent to be understood notionally in the cookbook data, we describe the linguistic landscapes which have shaped the discourse of Swedish-American homes and entertainment practices. We employ the theoretical framework of enregisterment in order to account for how volunteer cookbook committees create local authenticity.