Gender-inclusive language as an object of discourse in Austria

The question of whether the German language discriminates against non-male persons is not only a linguistic debate, but closely intertwined with political and social issues. In this PHD project, the discourse on this topic in Austria is analysed with a focus on language ideology.

The data are selected articles, letters to the editor and online comments on newspaper websites on the topic of gender-inclusive language in Austria in the years 2014–2018. The methods are based on the multi-layered discourse analysis (DIMEAN) by Spitzmüller/Warnke (2011), which combines intratextual and  transtextual analyses with the analysis of agents in a discourse.

The poster gives an overview of the study design and shows first results concerning the lexemes used to identify supporters of gender-inclusive language and how they are combined to create specific social types.

References

• Spitzmüller, Jürgen &  Ingo H. Warnke (2011): Diskurslinguistik. Eine Einführung in Theorien und Methoden der transtextuellen Sprachanalyse. Berlin, Boston: de Gruyter (de Gruyter Studium). dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110229967.