Glossen

by Gabriele Eckart

Karl Corino. Tieffluggebiet: Gedichte in Ehinger Mundart. Tübingen: Edition Brennhessel, 2019, 164 pages. 

As is well known, the dispersion of identity in Germany as a result of globalization has brought about a corresponding need to find one’s own regional identity. As recent scholarship, above all work by Peter Pabisch, has shown, this is true in regions all over Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — exemplified by waves of new “Mundartliteratur” representing almost all German dialects. 

Karl Corino (internationally famous as a Robert Musil scholar) recently published a volume of poetry written in East Franconian dialect under the title Tieffluggebiet. In 110 poems, the poet is reclaiming his Franconian identity by exploring the local life of the village Ehingen in its entirety, which includes the dialect. By describing village life, Corino is attempting to acquire a specific Franconian perspective in looking at the world. 

A valuable addition to the collection of poems are photographs of the village and its inhabitants during different historical periods and an essay titled “Vom literarischen Volksvermögen des ostfränkischen Dialekts.” In this wonderful text, the author describes how he remembers growing up in this dialect and learning other languages (including standard German) only afterward, a process that entailed his translating things back into the dialect if he wanted to understand. Looking back, the author emphasizes that regarding certain words the dialect had a superior ability “zur doppelten Abbildung” compared to standard German as, for instance, the verb “sorfa” for scuffing one’s shoes. Still today, living away from where East Franconian is spoken, Corino is amazed by its astonishing ability to depict certain circumstances of daily life as well as states of consciousness. His favorite stanza that he remembers when he feels blue is: “Und wenn i an mei Elend denk / und an mein linka Fuaß, / nocht steigt mer ds Herz in Kemich nauf / und werd mer voller Ruaß” (146). In detail, Corino also demonstrates how the dialect mirrors social and economic circumstances and their changes over time. A good example is how viperous Franconian sayings about the uselessness of old farmers whose death is wished for by their families have been disappearing since there is retirement pay and material security for old people. As Corino notes, the world view still conveyed by some of these doggerel verses found in Ehingen has touches that are politically incorrect from today’s point of view, as, for instance, derogative references to Jews. 

Corino’s poems are organized in eleven chapters. Chapter I, titled “Tieffluggebiet,” is perhaps politically most relevant. The poems in this part describe the villagers’ reaction to the noise made by Starfighter airplanes. As Corino explains in the essay: 

Meine mittelfränkische Heimat war lange Jahre Tieffluggebiet, in der die Bundeswehr in 50 oder 60 Metern Flughöhe für künftige Flugeinsätze das Heranhuschen über Waldwipfeln und das Unterfliegen des gegnerischen Radars probte – eine höllische Lärmbelastung für Mensch und Tier mit z. T. erschreckenden Folgen.  

The noise stopped only after German reunification when the drill grounds were moved to  East Germany. Sarcastically, Corino notes: “Meine Texte hätten den Betroffenen aus der halb betäubten Seele sprechen können, so man sie nicht ins Mecklen- oder Brandenburgerische hätte übersetzen müssen.” One of the poems reads: “Die Silberfuchsweibli fressa / wenn’s immer so knallt / ihr eichne Junga / ratzabutz // I wart bloß drauf / dass d’ Leit des / mit ihre Kinder / grad aso toa” (9).  

In part II, titled “Waldsterben,” the poet mirrors ecological circumstances that seem to be something new to the farmers in Ehingen; employing black humor, he reflects on the health of the “Bemm” (trees) and the villagers’ concerns about it. Besides the black humor, most poems in the volume are characterized by a strong onomatopoeic charm. The most touching poems are based on the daily life of the poet’s mother, daughter of an innkeeper and later wife of a farmer, who continued living in the village long after Corino had moved away. According to my judgement, the ten poems about her hands (collected in part III titled “Die grenne Hend”) are the most convincing in the volume. In his essay, Corino also discusses the question of what happens to your dialect after you stop speaking it, missing sound shifts and other linguistic changes; does it not petrify? “Spreche ich als Landflüchtiger innerlich womöglich ein versteinerndes Ehingerisch?” The author’s question remains unanswered.  

In fact, “Herbschtkatza,” about cats born in late fall is my favorite poem; these cats are usually in poor health and useless at a farm as mousers. Looking at them, the poet is wondering about himself and his brother who were born in November and December. The last stanza reads: “Aber bo da Leit is des ja was / ganz anders selbscht wenn sie / abkatza meassa ihr Lebtach” (57). The verb “abkatza” means “to travail” or “to slave away”; the text draws its charm from the interplay of the words “katza” and “abkatza”; translated into standard language it would be much less attractive. As a native speaker of Vogtländisch (a dialect with similarities to Franconian), I had no problems giving meaning to most words. Nevertheless, a short glossary in the end of the book would have improved its value for non-Franconian readers. Regarding the letters printed in Italics in some words, as for instance in “meassa,” Corino explains “kursiv gesetzte Laute müssen leicht nasaliert ausgesprochen werden.” With the help of this difference in pronunciation, Franconians can differentiate immediately between words that are written identically. 

In 2011, Corino received the prestigious Nikolaus-Lenau-Preis for his volume of poetry In Bebons Tal, written in standard German. As Corino points out in his essay, these poems also contained a few Franconian expressions and existential concerns that are typical for this region. Interestingly to him, professors of German studies in the US when reviewing Bebons Tal did not seem to understand this intermingling of idioms and concerns to a degree that leads one to wonder: do they not understand the clash of civilizations inside of Germany, namely “den von agrarischem Mittelalter, das in Franken bis in die 1950er Jahre dauerte, und von postagrarischer Moderne” (157)? In Tieffluggebiet, this clash is the leitmotif, reflected in all chapters of the volume and forming a red thread. 

For scholars of German studies who are specializing in literature written in dialect, Corino’s volume is a valuable source of information.