Moin Moin is schon Gesabbel: constructing Northern German identity in commercial Instagram posts

Abstract

<p>This paper shows how commercial Instagrammers construct a shared Northern German identity by employing the regional language Low German and other (visual) means. In today’s mobile and globalised societies, the use and functions of regional or minority languages are changing. Besides communicative purposes and the construction of regional identities in multilingual societies, these languages are commodified as signs of authenticity and regionality. Challenged by High German and other dominant languages, Low German is still spoken in the domestic domain and by older generations. It has recently gained significance in marketing and as a marker of regional identity. The question of how commercial Instagrammers construct regional identity is answered using a multimodal corpus of 1,157 Instagram posts and a discourse analysis based, qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The findings suggest that the Instagrammers express regional identity through three strategies: 1) Using well-known Low German words and short texts; 2) portraying character traits and humour as key features of Northern Germanness, and 3) a clear distinction between an out-group and an in-group through meta-linguistic commentary. Together, these strategies construct a collective, generalised regional identity, reinforcing the Instagrammers’ “Northern Germanness” and allowing consumers to express their regional identities through this content and products.<br></p>