The year 1609 saw the first appearance of a weekly newspaper in German. The new medium caught on so quickly that almost every urban centre soon had a newspaper of its own. The newspapers' main readership was made up of court representatives, aldermen, theologicans and scholars but the 'common man' also took a lively interest. Given their widespread dissemination, these newspapers were a major factor in the emergence of a uniform national language. The articles in the present volume examine the textual structures, syntactic patterns and the vocabulary employed in these newspapers. The central issue is the emergence and development of an idiom typical of newspaper style in the 17th century. Further topics are how up-to-the-minute, accurate and comprehensible the reporting was and the contemporary critical response to these newspapers and the language they employed.

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 language culminate in the Classical period. The Romantics recognise the potential it has for sound effects and emotional expressiveness, Realism explores its potential for the portrayal of reality. From the 19th century onwards, there is an emphasis on the preservation of the language in all its beauty and purity. All those interested in language and the German language in particular will find in this volume a carefully documented historical foundation for the discussion of the >dignity and genius

Aufgabe des Handbuchs ist es, das anerkannte Wissen uber die Medien zusammenzustellen. Der Weg fuhrt von den technischen und organisatorischen Voraussetzungen zu den geschichtlichen Grundlagen und Entwicklungen, wobei Langs- und Querschnitte die Historie vertiefen. Bei der Darstellung der Mediengegenwart werden Technik, Organisation, Programme, kommunikative und asthetische Funktionen sowie Entwicklungstendenzen konzentriert behandelt. Die Mediengesellschaft wird unter marktstrategischen, politischen, rechtlichen, ethischen, padagogischen, didaktischen und kulturellen Aspekten analysiert. Uberblicke uber Forschungsschwerpunkte, Forschungseinrichtungen sowie Nachbar- und Hilfswissenschaften geben Moglichkeiten der raschen Orientierung."

Die Buchreihe Konzepte der Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft gibt Aufschluss uber Prinzipien, Probleme und Verfahrensweisen philologischer Forschung im weitesten Sinne und dient einer Bestimmung des Standorts der Linguistik und Literaturwissenschaft. Die Reihe ubergreift Einzelsprachen und Einzelliteraturen. Sie stellt sich in den Dienst der Reflexion und Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft. Die Bande sind zum Teil informierende Einfuhrungen, zum Teil wissenschaftliche Diskussionsbeitrage.

Today, in a 'Visual Age' 'inundated' by images, media communication is dominated by the text-picture media (newspapers, magazines, books, posters, comics, etc.) and the picture-text media (films, TV, video clips, Internet). In these media, the attempt is made to establish a typical visual idiom alongside the text, a visual Esperanto or accumulation of 'visiotypes' designed as a guarantee of universal comprehensibility. Hence there is a need for an approach providing access to the images, texts and text-picture combinations, the theories about them in currency, and the central realizations of these theories in the praxis of the said media. The book sets out to provide such access, casting light in its later chapters on the relationship between language and art in the 20th century.

The volume provides an introduction to the conditions governing the production and reception of journalistic texts (written and spoken), including the practical problems involved. Good and bad examples of texts written for the various media are then discussed. The genres analyzed are article, report, essay, feature, interview/talk, gloss, commentary, review, news report, moderation, portrait, coverage, non-fictional text, story.

The volume provides an introduction to themes and problems central to the hitherto almost totally neglected phenomenon of communication in magazines and journals. It considers first of all the constitution of the concept 'magazine/journal' and traces the history of magazine and journal titles from the 18th century to the present. A central concern is to develop a theory of magazine/journal communication. Distinctions are made between various types and forms of magazine and journal in their historical contexts. Subsequently, the specific functions and strongpoints of the various kinds of magazine and journal are discussed. Special reference is made to historical developments in the layout of magazines/journals and the kind of language employed in them. Further chapters centre on magazine/journal editors and authors, distribution and circulation, and magazine/journal readers. The volume closes with a round-up of magazine/journal research, magazine criticism and a brief history of magazines and journals. The volume as a whole sets out to provide both a general overview of the subject and to indicate routes to explore for further research into an increasingly important mass medium.

The volume provides an introduction to themes and problems central to the phenomenon of newspaper communication. It considers first of all the constitution of the concept 'newspaper' and the history of the emergence of newspaper articles. A central concern is to develop a theory of newspaper communication. Distinctions are made between various types and forms of newspaper in their historical contexts. Central distinctive functions of newspapers are, it transpires, information and publicity, control and criticism, education and instruction, advertising and documentation. Special reference is made to developments in the layout of newspapers and the kind of language employed in them. Further chapters centre on newspaper editors and journalists, newspaper distribution and circulation, and newspaper readers. The volume closes with a round-up in newspaper research, newspaper criticism and a brief history of the newspaper. The volume as a whole sets out to provide both a general overview of the subject and to indicate routes to explore for further research into what is still our most important mass medium.

Die Gesellschaft fur deutsche Sprache (GfdS), 1947 als Nachfolgeorganisation des Deutschen Sprachvereins gegrundet, trat ein problematisches Erbe an. Die personelle und ideelle Verflechtung der beiden Einrichtungen trug zunachst zu einer Konservierung uberkommenen Gedankengutes bei. Erst nach heftigen internen Debatten uber das Vereinsziel Sprachpflege begann eine vorsichtige Abgrenzung der GfdS von ihrem Vorganger, in deren Folge sie sich als anerkannte Sprachpflegeeinrichtung etablieren konnte.