German-speaking Research Articles

Increasing of the interest for German language studying through acknowledgment of their customs and tradition

Each country is rich in its own customs and traditions. Our country as well, and our children get to know them from an early age. In the world there were many peoples who speak their own languages and respect their own traditions and customs. One of the ways to increase children's interest in learning a foreign language such as German is to introduce them to their traditions and customs. The biggest role to achieve this is ours, the teachers, because the children spend a large part of the day at school, and when they are at home doing their homework.

NATIONAL EXAMINATION SURVEY ON BLOOD PRESSURE OF OLDER AND VERY OLD PEOPLE IN GERMANY 2022-2023: WHY SELF-REPORTS, MEASUREMENTS AND MEDICATION DATA ARE NEEDED

Objective: The National Study on Health of Older People in Germany “Gesundheit 65+” aimed to provide up-to-date information on the health of older adults in Germany including blood pressure (BP) measurements at home by a study nurse. Design and method: Nationally representative examination survey of the population aged 65 years and older residing in Germany and with sufficient German language skills, using two-stage population registry sampling from 128 sample points from June 2022 to April 2023. Participation of physically or cognitively impaired persons was possible via proxy interviews and consent from legal representatives. Recruitment and data collection used a mixed-mode design. Three standardized blood pressure measurements at two-minute intervals were taken after 5 minutes rest with an oscillometric device (Mobil-O-Graph) using one of five cuffs according to upper arm circumference. The mean of the second and third measurement was used for analysis. Hypertension was defined as mean systolic BP (SBP) at or above140 mm Hg, or mean diastolic BP (DBP) at or above 90 mm Hg, or the use of antihypertensives (ATC-codes C02 antihypertensives, C03 diuretics, C07 beta-blockers, C08 calcium-channel blockers or C09 ACEI and ARB) in participants with self-reported hypertension diagnosis. Provisional weights account for unequal sampling and participation probabilities. Results: The “Gesundheit 65+” examination survey included 1,493 participants and 1,475 (98.8%) had successful BP measurements (763 men and 712 women aged 65 to 100 years). External quality control showed very good standardization of BP measurements in the home environment. Central BP data were available from 1,356 participants. Based on self-reported diagnoses alone the prevalence of hypertension would be 58.3% [95% CI 53.2-63.3] in men and 59.5% [53.8-64.9] in women. However, overall hypertension prevalence was estimated at 70.4% [65.8-74.7] in men and 72.3% [66.9-77.1] in women based on the study definition which combines self-reported physician diagnoses, standardized BP measurements and medication. Conclusions: Our study shows very good feasibility, acceptability and data completeness of standardized BP measurements using home visits. The prevalence of hypertension would be greatly underestimated in the absence of examination survey data with standardized measurements and detailed recording of medication.

The Knowledge of Malnutrition-Geriatric (KoM-G) 2.0 Questionnaire for Health Care Institutions: Cross-Cultural Adaptation into German, Czech, Dutch and Turkish.

It is necessary for nursing staff to have adequate knowledge of malnutrition in older people in order to provide high quality care. This study was conducted to update the Knowledge of Malnutrition-Geriatric (KoM-G) questionnaire to fit different settings and to cross-culturally adapt it to the German, Czech, Dutch and Turkish languages. In Part 1 of the study, the KoM-G questionnaire was updated and adapted for use in different settings. Content validation of the KoM-G 2.0 was carried out in a Delphi study with 16 experts. The final KoM-G 2.0 questionnaire consists of 16 items with a Scale Content Validity Index/Average of 94.5%. In Part 2, the English KoM-G 2.0 was cross-culturally adapted into the German, Czech, Dutch and Turkish languages. In the pilot test, between 96.9% (The Netherlands) and 97.8% (Austria) of the nursing staff rated the items as understandable. The KoM-G 2.0 is an up-to-date questionnaire with a highly satisfactory Content Validity Index. It was cross-culturally adapted into the German, Czech, Dutch, and Turkish languages, and the understandability was high. At the moment, the necessary comprehensive psychometric testing of the KoM-G 2.0 is in process. Afterwards it can be used to compare nurses' knowledge between various countries and settings.

