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INTERSECTION OF LANGUAGE WITH NATIONALISM AND JUSTICE IN GERMANY
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INTERSECTION
OF LANGUAGE WITH NATIONALISM AND JUSTICE IN GERMANY
AUTHORED
BY - HARSH
INTRODUCTION
This
research paper explores the relationship between language, nationalism, and
justice in Germany. The essay's first section discusses the crucial role of
language in German nationalism, emphasising the influence of Martin Luther's
use of common language during the Reformation and the subsequent rise in the
printing of his writings and pamphlets. The importance of language in forming
cultural identity and the German nation is emphasised in the study. It
discusses the variety of languages spoken in Germany, the importance of German,
and the difficulties and advantages of multilingualism, particularly for
immigrants. The effect of language on justice is also examined, with
particular attention paid to minority languages, prejudice, court cases, and
government initiatives to uphold and advance regional and minority languages.
The historical, cultural, and legal dimensions of language's involvement in
nationalism and justice are examined.
LANGUAGE AND NATIONALISM IN GERMANY
German
Nationalism advocates the idea of the unity of Germans and the German-speaking
population living in the nation. However, how to define the German nation has
been in conflict for a long time. The nation is a conceived order, a culturally
defined idea that determines people together as an amalgamation. However, this is
decided by certain criteria, giving an idea of a collective nation. If the said
criteria happens to be ethnic, then the nation would be known as an ethnic amalgamation;
if this criterion happens to be cultural, then the nation could be known by its
community and language[1].
This
paper explains how critical the role of language is in a nationalist movement.
Lepsius and Campbell discuss language as one criterion to unite nations. The
one thing to gather from here is that the authors talk about a cultural nation.
It stems from a belief that is based upon a shared cultural identity. “The
"cultural nation" is defined by cultural equality between human
beings. In German history, its importance has been seen occasionally in the relationship
of substitution and complementarity to the political nation-state. Faced with
the real experience of the political fragmentation of the cultural community
established by the German language”[2],
Lepsius and Campbell work on the idea that language forms the cultural aspect
of nationalism. Moreover, it unites a region's people as a unifying cultural
factor and has created divisions in the cultural community. However, there can still
be a formation of nationalism in these differences if we dwell in the history
of Germany.
Language
and Nationalism in Reformation
The
first movement that led to the idea of the German nation was the Reformation in
the 16th century, where there was an increase in literacy. Martin Luther, one
of the main contemporaries, wrote in vernacular. He wrote the 95 Theses, which
marked the beginning of the Reformation. “The 95 theses penned by Luther were
affixed to the doors of the castle and university church in Wittenberg on
October 31, 1517, which is widely acknowledged as the commencement of the
Reformation.”[3].
John
Schofield describes the role of Martin Luther in the Reformation, one of the
largest religious movements in Europe. He also wrote “To the Christian Nobility
of the German Nation” along with the translated Bible and other books at that
time, which were printed in German vernacular. He became the first best-seller
author. Language does play an important role in driving any movement. “Between 1517 and 1518, the inaugural year of the
Reformation, there was a remarkable 530 per cent surge in pamphlet production.
This growth continued swiftly until 1524, reaching an almost eight-fold
increase over these six years. The publication of Luther's works also
experienced a rapid rise, jumping from 87 printings in 1518 to a peak of 390
printings in 1523, eventually tapering off to around 200.”[4]
The analysis by author Mark Edwards and the statistics
provided in his book “Printing, Propaganda and Martin Luther” show the role of
language and how people could read and understand their vernacular language
instead of Latin in the previous texts before print technology. The print led
to the boom in ideas and propagation of knowledge in vernacular language. This Reformation
period is also regarded as when protestants and Catholics were divided on
linguistic grounds, and a new idea of the German nation was born here.
Language
and Nationalism in Today’s Germany.
Nationalism
gets affected by languages and languages are a part of people; Germany is the
home to German language, “Per the EU, the most widely spoken, native language
or mother tongue is German (16%), followed by Italian and English (13% each)”[5]
and “The five most widely spoken foreign languages are English (38%), French
(12%), German (11%), Spanish (7%) and Russian (5%), Germany is third here”[6].
