{"id":7611,"date":"2021-11-12T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T17:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/?page_id=7611"},"modified":"2024-03-13T07:05:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T11:05:25","slug":"rezension-karl-corino-tieffluggebiet-gedichte-in-ehringer-mundart","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/archive\/glossen-48\/rezension-karl-corino-tieffluggebiet-gedichte-in-ehringer-mundart\/","title":{"rendered":"Buchbesprechung | Karl Corino. Tieffluggebiet: Gedichte in Ehringer Mundart"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Gabriele Eckart<\/strong><\/p>\n

Karl<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Corino.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Tieffluggebiet: Gedichte in Ehinger Mundart<\/span><\/span><\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>T\u00fcbingen: Edition\u00a0<\/span>Brennhessel<\/span>, 2019, 164 pages.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As is well known, the dispersion of identity in Germany\u00a0as a result of\u00a0globalization has brought about a corresponding need to find one\u2019s own regional identity. As recent scholarship, above all\u00a0work\u00a0by Peter\u00a0Pabisch, has shown, this is true in regions all over Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — exemplified by waves of new \u201cMundartliteratur\u201d representing almost all German dialects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Karl\u00a0Corino\u00a0(internationally famous as a Robert\u00a0Musil\u00a0scholar) recently published a volume of poetry written in East Franconian dialect under the title\u00a0<\/span>Tieffluggebiet.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0In 110 poems, the poet is reclaiming his Franconian identity by exploring the local life of the\u00a0village\u00a0Ehingen\u00a0in its entirety, which includes the dialect. By describing village life,\u00a0Corino\u00a0is attempting\u00a0to acquire a specific Franconian perspective in looking at the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A valuable addition to the collection of poems are photographs of the village and its inhabitants during different historical periods and an essay titled \u201cVom\u00a0literarischen\u00a0Volksverm\u00f6gen\u00a0des\u00a0ostfr\u00e4nkischen\u00a0Dialekts.\u201d 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 \u201czur\u00a0doppelten\u00a0Abbildung\u201d compared to standard German as, for instance, the verb \u201csorfa\u201d for scuffing one\u2019s shoes. Still today, living away from where East Franconian is\u00a0spoken,\u00a0Corino\u00a0is 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: \u201cUnd\u00a0wenn\u00a0i\u00a0an\u00a0me<\/span>i<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Elend\u00a0denk\u00a0\/ und an\u00a0mein\u00a0linka\u00a0Fua\u00df, \/\u00a0nocht\u00a0steigt\u00a0mer\u00a0ds\u00a0Herz\u00a0in\u00a0Kemich\u00a0nauf\u00a0\/ und\u00a0werd\u00a0mer\u00a0voller\u00a0Rua\u00df\u201d (146). In detail,\u00a0Corino\u00a0also 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.\u00a0As\u00a0Corino\u00a0notes, the world view still conveyed by some of these doggerel verses found in\u00a0Ehingen\u00a0has touches that are politically incorrect from today\u2019s point of view, as, for instance, derogative references to Jews.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Corino\u2019s\u00a0poems are organized in eleven chapters. Chapter I, titled \u201cTieffluggebiet,\u201d is perhaps politically most relevant. The poems in this part describe the villagers\u2019 reaction to the noise made by Starfighter airplanes.\u00a0<\/span>As\u00a0Corino\u00a0explains\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0essay:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meine mittelfr\u00e4nkische Heimat war lange Jahre Tieffluggebiet, in der die Bundeswehr in 50 oder 60 Metern Flugh\u00f6he f\u00fcr k\u00fcnftige Flugeins\u00e4tze das Heranhuschen \u00fcber Waldwipfeln und das Unterfliegen des gegnerischen Radars probte \u2013 eine h\u00f6llische L\u00e4rmbelastung f\u00fcr Mensch und Tier mit z. T. erschreckenden Folgen.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The noise stopped only after German reunification when the drill grounds were moved\u00a0to\u00a0\u00a0East\u00a0Germany.\u00a0<\/span>Sarcastically,\u00a0Corino\u00a0notes: \u201cMeine Texte h\u00e4tten den Betroffenen aus der halb bet\u00e4ubten Seele sprechen k\u00f6nnen, so man sie nicht ins\u00a0Mecklen- oder\u00a0Brandenburgerische\u00a0h\u00e4tte \u00fcbersetzen m\u00fcssen.