The Factors of the Distribution of Grammatical Categories and Phenomena in Contemporary Czech

As to the application of the grammar within communication, we distinguish between two contingencies: a) grammatical categories which attach to the objective reality (verbal tenses, number, gender etc.), b) those which do not (in Czech for example the category of case). The relation between grammar and objective reality is not naturally rectilinear and troublefree. It could be complicated by various factors - not only the different type of language but also actualization which we comprehend as the unusual application of a grammatical form (often in order to gain more expressive term) - for example the sentence in the future tense Budeš psát (You will write) functions as that in the stressed imperative mood. To speakers with the advanced knowledge of Czech it is possible to present also special unmarked grammatical categories where a respective grammatical form can have more than one meaning. In the sentence Studuje český a německý jazyk (He studies Czech and German languages) the word jazyk (language) has the form of singular but the meaning of plural. There are many factors which influence the adequate choice of a grammatical category. In this respect the semantics are applied to a large extend and in various ways. The important role can be also played by number and so-called signal words which need the usage of a concrete morphological category (for example after the adverb včera (yesterday) must the preterite tense follow). From the linguo-didactic point of view this theme is very important and it is necessary to go on working it out.

UKRAINIAN FORCED MIGRANTS’ INTEGRATION IN EUROPEAN LABOUR MARKET: GERMAN VS POLISH CASE

The tsunami of forced migration caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 poses a significant challenge to the socio-economic systems of host European countries, in particular Germany and Poland, which are the two main destination countries for displaced Ukrainians. Despite relatively similar statistics on the number and demographic structure of Ukrainian forced immigrants, the two countries differ significantly in terms of the level of labour market integration of refugees, which is a key factor determining their social integration and economic outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to study the peculiarities and common features of the integration of Ukrainian forced migrants in the labour markets of Germany and Poland, taking into account the pre-war experience of these countries in attracting Ukrainian economic migrants. Methodology. The study is a comparative analysis of the pre-war and forced migration trajectories of the two countries based on data from the German and Polish statistical services and Eurostat in 2010-2022. Results. The article discusses the redistribution of the main demographic characteristics in the profile of Ukrainian migrants in the post-war period, which led to an increase in the share of women with higher education in the demographic structure of migrants. These demographic differences, coupled with the peculiarities of European labour markets, have affected the employment prospects of Ukrainian refugees in European countries of destination. The pre-war experience of temporary labour migration from Ukraine and social ties between refugees and members of the diaspora were recognised as factors that facilitated the integration of Ukrainian refugees. The analysis showed that in addition to the geographical and cultural proximity between Ukraine and Poland, the circular labour migration model that dominated relations between Ukraine and Poland contributed to the rapid integration of Ukrainian refugees into the labour market after the outbreak of full-scale war. The lack of German language skills is the most common reason for the lower participation of Ukrainians in the German labour market compared to the Polish one. In Germany, favourable labour market conditions combined with integration policies facilitate access to the labour market for Ukrainian refugees in the long term. Practical implications. By examining the previous circular seasonal migration of Ukrainians over the past decade and their labour market integration in specific destination countries after the outbreak of war, this paper provides a broader perspective for the study of the transition from forced to permanent migration. Value/Originality. Given the global growth of both seasonal labour migrants and forms of movement, the key findings of the study provide a better understanding of these changing categories of mobility and their implications.

The Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Stigma Scale: Measurement Properties of an Adaptation in German and French.