“Germany is a pivotal European nation and a noteworthy participant in global
affairs. Leveraging its extensive diplomatic resources, the country actively
upholds multilateralism and international liberalism. It is crucial in prominent
global agreements such as the G7, G20, OECD, and NATO. As an economic
powerhouse in the European Union, Germany boasts one of the largest GDPs. Its
foreign policy places a persistent emphasis on European integration,
underscored by robust ties with France and other EU member states.”[7].
Due
to the position of Germany in the European Union, the German Language also
benefits, and the census shows the language's popularity in the EU. It has
marked its dominance, and the role of vernacular in Global markets has
increased, but even though vernacular has increased, it has created a problem
in Germany. “Language barriers are not particularly unique to Germany, but they
present a unique situation. The German education system and administration
procedure require a person to be well-versed in German.
This
also presents a situation in relatively advanced economies: “On average,
immigrants have a limited impact on economic indicators such as the GDP growth
rate, with their contribution being relatively low. However, this dynamic
undergoes a fundamental shift over time as immigrants enhance their linguistic
abilities, assimilate into the prevailing culture and language, and acquire the
necessary experience and skills for employment, according to data from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). The German government has undertaken
initiatives and implemented measures in response to this issue, but the
challenge persists.” Rafik Hariri tries to convey the language barrier between German
companies and people who are immigrating or working from outside their language
domain. German language preference in Germany, a unified nation, and
globalisation pitted against each other. Even though German is substantially
spoken in Germany, it is not the only language.
“The official language of Germany is Standard German, with over 95% of the population speaking German as
their first language. Minority languages include Sorbian, a language used
by 0.09% of the population in the east of Germany and North Frisian, spoken in
Nor Friesland by around 10,000 people, or 0.01%, who also speak German.
Danish is also spoken by 0.06% of people, mainly along the German-Danish
border. Romani, an indigenous language, is spoken by around 0.08%.
Immigrant languages include Turkish, which is spoken by around 1.8%, and
Kurdish, by 0.3%.”
Role of Dialects
However, the German spoken widely is Standard; it has certain
dialects that we need to see to realise the depth of this language. Graphically,
the language situation in Germany could be represented in the following way: in
the centre, there is a circle, representing the standard German (High German),
divided into various sections like a pie chart. The sections form the dialects
used in Germany. There are 16 big dialect groups, including Bavarian,
Alemannic, Upper Saxon, Brandenburg, etc. One does not need to go too far to
see another dialect, which is quite different and could be difficult to
understand, even for Germans with German as their native language.
There has been a possibility of switching to the standard
language. Nevertheless, people of the same region are more likely to speak in a
dialect. Ekaterina and Svetlana research the situation in Germany on various
dialects and find out that these dialects are multiple languages in themselves
and come under the umbrella term “German”. “A dialect is closely connected to where a person was born.
Thus, it becomes a part of their personality and their upbringing. It is relatively
easier for a person to express their thoughts or to conduct a soul conversation
in a dialect than in high German. Two people speaking the same dialect feel a
certain connection because they have a common background and a similar way of
thinking.”[8]
The authors and researchers talked to a person in Berlin to
understand the present condition of dialects and find out how dialects work in
different areas. Moreover, how different dialects change the effective lives of
people in those areas. However, these dialects have been constantly changing,
too, with the ongoing globalisation in Germany. “Based
on interviews with some of the few remaining speakers of the dialect of the
German-speaking linguistic island of Moundridge, Kansas, Michael T. Putnam, ‘Dative Case Maintenance in
Moundridge Schweitzer German via Restructuring’,
ZDL, 79:43–64, shows that a small group of the most competent speakers use a
particular definite article that serves both as the third person singular
possessive pronoun and as a dative definite article, while a larger group of
less competent speakers mark nouns in the dative by using prepositional
phrases.”[9]
The
authors, Alan Scott and Marc Pierce, studied investigations, reports, and surveys.
They conducted interviews to understand the changes in dialects and how
language is being affected by modernisation, globalisation, and even
television. To understand these ongoing differences arising between the
standard language and dialects. The dialects are regional in German but uphold
a cultural and symbolic representation there. “Dialects play an important role
in connecting the life of German people.
They
help them to preserve their identity and culture in this ever-changing world.
