Everyday language as a subject of research
The Atlas of German Everyday Language (AdA) is a long-term linguistic project investigating regional variation in contemporary German. The focus is not on classical dialects, but on what people actually say in everyday life, i.e. colloquial words, phrases and forms. The Atlas thus closes an important gap between dialect research and standard language description. Data is collected via online surveys in which participants from across the German-speaking world can take part. The responses are then statistically evaluated and visualised on interactive maps. This reveals which variants dominate in each region, where transition zones are located and how great the linguistic diversity is, even for seemingly simple everyday terms. The information presented in this feature is based on an email exchange with Prof. Dr. Stephan Elspa? and Prof. Dr. Robert M?ller (University of Salzburg / Université de Liège) as well as on content and maps from the Atlas of Everyday Language project (https://www.atlas-alltagssprache.de).
Bremen in the Atlas: Not very local, but revealing
Looking at the maps in the Atlas again, it becomes clear that variants specific to Bremen are rare. This result is not surprising. Larger cities in particular often show linguistic levelling, as they are characterised by mobility, migration and media standardisation. Regional characteristics are thus weakened or merge into larger regional patterns. One of the few exceptions can be found on a map from round 2 (question 11) that is now around twenty years old. The question asked was: ‘What do you call the safe place in the game of tag?’ The term ‘Lu’ was mentioned here from Bremen and Oldenburg. However, no separate point appears on the map for this, as other variants were more common in the respective regions. Nevertheless, this finding is remarkable because it shows that local expressions also exist in Bremen, but they are not dominant enough to stand out on the map.
Typical North (West) German: Bremen in a regional context
Patterns typical of northern and north-western Germany are much more evident in the atlas than individual local phenomena. Many of the variants commonly used in Bremen are also found in Lower Saxony, Hamburg and parts of Westphalia. These include vocabulary variants with a Low German background as well as certain function words and idioms. This is particularly interesting for linguistics because it reveals large-scale connections: Bremen appears less as an isolated language area and more as part of a supra-regional North German continuum. The atlas makes these connections visible and allows urban language areas such as Bremen to be placed in a larger geographical and historical context.
Participation welcome: The current round 14
The Atlas of Everyday German Language is currently in round 14, which will run until around January/February 2026. This means that now is the perfect time to contribute to the data pool by participating. Experience has shown that many people use the holiday season and the turn of the year to take part in the surveys. A particular attraction of the project is that the results are published just a few weeks after the end of a round. Participants can see in real time how their answers compare regionally and what new linguistic patterns are emerging. The Atlas of Everyday Language impressively demonstrates how diverse and at the same time systematic everyday language use in German is. Even though Bremen has only a few clearly local variants, the region is an important part of the North German language area. Each participation expands the database and contributes to further research into language as a living cultural phenomenon. Round 14 now offers an ideal opportunity for this.
Clara Forquignon is in her third semester of a master's degree in Vocational Education in Nursing Science/German Studies at the University of Bremen. This feature was created in a seminar on online journalism. The idea to promote participation in the 14th round of questions for the Atlas of German Everyday Language developed in a seminar on teaching methodology focusing on language varieties in German lessons.
