Standard German is not always standard German – according to the Bund Bavarian Language, regionally influenced written German is still discriminated against. The dialect researchers also see the Bavarian state government as having an obligation here.
Konzell (dpa/lby) – The Bavarian language association is demanding more commitment from the state government against discrimination against regional languages. The value of “the dialect-based varieties of the southern German high-level language”, namely in Bavarian, Franconian and Swabian characteristics, should be emphasized, said Chairman Sepp Obermeier on the occasion of Mother Language Day (February 21).
According to Obermeier, one starting point is school lessons. In order to promote awareness of the existence and equivalence of regional forms of written German, the Bund Bairische Sprache proposes a handout from the Ministry of Education for German lessons. This could be based on the brochure “Österreichisches Deutsch” from the Austrian Ministry of Education.
It is not primarily about the dialect used orally, but about regional variants of standard German. Obermeier regrets that its use is not a matter of course in the Bavarian state government either. As an example, he cites the Ministry of Agriculture, which advertises the purchase of seasonal vegetables in a calendar, and then “in a federal German linguistic uniformity to carrots, beetroot and red cabbage instead of the South High German correct terms yellow beet, beetroot and red cabbage”.
According to Obermeier, people who speak Bavarian are discriminated against in many situations – be it at the university or on television, for example. It is unacceptable that on the one hand society – rightly – reacts more sensitively to possible discrimination against groups of people and on the other hand a Bavarian-speaking woman is devalued in an interview because she “speaks the ancient, infinitely valuable and beautiful cultural language of her country,” Obermeier criticized.
The Bund Bavarian Language, based in Konzell (district of Straubing-Bogen), is committed to promoting and preserving the Bavarian standard language and its dialects as a cultural asset and promoting local history and home care.