Dialects stay stable, whereas Standard German undergoes permanent influence from
outside, mostly from the English language. Through dialects, adults and
children feel connected to their homeland. One should do their best to
contribute to protecting the culture through speaking dialects and preserving
local specialities.”[10]
The authors reached this conclusion after studying dialects and understanding
their importance in people's day-to-day lives. However, it is not limited to
that. These dialects give a feeling of nationalism, unity, and connection to
their land in Germany. They preserve the cultural heritage for which their
ancestors fought hard. This is an image explaining just how diverse the
dialects in Germany are.[11]
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LANGUAGE AND JUSTICE
Multilingualism in Germany
According to the Council of Europe, “Minority languages within the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in the Federal Republic of Germany
are Danish, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, North Frisian and Sater Frisian
languages and the Romany language of the German Sinti and Roma; a regional
language within the meaning of the Charter in the Federal Republic shall be the
Low German language.”[12] These are the languages given the
status of minority languages. Germany’s (single) national official
language is German. “There is a dominance of German in schools, politics, the
legal system, administration, and the entire written public domain, which is so
great that not having a coherent language policy was not considered an issue
for a long time. State restraint in this area is somewhat due to historical reasons
and also because it has been promoted by the federal system in Germany, which
grants the federal states far-reaching responsibilities in education and
culture.
More recently,
multilingualism among the population has increased, resulting in a growing
interest in understanding the language situation in Germany and (in particular)
taking a closer look at the different minority languages. In 2017, for the
first time in about 80 years, there was a question on the language of the
population in the German micro census.”[13]
Adler and Beyel explain how the German population, strictly speaking German,
has created a system accessible to the German population.
Importance of German Language
People who come as
immigrants to the Nation of Germany need to learn German to prosper in the
nation eventually, be it any field – administration, politics or legal system.
Minorities still face ethnic and racial discrimination in Germany even after so
many legal policies have been made for the prevention of this racism. “Germany has had a
mixed record when it comes to migrant’s participation in electoral politics.
At the federal
level, the numbers have increased in recent years, except for Berlin, where
they are small and stagnant at the state level. Even at the federal level, the
number of representatives with a non-ethnic German background remains a very
small percentage when viewed against the background of the significant number
of migrants in the German population.”[14]
Barbara Donovan explains how politics affects the
non-German population’s lives. Most of these non-ethnic immigrants
do not speak German as their first language. Germany has its fair share of
problems with language and race criteria. “The government of the Federal
Republic of Germany considers national minorities to be groups of the
population that meet five criteria: The community members are German nationals,
i.e., they differ from the majority population because they have their
language, culture and history, meaning their own identity; they wish to maintain
this identity; they are traditionally resident in Germany, and they live in the
traditional settlement areas.
The institutions of
the nation-state identify national minorities, and they are defined by
citizenship. However, any national
minority in Germany has ethnic or linguistic characteristics differing from the
majority.”[15].
Dieter Kugelmann, in his research, found out about what constitutes the
national minorities and also tried to explain how the minorities are not as
collective, and this seriously had effects, as the German-speaking population
is more and well united in terms of both language and ethnicity. The feeling of
oneness is what the language provides to a group of people.
In recent times,
though, the government has taken steps to protect language rights among the
community and provide their language with a head start to compete with the
German-speaking population. A press
release by the Council of Europe states that
“Following a visit in May 2018 and discussions with German government and civil
society representatives over the progress made since their
last report, the Committee of Experts say
that the protection and promotion of regional and minority languages is a topic
which “regularly receives” attention from German authorities. The experts
praise several Länder for positive
initiatives, including Schleswig-Holstein, which amended its Constitution and
put Danish minority schools on an equal footing with public schools regarding
public funding.
They praise an
amendment to the Land Administration Act, which enables submitting applications
or documents in Low German, North Frisian or Danish to national, regional or
local authorities.” This report suggests that Germany has been making changes not
only in the public sphere by funding schools and providing safety to minority
languages but also in the legal spheres by adding Regional and Minority
languages in important acts. These changes can also be there because of the
history of Germany.
The Courts in
Germany operate in the German language. Germany follows the civil law system
and has codified the statutes. The German constitution is known as “Grundgesetz’ roughly translated to
“Basic Law”. A German committee created the German constitution, and the
Federal Ministry of Justice issued the German public gazette, publishing the
basic law for the German population in 1949.
Image-
Bundesgesetzblatt gazette stating basic laws on 23rd
May 1949 after adopting basic law.