This study aimed to adapt and validate the HIV PrEP Stigma Scale (HPSS) in French and German languages (HPSS-FR/DE) and assess its applicability across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. The original scale was adapted to French and German and administered through an online survey in multiple European nations. A four-factor structure was extracted from the data, including negative social consequences, social pressure, self-support, and external support. The scale's construct validity, reliability, and cross-linguistic consistency were evaluated. The adapted HPSS-FR/DE demonstrated robust psychometric properties, good construct validity, acceptable reliability, and consistent measurement across different languages. This adaptation enhances its utility in multicultural settings, offering a comprehensive tool to assess PrEP-related stigma. This study provides a suitable tool to address PrEP stigma in multicultural environments to enhance PrEP uptake and adherence among men who have sex with men. Moreover, it lays the groundwork for further investigations into PrEP stigma across diverse populations and cultural settings, enabling the development of targeted public health interventions and policies to combat this issue effectively.

Complications of pediatric enteral nutrition at home: a systematic review of quantitative research

Objective: Identifying complications related to enteral nutrition at home in children is important in terms of establishing standard discharge education and training programs to support parents in managing complications. The study aimed to synthesize current evidence on the complications of pediatric enteral nutrition at home. Methods: The study was conducted according to PRISMA recommendations. Eight databases were reviewed between 2012 and 2022 in Turkish, German, and English languages. Articles were assessed in three stages: title, abstract, and full text. The review included 18 studies that met all the inclusion criteria. The Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instruments were used to assess the quality appraisal of the studies. Results: A total of 18 studies with 19,531 children were included from 14 countries. The outcome measures were major and minor complications with pediatric enteral nutrition at home. 11 of the 18 papers included were retrospective studies on complications of PEG. In studies reporting the overall rate of major complications ranged from 0% to 14.3%, and the most common complications were reoperation (2.64%-12.4%), and gastrocolic fistula/perforation (0.9%-3.8%). In studies reporting the overall rate of minor complications, the rate ranged from 16.4%-73.6% and the most common complications were infection (8.2%-31.9%), dislodgement (1.6%-21%), skin granulation (4%-50.4%), and vomiting (1%-49.89%). Conclusion: This systematic review reveals that the rate of complications in pediatric enteral nutrition at home cannot be underestimated. Healthcare providers should plan their practice considering these complications to support parents in managing complications of pediatric enteral nutrition at home.

A Cross-Language Comparative Study of English and German Vowel Space Area in Swiss German L1 Speakers

It is conventional to examine vowel systems by their acoustic correlates, specifically formants. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) vowel chart, vowels are placed according to their relative positions determined by the first two formant values. This two-dimensional plane makes possible the calculation of the articulatory working space of vowels. Variations in the size and shape of the vowel space exist across gender, dialects, and languages. The present study focuses on comparing the vowel space area (VSA) in English and German produced by native Swiss German speakers, attempting to shed light on whether VSAs differ significantly with different calculation methods cross-linguistically. Given the fact that absolute formant values vary tremendously across gender, Hertz values are converted to z-scores, allowing for more direct and meaningful comparisons. While vowel normalization mitigates gender-related differences within specific languages to a large extent, there remains a significant cross-linguistic gender difference. The results reveal that for 3- and 4-vowel space there is no significant effect in language but an effect is observed in gender and vowel combination on VSA, specifically in terms of individual area and overlapping ratio. This suggests that Swiss German speakers tend to utilize the same amount of vowel space in both languages, with the only difference being the expansion of English VSA in higher F2 dimension and lower F1 dimension, as observed across all calculation methods.

Does language prevent policy take-up? Evidence from the Italian Start-up Act

Does ethnolinguistic diversity prevent policy adoption? The implementation of the Italian Start-up Act of 2012 in the bilingual (German and Italian) region of Trentino-Alto Adige offers the ideal setting to investigate this question. The Act sets up a scheme of benefits which young firms can access by registering as “innovative start-ups” on a voluntary basis. We find that policy take-up has been persistently lower in areas of the region with more German speakers, as local firms with German-named administrators are less likely to register as start-ups than firms with Italian-named ones. These findings are robust to firm characteristics and regional heterogeneity and are also visible within mixed-language municipalities. Furthermore, text analysis on press sources suggests that this national policy was much more extensively covered in the Italian-language local media, while a survey of local residents indicates that German speakers have lower knowledge of national policies unless they are embedded in multilingual networks.

