“It is not German, it is replacing German”: Why a Multiethnic Youth Variety is Perceived as a Threat to the German Nation

Abstract

The idea that the state of the standard language is indicative of the state of national identity has shaped the German nation. Kiezdeutsch (lit. “hood German”), a multiethnic youth variety spoken in Germany’s urban areas, is seen as a threat to this space. Analysing online data, I examine a three-layered ideology. The first layer construes Kiezdeutsch and its speakers as immigrants from spaces culturally different to Germany. The second layer builds on this: because the linguistic variety and its speakers have been portrayed as foreigners, they can now be depicted as taking away space from the German standard and the German national identity. Through this, a third layer emerges: the standard language and national identity are believed to be decaying as they become the minority in what is perceived to be their rightful space. The analysis shows how exclusionary and racist ideologies do not operate in isolation but rather build on one another. Not only does it demonstrate how German nation building goes hand-in-hand with racialised processes of group construction, but they also highlight how standard language ideologies are inseparable from German nationalist beliefs.