Law and German Language
“In German courts, the official language is German. In many
cases, the parties are hesitant to agree on German jurisdiction. The non-German
party often feels uncomfortable litigating contractual relationships
established in English before a German court in German.”[16] This situation happened in Germany in 2010 when the North
Rhine-Westphalia government proposed a bill to make English a language for
business-related cases. This problem had a solution – According
to the ZPO in Germany, court proceedings must be conducted in German only.
“However, there is an exception to this general rule: If both parties forgo
their rights to translators, they can get the court proceeding to go on in
their preferred native language.
The
state of North Rhine-Westphalia decided to use this exception and establish special
chambers to conduct hearings in English if requested by the parties.”[17]
The provision in the Code of Civil Procedure does help minority language
speakers: they can get a trial in their native language if they forgo their
right to have translators. However, in this German-English case, it is more of
a struggle between two giants – English, which is Universally spoken and
German, a widely spoken language in Germany; having them compete does not much
help the cause of Danish, Sorbian and Frisian groups and the German Sinti
and Roma groups who speak minority languages.
However, In the case of Germany, due to the
presence of section 1045 of ZPO (Code of Civil Procedure), which states, “(1)
The parties may agree on the language(s) to be used in the arbitration
proceedings. Absent such agreement, the arbitral tribunal shall determine the
language of the proceedings. Unless otherwise provided for therein, the
agreement of the parties or the determination by the arbitral tribunal shall
govern the written declarations submitted by a party, the hearings, arbitration
awards, other decisions, and other communications of the arbitral tribunal. (2) The arbitral tribunal may direct that any evidence
submitted in writing must be accompanied by a translation into the language(s)
that the parties have agreed on or that the arbitral tribunal has determined.”[18]. It saves the people from getting exploited in the court
just because they cannot speak German. Moreover, it provides them with translators;
if that is not an option, the court may decide the proceedings to go in the
minority or native language. The German law system also has other language
legislations.
There
are not many subsidiary laws present in the basic law of Germany that recognise
the official status of the German language. Section (1) of §184 of the Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz
(Courts Act) states that German is the language used in court. The §23 section
(1) of the Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz
stipulates German as the language to be used in public administration, and this
particular act applies to 16 Federal states in Germany. However, the
constitution has no particular role for the German language, nor are there any
other higher-level legal regulations.
There
are three reasons for this: I) During the period of National Socialism,
language policies were abused to control and divide the population and gain
power over neighbouring countries. This history made it very difficult for
Germany, after the war, to keep the German language as a “pure” language or
make policies and laws regarding only preserving German (Marten, 2016, p. 145).
2) Germany is a federal republic. This gives the Federal States control over
laws regarding cultural sovereignty. 3) Thirdly, provided an overwhelming
German speaker, “the dominant position of German is perceived as normal and
unnecessary to mention” (Marten, 2016, p. 145; author’s translation); thus, it
is not considered necessary to state a law on this.”
This
also makes it difficult for the country to have a single language as a whole.”
according to the analysis by Adler and Beyer, the Language German does not get
a special preference in the constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the
grounds of language but due to an overwhelming majority speaking the language
German, it is assumed to be the popular choice, and the language with a wide
appeal to masses. Most popular culture cater to the German-speaking masses in
Germany. Most German universities also try to encourage people to study German
before taking admission tests in Germany and clear a German exam. This is the
multilinguistic approach, but it will only force the Minority speakers to study
and read in German and become multilingual.
Also,
most of these policies focus on the population who speak the minority language
rather than the minority language itself. “There is little evidence of biased
treatment at the front end of the criminal process even though differential
treatment can be observed in prison regimes. Discriminatory treatment occurs
also in the use of offensive language or harassing behaviour that may not
affect the actual outcomes, but may be destructive of relations between
minorities and justice agencies[19].”
After going through various surveys and police records, Hans
concluded that empirical data alone does not suggest that people from minority
communities get treated differently by the German legal system. However, there
is harassment and police authoritative punishments and brutality in some
prisons, and also verbal harassment was not taken into account, which many
people may have faced.
Germany
provides not only protection but also promotion of minority languages. Germany
signed “the Charta for Regional and minority language” in the Council of Europe
in 1992, one of the first to do so. Moreover, it is also making progress every
passing year. Almost all its indigenous folks speak German in Germany but speak
it in different dialects according to their regions. Most of the minority
languages are from refugees or foreign immigrants, and in the 21st century,
Germany is one of the most inclusive places for immigrants.
