Deutsche Sprachkultur

This volume supplements existing histories of German by concentrating on contemporary evaluations of the language through the various stages of its evolution. Initially, in the 8th century, it is regarded as barbaric and unsuitable either for praising God or for the creation of poetry. In the High Middle Ages, German then models itself on foreign examples and advances first to the status of a national language and later to international standing. The efforts at conscious cultivation of the l ...