Johann Balthasar Antesperg

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Johann Balthasar [von] Antesperg (* 1682 in the village of Antesperg near Wiesing , at that time part of the Passau Monastery ; † August 31, 1765 in Vienna ) was a linguist and court teacher at the Habsburg imperial court in Vienna as well as the editor of a German grammar and spelling based on Upper German writing . He is best known for his opposition to Johann Christoph Gottsched in the late Baroque language dispute over the establishment of a uniform German written language.

Life

The ABC booklet by Johann Balthasar Antesperg, 1744

He was born in 1682 (other sources also mention 1683) as a subject of the Passau bishopric. His father had bought the Wising estate in what is now Lower Bavaria, to which the village of Antesperg also belonged, and had this old castle completely renovated in 1684. However, it is unclear which current location corresponds to this wising. The Wiesing district in Triftern in the Rottal-Inn district or Wiesing near Viechtach in today's Regen district would be possible.

After completing his training, he first became an instructor, i.e. private tutor, for the sons of Prince Philipp Erasmus Liechtenstein in 1717, teaching them rhetoric, philosophy, history and law for four years. One of his students at the time was Joseph Wenzel Liechtenstein , who was later Imperial General under Maria Theresa in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). At the age of 29, Johann Balthasar Antesperg successfully applied as an agent to the Imperial Council of the Imperial Court in Vienna, where he held the position of a lawyer (agent) admitted there for 44 years until his death.

On July 11, 1735 he was raised to the imperial nobility with the predicate "from Antesperg to Wising". In his request, he stated that his family was of aristocratic descent and had immigrated from Lorraine 200 years earlier due to the turmoil of war , but this cannot be verified historically. In addition, it was in Vienna at that time to come from Lorraine , à la mode, one year before Maria Theresa's wedding to Franz Stephan von Lothringen . During these years Antesperg was a successful attorney at the Reichshofrat and was already intensively concerned with the "German Reichs-knight mother and country language". During his work as a lawyer, he noticed the wild growth in the spelling of the time , which he saw in various variations in legal applications and court files. He later wrote in the foreword to his grammar:

"The fact that I found out at my 24th year Reichshofrath's agent position how shameful and harmful the irregular German spelling is in correspondence and in the judicial system has made me think about the matter."

In the following years Antesperg dealt intensively with the German language and the possibilities of finding a uniform writing standard. He had been in correspondence with Johann Christoph Gottsched in Leipzig since 1734 . He also sent Gottsched "writing tables" he had created himself. In 1735 Antesperg made a trip to Gottsched in Leipzig and was accepted as a member of his German Society . Inspired by this scholarly discourse, Antesperg began to publish on this topic himself. First his The German Imperial School and Canceley Dictionary came out in 1738 , then in 1744 his Josephinisches Erzherzögliches ABC or Namenbüchlein , which he personally dedicated to Joseph II , Maria Theresa's only three-year-old son.

In 1747 published Johann Balthasar Antesperg then be still important work, talking to The Kayserliche grammar, or art, the German language right, and to write without fault , a year before Gottsched his grammar under the title Foundations of a German language art published . At the latest from this point in time, the two scholars and friends were competitors, because a heated dispute arose throughout the German-speaking area as to which of the two variants was the better and which should become the reference for a written standard that is also legally stipulated. Johann Christoph Gottsched represented the Saxon writing tradition that went back to Martin Luther and was particularly widespread in the Protestant areas in the north and east of the empire, while Antesperg's grammar was based on the Upper German writing tradition, which was particularly common in Austria, Bavaria and the Swabian- Alemannic area was anchored.

The publication of these two grammars sparked a conflict between the various regional writing traditions of German, which had been smoldering throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, and which was now countering a definitive decision. The late Baroque language dispute, led by the most important scholars and linguists of the time, was no longer to be decided during Antesperg and Gottsched's lifetime.

Johann Balthasar Antesperg died at the age of 83 on August 31, 1765 in Vienna. "Emaciation" was noted as the cause of death.

