Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt by Ulrich Ammon (review)

When one hears the term "global language," English, French, and Spanish may first come to mind, perhaps also Latin, if one is thinking historically. Each of these languages, at one time or another, has served as a written and oral international lingua franca facilitated especially through commercial and political networks, including those emerging from colonialism. In his masterful study, Ulrich Ammon, professor emeritus at the University of Duisburg-Essen, documents in impressive detail the contemporary status of German as a global language, whose sociolinguistic situation resembles in some respects those of linguae francae like the four languages named above, but also differs in interesting ways.

It is fair to say that the global reach of German has to do with the main factors of science, commerce, and most importantly, migration, though mainly under non-imperial circumstances. As is familiar to students of Central European history, German-speaking countries, especially the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, played a negligible role in colonialism outside of Europe when compared with many of their European neighbors, especially Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal, and also Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Italy. Given the problematic post-colonial legacy in places such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, modern-day Germany and Austria (which had almost no colonial presence outside of Europe) are largely spared the burden of historical colonial transgressions, with the notable exception of the infamous Herero and Nama genocide perpetrated by German imperial forces in German South West Africa (today, Namibia).

Ammon's study focuses on the contemporary situation of German around the world with just enough references to history to provide context. This is a laudable decision, given the volume's bulk. In addition to discussing German with respect to science, commerce, and migration, Ammon also looks at German in the European countries in which it has official status, namely Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, as well as Belgium and Italy. And the geographic scope is expanded considerably to include Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas, where forms of German are spoken by the descendants of migrants and/or taught in schools.

The book is divided into twelve major chapters with each containing multiple sections. The first two chapters provide readers with an excellent overview of the conceptual themes that extend over the roughly one thousand pages of empirical discussion that follow. In the first chapter, "The German Language in the Interplay between National Interests and Global Communication: Explanation of Concepts and Theoretical Approaches" (1-105, all chapter titles translated from German), the book's overall focus on the current situation of German worldwide is emphasized, with much attention paid to its competition with global English. Important concepts discussed in this chapter include the differences between a "native language" or "mother tongue" (Muttersprache), a "second language" (Zweitsprache), and a "foreign language" (Fremdsprache). Ammon in this chapter also considers a number of factors that guide speakers, both individually and in groups, to make the decision, consciously or unconsciously, to use languages in different situations. The choice to use one language over another (e.g., English or German in the workplace or in music) confers some kind of benefit to the speakers (e.g., economic success or popular acclaim). What I find refreshing in this chapter and throughout the book is Ammon's recognition that adult speakers use a language less because they are compelled to and more as a matter of choice; this is especially true for second- or foreign-language learners. Contrary to the views of language purists who decry the spread of global English, speakers of languages such as German are not the victims of an Anglo-American conspiracy and their willing helpers at firms such as Deutsche Bahn to eliminate cultural and linguistic diversity. Yes, the status of German as a global language today is not what it was a century ago, but by no means has the language lost its international...