\u201d\u00a0One\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0poems\u00a0reads: \u201cDie\u00a0Silberfuchsweibli\u00a0fressa\u00a0\/ wenn\u2019s immer so knallt \/ ihr\u00a0eichne\u00a0Junga \/\u00a0ratzabutz\u00a0\/\/ I wart blo\u00df drauf\u00a0\/\u00a0dass d\u2019\u00a0Leit\u00a0des \/\u00a0mit ihre Kinder\u00a0\/ grad\u00a0aso\u00a0t<\/span>oa<\/span><\/i>\u201d (9).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In part II, titled \u201cWaldsterben,\u201d the poet mirrors ecological circumstances that seem to be something new to the farmers in\u00a0Ehingen; employing black humor, he reflects on the health of the \u201cBemm\u201d (trees) and the villagers\u2019 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\u2019s mother, daughter of an innkeeper and later wife of a farmer, who continued living in the village long after\u00a0Corino\u00a0had moved away. According to my judgement, the ten poems about her hands (collected in part III titled \u201cDie\u00a0grenne\u00a0Hend\u201d) are the most convincing in the volume. In his essay,\u00a0Corino\u00a0also discusses the question of what happens to your dialect after you stop\u00a0speaking it, missing sound shifts and other linguistic changes; does it not petrify?\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSpreche ich als\u00a0Landfl\u00fcchtiger\u00a0innerlich wom\u00f6glich ein versteinerndes\u00a0Ehingerisch?\u201d The\u00a0author\u2019s\u00a0question\u00a0remains\u00a0unanswered.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cHerbschtkatza,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/span>The last\u00a0stanza\u00a0reads: \u201cAber\u00a0bo\u00a0da\u00a0Leit\u00a0is\u00a0des ja was \/ ganz anders\u00a0selbscht\u00a0wenn sie \/\u00a0abkatza\u00a0m<\/span>ea<\/span><\/i>ssa\u00a0ihr\u00a0Lebtach\u201d (57).\u00a0<\/span>The verb \u201cabkatza\u201d means \u201cto travail\u201d or \u201cto slave away\u201d; the text draws its charm from the interplay of the words \u201ckatza\u201d and \u201cabkatza\u201d; translated into standard language it would be much less attractive. As a native speaker of\u00a0Vogtl\u00e4ndisch\u00a0(a dialect with similarities to Franconian), I had no problems giving meaning to most words. Nevertheless, a\u00a0short 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 \u201cm<\/span>ea<\/span><\/i>ssa,\u201d\u00a0Corino\u00a0explains \u201ckursiv\u00a0gesetzte\u00a0Laute\u00a0m\u00fcssen\u00a0leicht\u00a0nasaliert\u00a0ausgesprochen\u00a0werden.\u201d With the help of this difference in pronunciation,\u00a0Franconians\u00a0can differentiate immediately between words that are written identically.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2011,\u00a0Corino\u00a0received the prestigious Nikolaus-Lenau-Preis\u00a0for his volume of poetry\u00a0<\/span>In\u00a0Bebons\u00a0Tal<\/span><\/i>, written in standard German. As\u00a0Corino\u00a0points out in his essay, these poems also contained a few Franconian expressions and existential concerns that are typical for this region.\u00a0Interestingly to him, professors of German studies in the US when reviewing\u00a0<\/span>Bebons\u00a0Tal<\/span><\/i>\u00a0did not seem to understand this intermingling of idioms and concerns to a degree that\u00a0leads\u00a0one\u00a0to wonder:\u00a0do they not understand the clash of civilizations inside of Germany, namely \u201cden von\u00a0agrarischem\u00a0Mittelalter, das in Franken bis in die 1950er Jahre\u00a0dauerte, und von\u00a0postagrarischer\u00a0Moderne\u201d (157)? In\u00a0<\/span>Tieffluggebiet<\/span><\/i>, this clash is the leitmotif, reflected in all chapters of the volume and forming a red thread.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For scholars of German studies who are specializing in literature written in dialect,\u00a0Corino\u2019s\u00a0volume is a valuable source of information.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Gabriele Eckart Karl\u00a0Corino.\u00a0Tieffluggebiet: Gedichte in Ehinger Mundart.\u00a0T\u00fcbingen: Edition\u00a0Brennhessel, 2019, 164 pages.\u00a0   As is well known, the dispersion of identity in Germany\u00a0as a result of\u00a0globalization has brought about a corresponding need to find one\u2019s own regional identity. As recent scholarship, above all\u00a0work\u00a0by Peter\u00a0Pabisch, has shown, this is true in regions all over Germany, Austria, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":0,"parent":7548,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7611","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7611\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/glossen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}