Though
most of the workforce in Germany is required to have German understanding, “The
German govt. has made huge efforts to accommodate a massive influx of refugees,
asylum seekers and foreign nationals and to provide them with necessary
government services and policies. While Germany does give language training and
schooling, the longer-term challenge is ensuring these policies are effective
and giving these immigrants a way to integrate into the economy, which is a
difficult thing to do. However, till this time, Germany has done a good job of
dealing with this crisis.”[20]
There
are also laws to protect regional and minority languages. Article 3 of Basic
Law prohibits any form of discrimination on Language, and The Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, signed with the Council
of Europe, oversees languages mainly regarding foreign nationals who are immigrants
and speak minority languages.
CONCLUSION
Analysing
these articles, the researcher concludes that language does play a part in
Nationalism, as it unites the people and could even bring a revolution. The
deeper one goes into this language, the more one realises how it impacted
German History. Although Nationalism has become a sort of taboo debate in Germany
after the fall of Nazi Germany in World War II, the collectiveness and a sort
of oneness language, in Germany’s case German, has brought to the people living
here is extraordinary. Even though the dialects of German change region by
region, the essence of language remains the same. Young children know they have
different dialects, but to them, it brings them closer to their culture and
Nation. German, due to Germany’s powerful position in the EU and the world, and
also because an overwhelming majority speaks German in the country, is the most
spoken vernacular language and third most spoken language in the EU.
However,
when a vast majority of people speak a single official language, minorities
fear for their treatment in that situation, that they will not get justice from
the state. Also, the government has a problem preserving and protecting these
minority languages while maintaining the efficiency of the official and widely
spoken languages. German government and court both deal with this in a good
manner. The government has made policies for the promotion and preservation of
National Minorities' languages both nationally and internationally, and it has
also opened asylums, invited refugees to live in Germany, and made more laws
and policies to safeguard their living standards in Germany by providing them
schooling and knowledge of the German language too.
The
German courts have done a good job, and German law itself has some good
statutes that help minority language speakers get justice without the barrier
of language; even though German laws and legislations are present in German
languages, there are certain provisions for the translation and accessibility
in other minority languages. There are also amendments in the basic laws to
provide more rights.
In
terms of empirical data, there is not much about the systematic discrimination
of languages in German. However, hate speech and racism are still a part of
Germany, and there is not much of a debate over national language. German is
the most spoken language, with 95% of people speaking standard German.
Language does affect Justice, like Nationalism, but how language problems are
handled also matters. Germany has some major issues, such as the dominance of Germany
over socio and political situations and not having a single opposition to
Germany. Germany did better than most countries but still has many more miles.
[1]M. Rainer Lepsius and Jean A. Campbell, The Nation and Nationalism in
Germany, 71(3)
SOCIAL RESEARCH 481, 481-482 (2004).
[9]
Alan Scott and Marc Pierce,
German Studies: Language and Linguistics,
76 Y.W.M.L.S. 281-293, 289 (2014.
[12]Council
of Europe. [COE], Reservations and Declarations for
Treaty No.148 - European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
[13] Astrid Adler & Rahel Beyer, Languages
and language policies in Germany, H.A.S. 221, 221
(2017).
[15] Dieter Kugelmann, The Protection of Minorities and Indigenous
Peoples Respecting Cultural Diversity, Max Planck Y.U.N.L.O
233, 238 (2007).
[16] Miriam Lichstein & Oliver Seyd, English as an official language in German
courts: lost in translation? I.L.O, Apr. 06, 2010.
[18]
Code of Civil Procedure as promulgated on 5 December 2005 (Bundesgesetzblatt
(BGBl., Federal Law Gazette) I page 3202; 2006 I page 431; 2007 I page 1781),
last amended by Article 1 of the Act dated 10 October 2013 (Federal Law Gazette
I page 3786).
[19]Hans-Jörg Albrecht, Ethnic Minorities, Crime, and Criminal Justice
in Germany, 21 The University of Chicago Press 31, 88
(1997).
Article Information
INTERSECTION OF LANGUAGE WITH NATIONALISM AND JUSTICE IN GERMANY
Authors: HARSH
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/01/30
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
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- ISSN 2582-6433
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