Von “hinichen” und honorablen Sprachen: Variationen, ihre Linguistiken und verbale Deixissysteme

Abstract

This essay addresses in general lines the issue of variance within some languages and how such variances are linked systematically, i.e., on the basis of some general abstract theoretical pattern, with the standard language. Several such variances are illustrated ranging from regiolects to sociolects of German, and it is shown what the abstract pattern is that serves as the base of description of the standard as well as the sociolectal and regiolectal variances. The main body of the text is dedicated to a specific criterion of variation, namely the deictic features in the grammars of COME and GO in German, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. To the extent that the five languages deviate considerably from one another in choosing one against the other of the two verbs of motion, an inventory of sociopragmatic conditions has been uncovered which plays the guiding role in selecting deictic alternatives and which can be considered to be of universal status. The bottom line is that there are conditions, beyond those of semantic and grammatical selection, i.e., sociopragmatic ones which systematically determine choices from some well-conditioned lexical paradigms.