Wipe the table clean – German speakers construe telicity differently in adjectival resultatives and transitives

Change of state expressions involving weak-endstate verbs such as wipe and drink exhibit variation in telicity. The present study is the first to experimentally investigate change of state expressions referred to as adjectival control resultatives (e.g., wipe the table clean) and the corresponding simple transitives (e.g., wipe the table) regarding their telicity readings. Based on their semantic properties, we ask whether German speakers interpret adjectival resultatives as telic and simple transitives as fluctuating between telic and atelic. Following an event-structural approach to telicity, we also seek to contribute to the issue of which event-semantic properties adjectival resultatives and simple transitives share: if it is the adjective that evokes a telic interpretation, then the possible telic interpretation of simple transitives must arise by different means, suggesting a non-uniform construal of telicity. Twenty-one adults participated in a Truth-Value Judgment Task that varied Structure (resultative/transitive) and Event type (complete/incomplete). Generalized mixed effects logistic regression revealed a significant interaction between Event type and Structure. For complete events, acceptance was at ceiling for both structures. For incomplete events, acceptance was significantly lower for resultatives than for simple transitives. These results indicate that in adjectival resultatives telicity is construed semantically – via entailment – and in the corresponding simple transitives via a pragmatic inference, which is not computed very often. We propose that this type of simple transitives designates process events, exactly like their intransitive variant. Resultatives designate a transition event: the adjective and the main verb form a complex predicate; adjectives with closed scales like clean encode the prominent endstate subevent and the verb encodes the process subevent.

Sensory, motor, and emotion associations for landscape concepts differ across neighbouring speech communities

A long-standing debate centres around our mental representation of landscape: is it experienced in largely the same way across all humans or is it shaped to some extent by cultural and linguistic experience? Previous research supporting differences across cultures has often relied on introspection or qualitative ethnolinguistic methods. Departing from this, we collected systematic sensory, motor, and emotion ratings for different landscape terms from 289 native speakers of German, English and French. The results show that speakers within and across groups agree to a large extent in their ratings of landscape terms, particularly in their sensory and motor associations. However, there is cultural shaping too. This suggests more caution is required when extrapolating findings about landscape understandings and preferences across cultures and languages.

SpEx: a German-language dataset of speech and executive function performance

This work presents data from 148 German native speakers (20–55 years of age), who completed several speaking tasks, ranging from formal tests such as word production tests to more ecologically valid spontaneous tasks that were designed to mimic natural speech. This speech data is supplemented by performance measures on several standardised, computer-based executive functioning (EF) tests covering domains of working-memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and attention. The speech and EF data are further complemented by a rich collection of demographic data that documents education level, family status, and physical and psychological well-being. Additionally, the dataset includes information of the participants’ hormone levels (cortisol, progesterone, oestradiol, and testosterone) at the time of testing. This dataset is thus a carefully curated, expansive collection of data that spans over different EF domains and includes both formal speaking tests as well as spontaneous speaking tasks, supplemented by valuable phenotypical information. This will thus provide the unique opportunity to perform a variety of analyses in the context of speech, EF, and inter-individual differences, and to our knowledge is the first of its kind in the German language. We refer to this dataset as SpEx since it combines speech and executive functioning data. Researchers interested in conducting exploratory or hypothesis-driven analyses in the field of individual differences in language and executive functioning, are encouraged to request access to this resource. Applicants will then be provided with an encrypted version of the data which can be downloaded.