The Imperial Grammatick

The Kayserliche Grammatick , published in 1747, is today considered the most important work by Johann Balthasar Antesperg. With this work to define a writing standard valid for the entire German-speaking area, he wanted to forestall the language workers at the Leipzig School, above all Johann Christoph Gottsched , who wanted to establish a standard German based on the Saxon dialect. As a Lower Bavarian active in Vienna, Antesperg was closer to the Upper German writing tradition and wanted to create a written language based on the southern German dialects. By choosing the title, Antesperg also claims the supra-regional validity of his work.

His concern was to standardize and expand the German language in order to put it in literature, science and public administration on a par with the languages ​​already established in Europe, such as French, Italian and Spanish. He himself mentions the Dictionaire Royale as a model , which was created in France by Louis XIV at great financial expense. The second, "improved" edition of 1749, which was published in response to Gottsched's foundations for a German art of language from 1748, is what he calls his work The Imperial German Grammatick .

At that time, language politics was inseparable from real power politics. Antesperg represented on this point an imperial patriotism influenced by enlightened absolutism, whose loyalty was to the monarch. His spelling in the first edition is therefore based strongly on the style of the Imperial-Austrian and Electoral-Bavarian court chancelleries, as it has been cultivated since the time of Maximilian I. However, at that time there was a strong confessional polarization between the Protestant states in the north and east and the Catholic countries in the south, which was also reflected on the linguistic level. Antesperg was naturally closer to the southern, Upper German, Catholic writing tradition than the East-Central German, Saxon, Lutheran.

In 1747, contrary to his initial expectations, his grammar found little approval among scholars in Leipzig. The number of Latin and French foreign words, the conservative Upper German spelling, the vocabulary interspersed with Austrianzisms and Bavarianisms, and especially the proposed pronunciation rules were consistently rejected. The Leipziger Neue Büchersaal therefore also wrote in a review:

"In the chapter on the pronunciation, however, there would still be a lot to be blamed on the angry Austrian dialect."

In the same text from Leipzig, strongly national arguments were put forward that not only accuse Antesperg but also Habsburg Austria as a whole of a lack of German awareness:

“The rule of the world has finally come to the Germans: and their power has not only extended over the last centuries over Bohemia and Hungary, Sclavonia and Servia, Croatia and Dalmatia, but also over woodlands and Spain. So what could have been more natural than for the German language to penetrate all these countries; and where not the general language of all these peoples, but at least the court language of them? By a strange fate alone, the rulers of these many countries have learned to speak of their subjects, and thereby brought their own mother tongue into contempt among foreigners. So did the Romans not ... "

The grammar presented by Gottsched the following year, however, was received with great recognition in the north and east of the empire. Gottsched then traveled to Vienna in 1748 to present his work there, and in 1749 he even managed to obtain a private audience with Maria Theresa through Count Nikolaus Esterházy. Antesperg then felt compelled to bring out a second version of his grammar in which he gave up some typical Upper German peculiarities and thus tried to present a more moderate compromise version. In the new edition of 1749 this can also be seen in the titles of the four parts:

  1. From German etymology or word research to common.
  2. From the German word addition. De Syntaxi Germanica
  3. From the German orthography or spelling. De Orthographia Germanica
  4. From the German prosody (tone speech) or the German syllable measure.

However, this second edition does not achieve the supra-regional recognition desired by Antesperg, and the two grammars are in competition in the following years. The Ollmütz monthly extracts from old and new scholars, which are published in Moravia, therefore sum up completely neutrally:

“Herr Antesperg writes for the Austrians. Mr. Gottsched for the Saxons, namely for the Upper Saxons, that is why it is not surprising, so everyone has a somewhat different kind of thing. "

Aftermath

The work of Johann Balthasar Antesperg was the last serious attempt to standardize the Upper German writing language and develop it into a modern, comprehensive written language. However, he only succeeded to a limited extent, as the standard he developed met with massive rejection in the north and east of the empire. Above all, the claim he made of a general validity of his variant for the entire German-speaking area was not conducive to his cause. On the other hand, the imperial court in Vienna was not willing to take a special route in southern Germany, which is why this alternative would most likely not have been much more successful.

