Onion fish (column)

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The onion fish is a column by the author Bastian Sick , which appeared from May 2003 to 2012 in Spiegel Online and since February 2005 in the monthly culture supplement of the printed Spiegel magazine .

Development of the column

The column emerged from Sick's work as a documentary and proofreader in the editorial team of Spiegel Online , during which he wrote memos to the editors about sources of error. The name of the column refers to the expression " onion fish " from the printer's language , which designates individual letters in a text that are set in incorrect fonts.

The onion fish initially only consisted of the actual column, but it soon became relatively popular with many readers. Over time, other categories were added: The onion fish ABC with brief explanations of terms, letters to the reader with questions to the onion fish and the onion fish , among other things . These represent an annotated collection of photos and documents on linguistic curiosities of everyday life that are regularly contributed by readers of the onion fish .

The dative is the genitive his death

The dative is the genitive his death is the title of a six-part book series by Bastian Sick, which arose from the collection of onion fish columns. In an entertaining way, doubtful cases of grammar , spelling and punctuation as well as Bastian Sick as unattractive expressions of the German language are dealt with. A PC game for the book has also been released.

At times the volumes topped the book sales lists. The first volume of Der Dativ ist das Genitive seine Tod sold more than two million copies within two years.

Although linguists expressly warn against using Sicks books for school lessons, articles from the books are used as teaching material in some federal states. According to Sicks' foreword from August 2005, the dative is the genitive his death in Saarland in the canon of compulsory books for the Abitur. This cannot be confirmed, at least for later teaching and reading plans in the Saarland.

reception

Depending on the point of view, the column is described as language-critical or as language- care-oriented . Sicks books and columns are perceived as entertaining and instructive on the one hand, and on the other hand they are criticized and rejected by linguists such as Peter Eisenberg , Theodor Ickler , Anatol Stefanowitsch , André Opinion and Jan Georg Schneider. Schneider complains that "the columns were mostly written in a flippant, humorous style", "which, however, could not hide the teacher-like undertones at all times". According to Vilmos Ágel and Manfred Kaluza, Sicks columns are unsuitable for school lessons because they contain factual errors (e.g. ignoring grammatical distinctions), often only deal with irrelevant subtleties and insufficient evidence is given. According to Ágel, Sick does not have the technical competence that would enable him to give others grammatical advice and suggested solutions in the area of ​​German grammar. Péter Maitz and Stephan Elspaß justify the unsuitability for German lessons with the fact that the language concept behind Sick's texts is intolerant, discriminatory and socially harmful.

The main point of criticism is Sick's approach to language, which is perceived as dogmatic and normative, and the associated strict division into “right” and “wrong”. According to Schneider, for example, Sick's assertion that the word is gradually not an adjective but only an adverb does not do justice to the language change process. Sick neglects the diaphasic variation of language, i.e. the fact that speakers do not always use the same type of language, but that it also depends on the communication situation. He sees the peculiarities of colloquial language as a threat to the structures of the standard written language. Furthermore, according to critics, Sick made etymological and philosophical fallacies, in particular he mixes diachronic and synchronous language aspects, which can be seen, for example, in his treatment of the term make sense . In addition, Claudius Seidl attests to him in the FAZ that he “bites into other people's mistakes, empty phrases and wrong foreign words”, is “a pedant and know-it-all”, but “apparently has the problem” of “not doing it better” can.

It is also criticized that Sick uses exaggeration as a stylistic device for clarification and thus distorts the image of linguistic reality. In addition, Sick bases his arguments - especially against literally translated English terms - often only on his feeling for language; however, the mere reference to a phenomenon of language change does not provide sufficient grounds for criticism.

The linguist Karsten Rinas attests to Sick various factual errors and negligent arguments, but at the same time he turns against the fundamental rejection of language maintenance and language criticism propagated by many of his colleagues (e.g. by André Opinion and Stephan Elspaß). Instead, Rinas advocates showing the concern of language maintenance more understanding and the arguments of their moderate advocates (including Dieter E. Zimmer belongs) also to appreciate the linguistic side in a differentiated manner.

literature

Original literature

The onion fish columns were summarized in ten books:

  • Bastian Sick: The dative is his death to the genitive, part 1 - A guide through the maze of the German language . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-462-03448-0 (audio book: ISBN 3-89813-400-8 )
  • Bastian Sick: The dative is the genitive's death, episode 2 - News from the maze of the German language . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-462-03606-8 (audio book: ISBN 3-89813-445-8 )
  • Bastian Sick: The dative is the genitive's death. Episode 3 - Even more from the maze of the German language . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne November 2006, ISBN 3-462-03742-0 (audio book: ISBN 3-89813-566-7 )
  • Bastian Sick: The dative is the genitive's death. Episode 4 - The very latest from the maze of the German language . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2009, ISBN 3-462-04164-9 (audio book: ISBN 978-3-89813-881-9 )
  • Bastian Sick: The dative is the genitive's death. Episode 5 . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2013, ISBN 978-3-462-04495-9 (audio book: ISBN 978-3-86231-273-3 )
  • Bastian Sick: The dative is the genitive's death. Episode 6 . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-462-04803-2
  • Bastian Sick: Happy Aua - A picture book from the maze of the German language. Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-462-03903-0
  • Bastian Sick: Happy Aua, Episode 2 - A picture book from the maze of the German language . Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne November 2008, ISBN 978-3-462-04028-9
  • Bastian Sick: Fun is gratinated here: a picture book from the maze of the German language. Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-462-04223-8 .
  • Bastian Sick: Make yourself at home: A picture book from the maze of the German language. Kiepenheuer and Witsch, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-462-04700-4 .

