Mehrsprachigkeit auf deutschen Tierfriedhöfen

Abstract

<p>This article deals with multilingualism in five German pet cemeteries located <br>in di!erent cultural regions of Germany. It focuses on the languages found on the grave <br>markers (known as gravestones in human cemeteries) of the animal graves and their <br>functions. Our relationship to animals has changed over time. Animals are no longer <br>perceived as objects, but as individuals. Pets, formerly known as domestic animals, are <br>therefore increasingly buried in pet cemeteries. For this reason, animal cemeteries are <br>increasingly the focus of research. The language used on the gravestones has been little <br>studied. A total of 11 foreign languages, including dialects, were found in the pet cemeteries examined here. 16 of the grave markers examined are monolingual, 20 are bilingual <br>and one is trilingual. On some of the multilingual gravestones, for example, standard <br>German is written in addition to the foreign language in order to create an emotional <br>distance or to enable native German speakers to understand some of the texts. This <br>article is to be seen as a pilot study in which multilingualism in German pet cemeteries <br>was systematically analysed for the first time. Due to the limited material base, the study <br>does not claim to be universally applicable.</p>