During his lifetime, however, the final decision remained open as to whether there should even be a general writing standard for the entire empire and which variant should be preferred as the basis for this standard. Antesperg influenced younger linguists like Johann Siegmund Popowitsch , who took over his position and represented it even more radically than Antesperg himself. Popowitsch, who in 1753 succeeded Gottsched in 1749 from the chair for German language and rhetoric founded in Vienna, argued loudly against his predecessor and openly advocated a separate solution for the Upper German south.

Popowitsch had some success with it at times and wrote his own grammar ( Die Necessiest Beginnings of Teutsche Sprachkunst , 1754) for use in Austrian schools. This in turn sparked violent backlash from the Gottschedians. Franz Christoph von Scheyb called Popowitsch a fool and a linguistic Hussite . After Popowitsch had allowed himself the joke to use the name Gottscheds as an example in one of his declension tables, Scheyb even let the censors take action against him. The imperial court, on the other hand, could not choose either side, and so in 1763 both the Antesperg-based grammar of Popowitsch and Gottsched's grammar were on the curriculum of Austrian grammar schools. Also in Bavaria, Salzburg and Swabian there were sympathizers for a southern German special route, such as Augustin Dornblüth from Breisgau and the Bavarian enlightener Heinrich Braun . The Protestant Carl Friedrich Aichinger , who came from the Bavarian Upper Palatinate, tried to end the dispute in a form acceptable to all sides with the help of his own compromise proposal, but this also failed.

Johann Christoph Gottsched , however, was not entirely undisputed in the Protestant north either. As early as the mid-1730s he had become increasingly radicalized and thereby provoked resistance in his own ranks. In 1738 he had to resign from the German Society in Leipzig, which he himself had founded, although delicate entanglements with femininity are said to have contributed to this.

Ultimately, the late Baroque language dispute was decided by politics. After a long hesitation, Maria Theresa was not ready to take a linguistic special path, and since a definitive decision in favor of Gottsched's grammar and spelling had already been made in the Protestant countries, in 1774 the Habsburg hereditary lands also introduced the General Compulsory schooling is set as the standard. In 1780 this decision was confirmed again by her son and successor Joseph II and the Gottschedian variant was introduced as a mandatory standard for civil servants. The other southern German states, such as the Duchy of Bavaria and the Archdiocese of Salzburg, joined the decision from Vienna.

Thus, a few years after Antesperg's death, his linguistic project was finally shelved and failed. In the years that followed, this southern German written language, as well as any special route, was heavily polemicized from various sides, for example by Johann Christoph Adelung . His point of view has shaped the historical assessment of the professional world for a long time, whereas the name Antesperg and his project were completely forgotten by the wider public. For example, there is still no new edition of his grammar, only the ABC booklet was reprinted in 1980 due to its pleasant illustrations.

Works

  • The German imperial school and canceley dictionary , 1738
  • The preschool to the well-established Austrian ABC booklet in two writings : to the right beginning of the German schools and beautiful sciences, by Johann Balthasar von Antesperg, Vienna, 1739
  • The Josephine Archducal ABC or Name Booklet , 1744
  • The Kayſerliche Deutſche Grammatick or Kunſt to speak the German language right, and to write without mistakes, with sufficient prefixes and comments, for the benefit of common knowledge, and those who want to eyn the regular understanding and pure expression in their own language, or eyn ſoll because of their office and business. In four parts, including an exam, clearly and completely In otio Viennensi, elaborated by Johann Balthaſar von Anteſperg, various of the H. R. R. Fürſten and Stands Rath, speakers and agents at the Kayſerl. Hofe, as well as a member of the German Society in Leipzig. With all-gracious kayar freedom. Printed in Vienna and can be found (1) by Joh. Ignatz Heyinger, printer in the Römerſtraſſe. (2) Bey Leopold Grund, in a vault next to the main gate by St. Stephan, where school books are sold. (3) Bey Baptist Praſſer, Bach guide on the Kohlmarkt. 1747, 370 pp.
  • The Kayſerliche Deutſche Grammatick or Kunſt to speak the German language right, and to write without mistakes, in four parts with an exam and adequate preliminary and remarks, for the benefit of common knowledge, and those of the regular understanding and pure expression in one's own Want to eyn a language powerfully, or eyn for the sake of their office and business. With strange diligence, clearly and completely In otio Viennensi, elaborated by Johann Balthaſar von Anteſperg, various of the HRR Fürſten und Stände Rath, speakers and agents at the Kayſerl. Court. Second and upgraded edition with one register. With all-gracious kayar freedom. To be found in Vienna (1) at Johann Ignatz Heyinger, printer in the Römerſtraſſe. (2) Bey Leopold Grund in a vault next to the main gate by St. Stephan, where school books are sold. 1749, 466 pp.
  • The well-established Austrian textbook in two writings, to the right beginning of the German schools and beautiful sciences , Johann Balthasar Antesperg, Vienna, approx. 1750