Assessment of Student Attitudes in German Writing Learning Based on 21st Century Skills

Students' attitudes towards language learning have two sides, either motivating or even diminishing their learning enthusiasm. The main objectives of this research are first, to assess students' attitudes in learning descriptive writing in German language; second, to develop an attitude assessment model in writing based on 21st-century competencies. This research adopts an exploratory descriptive approach with a sample of 35 high school students. Data were collected through attitude assessment sheets referring to 21st-century educational competencies, namely critical thinking skills, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Data analysis involved categorizing assessment results using average scores from all respondents. The findings indicate a tendency that most students achieve a good level in critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration aspects in learning to write in German. However, there is still a small portion of students who reach a very good level, indicating a gap in students' abilities. The attitude assessment model developed in this research significantly contributes to teachers in measuring students' progress and helps prepare students to become critical, creative, and inspirational decision-makers in various learning situations and daily life. The use of this attitude assessment model shifts the learning paradigm from emphasizing outcomes to developing students' relevant skills for future demands.

Linguistic representation of the concept BERLIN WALL in German eonyms

The article is devoted to the study of linguistic representation of the concept BERLIN WALL in modern German. The main goal of the article is to identify and describe eonyms (key words of the epoch) that preserve the historical memory of the Berlin Wall in modern German. The material of the study was eonyms selected from the rating lists of the linguistic action of the German Language Society (Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache e. V.) «Word of the Year» for the period from 1978 to 2020, verbalizing the concept BERLIN WALL. The application of comparative-historical and descriptive methods made it possible to identify eonyms representing the result of linguistic reflection of the most important political phenomenon in modern German history. The article provides a linguocultural analysis of the selected eonyms in synchronic and diachronic aspects. The author describes the influence of the BERLIN WALL concept on the perception of East and West German citizens of each other, analyses the linguistic reflection of changes in political and social life in Germany in the critical era after German reunification. The description of the socio-historical contexts of the emergence of eonyms as representatives of the BERLIN WALL concept allows us to characterise the existing linguistic stereotypes in the German language. The analysis highlights the eonyms and their derivatives, which appear with certain cyclicity, linking historical events with each other and characterising the dynamic development of society and language. The unfolding of the meanings projected in the eonyms allows us to identify the most significant historical events reflected in the concept of BERLIN WALL, to interpret the differences in communicative behaviour between the inhabitants of East and West Germany.

Bilingual parafoveal processing: Children and adults preprocess orthographic information of the upcoming word during sentence reading in their first and second language.

Readers of different ages and across different languages routinely process information of upcoming words in a sentence, before their eyes move to fixate them directly (parafoveal processing). However, there is inconsistent evidence of similar parafoveal processing in a reader's second language (L2). In this eye movement study, the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975a) was used to test whether parafoveal processing of orthographic information is an integral part of both beginning and proficient L2 reading. The eye movements of beginning L2-learners (n = 53, aged 11-14 years) and highly proficient L2-users (n = 56, aged 19-65 years) were recorded while they read sentences in their first language (L1) German and L2 English. Sentences each contained a cognate target word (e.g., English: tunnel, German: Tunnel). The parafoveal preview of the targets either (a) preserved the spelling and meaning of the target (identity condition), (b) preserved letter identities but transposed the position of two adjacent letters (transposed-letter [TL] condition, e.g., tunenl/Tunenl), or substituted the identity of two adjacent letters (substituted-letter condition, e.g., tunocl/Tunocl). TL previews elicited longer early first-pass reading times than identity previews in both L1 and L2 reading in children and adults, suggesting that letter position was processed parafoveally. Substituted-letter previews resulted in longer reading times than TL previews in children and adults in L1 and L2, suggesting that letter identity information was processed independently of position information. These results suggest that letter position and identity information are extracted from the parafovea during L1 and L2 reading, facilitating word recognition in children and adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding the factors supporting language teachers’ sustained motivation until retirement