Critical literature

  • Vilmos Ágel : Bastian Sick and the grammar. An unequal duel - Informations Deutsch als Fremdsprache, 35th vol., Heft 1, 2008, pp. 64–84.
  • Manfred Kaluza: "The layman is the linguist's enemy". Notes on the debate about Bastian Sicks language columns - Informations Deutsch als Fremdsprache, 35th year, Heft 4, 2008, pp. 432–442.
  • Péter Maitz and Stephan Elspaß: Why the "onion fish" does not belong in German lessons . in: Informations Deutsch als Fremdsprache 34, H. 5/2007, S. 515-526.
  • Péter Maitz and Stephan Elspaß: Language, Linguistics and Social Responsibility - wi (e) der Sick 'in: Info DaF: Information German as a Foreign Language 2009 36-1
  • André Opinion: Sick of Sick? A foray into language as an answer to the "onion fish" . Kadmos, Berlin 2008. ISBN 978-3-86599-047-1 .
  • Karsten Rinas: Language, style and strong sayings. Bastian Sick and his critics . Lambert Schneider / WBG, Darmstadt 2011. ISBN 978-3-650-24659-2 .
  • Michael Schümann: Who's Afraid of Bastian Sick? - The relationship of linguistics to a bestselling author and entertainer . in: Der Sprachdienst 5/2007, pp. 201–208.
  • Jan Georg Schneider: The onion fish phenomenon - Bastian Sicks criticism of language and the role of linguistics . in: Der Sprachdienst 4/2008, pp. 172–180.
  • Jan Georg Schneider: What is a linguistic error? - Comments on popular language criticism using the example of Bastian Sick's collection of columns . in: Aptum 2/2005, pp. 154-177.
  • Claudius Seidl : The onion fish stinks from the head . in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, November 5, 2006.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Péter Maitz, Stephan Elspaß: Language, linguistics and social responsibility - wi (e) the sick . In: Info DaF: Information German as a Foreign Language . tape 36 , no. 1 , 2009, ISSN  0724-9616 , p. 53–75 , here p. 71 ( PDF via Uni Salzburg [accessed on June 8, 2016]): “[…] our view that not only Bastian Sick's glosses and books are unsuitable for German lessons, but that those behind his The language perception standing in texts is intolerant, discriminatory and therefore socially harmful. "
  2. ↑ See the teaching and reading curricula of the Saarland at https://www.saarland.de/209629.htm .
  3. ↑ Peter Eisenberg in an interview with Dagmar Giersberg: Language in Change - Peter Eisenberg: “The German language has never been in better shape than it is today” , Goethe-Institut, 2007-06.
  4. ↑ Consultation hour at Anti-Sick - huge rush at Peter Eisenberg's lecture "What is correct German?" ( Memento from March 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ Theodor Ickler: Commentary, March 15, 2006 , Schrift & Rede, FDS.
  6. ^ Theodor Ickler: My spelling diary. November 5, 2005 Spellings , Writing & Speech, FDS
  7. ^ André Opinion: Sick of Sick? A foray into language as an answer to the "onion fish". Kadmos, Berlin 2008.
  8. ↑ a b Vilmos Ágel Bastian Sick and the grammar. An unequal duel - Informations Deutsch als Fremdsprache, 35th vol., Heft 1, 2008, pp. 64–84
  9. ↑ Manfred Kaluza: "The layman is the linguist's enemy". Notes on the debate about Bastian Sicks language columns - Informations Deutsch als Fremdsprache, 35th year, Heft 4, 2008, pp. 432–442
  10. ↑ a b c d Jan Georg Schneider: What is a linguistic error? - Comments on popular language criticism using the example of Bastian Sick's collection of columns ( PDF ; 374 kB)
  11. ↑ Anatol Stefanowitsch : Sensual Pleasures: Third Part - Bremer Sprachblog - Institute for General and Applied Linguistics, October 15, 2007
  12. ↑ Claudius Seidl: The onion fish stinks from the head , FAZ, November 5, 2006
  13. ↑ Reinhard Markner: Counselor for the language area Berliner Zeitung, features section, January 24, 2005
  14. ↑ Karsten Rinas: Language, style and strong sayings. Bastian Sick and his critics. Lambert Schneider / WBG, Darmstadt 2011.

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