literature

  • Johann Balthasar Antesperg, Gerda Mraz (ed.): The Josephine Archduke ABC or Name Booklet ; Reprint of the dedication copy from 1741 in the Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz with an afterword by Gerda Mraz; Dortmund: Harenberg Kommunikation, 1980 (facsimile reprint); ISBN 3-88379-167-9
  • Thomas Dorfner: Mediator between head and limbs. The Reichshofratsagenten and their role in the process (1658–1740) (negotiating, proceeding, deciding. Historical Perspectives, Vol. 2), Münster 2015. ISBN 3402146568
  • Peter von Polenz : German language history from the late Middle Ages to the present. Volume 2: 17th and 18th centuries; Berlin u. a .: de Gruyter, 1991; P. 157; ISBN 3-11-013436-5 , online at Google Books .
  • Peter Wiesinger: On the reform of the written German language under Maria Theresa: Aims - Implementation - Effect ; in: Franz M. Eybl (ed.): Structural change in cultural practice: Contributions to a cultural-scientific view of the Theresian age ; Vienna: WUV, 2002 (Yearbook of the Austrian Society for Research in the Eighteenth Century) pp. 131–140; ISBN 3-85114-644-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter von Polenz, German Language History from the Late Middle Ages to the Present , de Gruyter 1991, Volume II, page 157
  2. ↑ Gerda Mraz: The Josephine Archducal ABC or name booklet ; Dortmund 1980; Page 57f (epilogue)
  3. ^ Archives of the City of Vienna, Death Inspection Protocols , Volume 49, fol. 21r, and Volume 59, fol 11v, quoted from Gerda Mraz, 1980
  4. ↑ Gerda Mraz, The Josephine Archduke ABC or Name Booklet , Dortmund 1980, page 76 (epilogue, chapter grammar for Austrians versus grammar for Upper Saxony)
  5. ↑ Gerda Mraz: The Josephine Archduke ABC or Name Booklet , Dortmund 1980, (epilogue, chapter Reichspatriotismus und Deutschtümelei , page 61)
  6. ↑ a b Der Leipziger Neue Büchersaal 1747, quoted from Gerda Mraz: The Josephinische Erzherzöglich ABC or name booklet ; Dortmund 1980, (epilogue, chapter grammar for Austrians versus grammar for Upper Saxony , page 77)
  7. ↑ Zeno.org: Gottsched, Johann Christoph - biography ; Peter von Polenz: German language history from the late Middle Ages to the present ; Berlin u. a .: de Gruyter, 1991, vol. 2, p. 175
  8. ↑ Ollmützer monthly extracts old and new scholars things 1748, quoted from Gerda Mraz: The Josephinische Erzherzöglich ABC or name booklet ; Dortmund 1980, (epilogue, chapter grammar for Austrians versus grammar for Upper Saxony , page 78)
  9. ↑ Gerda Mraz, The Josephine Archduke ABC or Name Booklet , Dortmund 1980 (epilogue, chapter An Academy for Vienna , page 82)
  10. ↑ Gerda Mraz: The Josephine Archduke ABC or Name Booklet , Dortmund 1980 (epilogue, chapter An Academy for Vienna , page 84)
  11. ↑ Gerda Mraz, The Josephine Archduke ABC or Name Booklet , Dortmund 1980 (epilogue, chapter grammar for Austrians versus grammar for Upper Saxony , page 79)
  12. ↑ cf. Title page and preface
personal data
SURNAME Antesperg, Johann Balthasar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Antesperg, Johann Balthasar von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian scholar and writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1682
PLACE OF BIRTH Antesperg in trifter
DATE OF DEATH August 31, 1765
Place of death Vienna