AbstractWhile many language teachers leave the profession early, others thrive and teach until retirement. Understanding how these teachers maintain their passion can help identify the support needed for their personal and professional growth. However, research on the factors behind their sustained happiness in the teaching profession is limited. The main objective of this qualitative study was to explore the beliefs and career stories of three recently retired German language teachers in Norway, recognized for their long‐term motivation and effective teaching over several decades. Data were generated from in‐depth semistructured interviews and analyzed through the lens of self‐determination theory. The analysis revealed that the teachers shared several key characteristics. First, they enjoyed a high degree of autonomy related to the choice of subject content and teaching approaches. Second, they perceived themselves as highly competent in the subject and expressed a passion for it. Third, they cherished being with students and managed to establish good relationships with them. The findings suggest that teachers should be aware of their basic psychological needs and reflect on how they can be fulfilled. Furthermore, school administrators should foster trust in teachers as autonomous professionals and actively support their competency development and relationships with students and colleagues.

The remodelling of u-stem adjectives in West Germanic

In Proto-Germanic, strong adjectives are declined according to stem type. The minor u­-stem class of adjectives is only preserved in Gothic, and even there it is under pressure from more frequent classes. In West Germanic, members of this class are redistributed into the common a-/ō-stem and ja-/jō-stem classes. The present study analysed the reflexes of all Proto-Germanic u-stem adjectives in Kroonen (2013) in the different West Germanic languages. It was found that a plurality are transferred into the ja-/jō-stem class in all languages. However, a considerable number of them have a-/ō-stem reflexes in some languages but ja-/jō-stem ones in others, while certain adjectives can show reflexes of both types within one language. Anglo-Frisian has the largest number of a-/ō-stem outcomes, and High German the most ja-/jō-stem ones, with Dutch and Low German falling somewhere in between. Therefore, the remodelling of u-stem adjectives necessarily postdates a period of West Germanic unity.

Zum Inhalt Und Zur Sprache Der Einträge Aus Den Jahren 1361-1380 Im Ältesten Stadtbuch Der Stadt Görlitz. On The Content And Language Of The Records From The Years 1361-1380 In The Oldest Chancery Book Of The Town Zgorzelec (Görlitz)

The article concerns a presentation of the content and of the results of the phonemic-graphemic analysis of the German records from the second half of the 14th century (1361-1380), which come from the town council of Zgorzelec (Görlitz). The purpose of the paper is to answer the question what the spelling rules in the town chancellery of Zgorzelec are and how the script fixes the features of the spoken language from the past. Due to the analysis, it could be explicitly proved, that the German used in the text matches to the level of evolution of the German language within the periodization of history of the language as it contains the standard Early New High German features as well as the dialectal structures and the sound changes, which are emblematic for the Silesian dialect. The text can therefore be classified as one of the linguistic monuments of the East Central German of Silesian tradition. All the conclusions of the study are supported with the suitable examples.

The Phonology of Mid Vowels in Germanic Languages

The Phonology of Mid Vowels in Germanic Languages

Language ideologies and proximity: The position of German in Dutch secondary schools

Abstract This paper presents ongoing research on German as a foreign language in secondary education in the Netherlands. Specifically, it discusses the question what the language-ideological construct of proximity can tell us about people’s willingness to invest in German language education in this country. The paper is based on quantitative data about the number of German language learners in Dutch secondary education, as well as on qualitative data about the discourse surrounding German as a subject in Dutch secondary education. Through the perspective of proximity, the paper highlights three aspects of these data. First, it highlights the language-ideological nature of the historical separation of Dutch and German as two distinct language varieties. Second, it underlines the apparent foreignness of German language-culture as an explanation for the decline in the number of German language learners in the Netherlands. Third, it highlights the uneven distribution of the proportion of German language learners in the Netherlands, which may be explained by differences in the perceived proximity of Germanness in different parts of the country. Ultimately, the paper invites other researchers to consider the value of the notion of proximity for applied linguistics.