German as a “Heritage Language”
The term “heritage language” is a relatively new concept in linguistics. It was primarily developed in the United States but has since gained worldwide application. It refers to languages that are passed down within a community or family over generations, often losing linguistic substance under the influence of a dominant surrounding language. While the term was originally coined for immigrant groups in the U.S., it can also be applied to historical German-speaking settlement areas in Europe.
Map of the Distribution of Germans in Europe (1887) — Dietrich Reimer
Übersichtskarte der Verbreitung der Deutschen in Europa, Kiepert Heinrich, 1818–1899, Veröffentlicht 1887, Berlin, Verlag Dietrich Reimer, Original Yale University Library
Origins and Definition of the Term “Heritage Language”
The concept of “heritage language” was primarily shaped by the works of Polinsky and Kagan (2007). They define heritage speakers as individuals who grow up in a family with a minority language but do not fully develop it due to the dominance of the surrounding language. Valdés (2000) describes them as individuals who learn a language at home that is not the majority language of the society in which they live.
In the U.S., the concept is mainly applied to immigrants and their descendants, who often grow up in bilingual situations. However, similar mechanisms can be observed in Europe, particularly in regions with formerly German-speaking minorities such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and others (see map).
German as a “Heritage Language” in Europe
Historically, there have been numerous regions in Central and Eastern Europe with German-speaking populations, including:
- Russia and Kazakhstan (Volga Germans, Black Sea Germans)
- Ukraine and Moldova
- Poland (Silesia, Masuria)
- Czech Republic (Sudetenland)
- Slovakia
- Hungary and Romania (Transylvanian Saxons, Danube Swabians)
Although these groups were able to maintain their language for centuries, political and social changes — particularly after World War II due to forced expulsions — led to increasing assimilation among those who remained. The dominant national languages replaced German, so that in many cases it was passed down only in a rudimentary form or not at all. The traditional assumption that a “heritage language” is lost by the third generation is confirmed by these developments.
Case Study: The Sudetenland
The Sudetenland is a particularly revealing example of how German has changed as a “heritage language.” Before 1945, it was a key region of the German-speaking population in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. However, with the expulsion of the Germans after World War II, the region almost entirely lost its German-speaking character. Nevertheless, traces of the language remain, particularly among the few descendants and in cultural heritage.
My own research on “German as a Heritage Language in the Krkonoše (Riesengebirge) Mountains” has shown that, even decades after the expulsions, linguistic remnants still exist. Older generations speak German, remember German words, songs, or expressions, though they are often no longer actively used. In some families, there is a conscious linguistic heritage, but it is often limited to nostalgic memories or isolated words.
Comparisons with Other Regions and Research Perspectives
While the Sudetenland is a prominent example of language loss due to political upheavals, similar processes can be observed in other regions worldwide. German-language enclaves exist, for instance, in the United States, Brazil, and Namibia. There are even small German-speaking communities in New Zealand. Research on these groups provides valuable comparisons for understanding language change and, above all, language loss.
Professor Dr. Alfred Wildfeuer, my doctoral advisor, has been intensively studying these issues. His research focuses on language maintenance, language change, and language death in multilingual contexts. His findings indicate that language contact phenomena often follow similar patterns, whether in an immigrant community in the U.S. or a historical linguistic minority in Europe.
“Heritage Language” — A Broader Phenomenon with Local Roots
German as a “heritage language” is a highly relevant field of study that extends far beyond individual regions. While my research focuses on the Sudetenland, similar developments worldwide highlight that language is not only a means of communication but also a key element of identity. Language loss is not an inevitability — through targeted language preservation programs and the growing academic and societal discourse on the topic, at least parts of these linguistic heritages can be preserved.
Literature
- Berend, Nina (1998). Sprachliche Anpassung: Eine soziolinguistisch-dialektologische Untersuchung zum Rußlanddeutschen.
- Bergner, Christoph (2013). Deutsch als Identitätssprache der deutschen Minderheiten.
- Carreira, Maria & Kagan, Olga (2017). Heritage language education: A proposal for the next 50 years.
- Carreira, Maria & Kagan, Olga (2017). The Routledge Handbook of Heritage Language Education.
- Dück, Katharina (2014). Zum Zusammenhang von Sprache und ethnischer Identität.
- Elabbas Benmamoun, Silvina Montrul & Maria Polinsky (2013). Heritage languages and their speakers: Opportunities and challenges for linguistics.
- Fishman, Joshua A. (1970). Sociolinguistics: Brief Introduction. Rowley/Mass.
- Ho, Jennifer (2011). Cultural Heritage Language in Third Generation Chinese-Americans.
- Kresic, Marijana (2006). Sprache, Sprechen und Identität.
- Polinsky, Maria & Kagan, Olga (2007). Heritage languages in the wild and in the classroom.
- Riehl, Claudia Maria (2008). Handbuch der deutschen Sprachminderheiten in Mittel- und Osteuropa.
- Valdés, G. (2000). Teaching heritage language learners: Voices from the classroom. Yonkers, NY: ACTFL.
- Valdés, G. (2001). Heritage languages in America: Preserving a national resource.
- Valdés, G. (2005). Bilingualism, heritage language learners, and SLA research: Opportunities lost or seized? The Modern Language Journal, 89(3), 410–426.
- Wildfeuer, Alfred (2010). Spracherhalt, Sprachwander und Sprachtod im mehrsprachigen Raum.
- Wildfeuer, Alfred (2017). Sprachinseln, Sprachsiedlungen, Sprachminderheiten.
