Viennese chancellery language

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The Viennese chancellery language is the written form of official German used in Austria or the German official language in the Austrian version. Sometimes one speaks of Austrian civil servant German. Chancellery lists (official employees) sometimes still use the term “Viennese chancellery” to describe this form of writing. In addition to offices, it is still used by notaries and the executive as well as lawyers.

Development and origin

The Viennese chancellery language developed from the 17th century to the 19th century in the offices of the Viennese court, e. B. the Reichshof Chancellery , the Bohemian Court Chancellery , later the United Bohemian- Austrian Court Chancellery , the Hungarian Court Chancellery . But there were also other court chancelleries at the Viennese imperial court than government offices, such as the Transylvanian court chancellery.

The origins of the Austrian official German of the so-called Viennese chancellery are the Maximilian chancellery language and the Prague chancellery language , from Maria Theresa's term of office also the Saxon chancellery language for political reasons .

The independent development of a Viennese chancellery language began with the relocation of the court and its administration from Prague to Vienna under Emperor Matthias in the course of the so-called "brotherly dispute in the House of Habsburg".

This special form is used primarily for official official documents; it is often viewed as out of date, but due to its accuracy it is also used by lawyers and notaries, which is in connection with the ABGB , the “General Civil Code”, which has been valid in Austria since 1812, thus its linguistic forms to date are in use. An older written form can be found in the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana . Since the 18th century (1703) the development of the Austrian official language has been accompanied by the Wiener Zeitung , which has been the official gazette since 1812. The developments that appear uninterruptedly in this oldest newspaper in the world and are therefore documented are a linguistic historical testimony of great importance.

particularities

In addition to typical formulations that are unique in Austria, special features include the use of recurring phrases and claused formulas and formulations, especially in correspondence from official bodies and authorities. Certain words and concepts as well as the meanings of terms and old forms of language / writing have only been preserved in the Viennese chancellery language. In some cases, which is extremely interesting from a linguistic point of view, early modern and baroque forms of linguistic expression can be found side by side. It was an effective administrative instrument of the Habsburg emperors and their countries and was retained unchanged after 1918 through the civil service until 1938. Of course, the events and upheavals of the 20th century and the caesuras of 1938 and 1945 also resulted in some drastic changes for the Viennese chancellery language, which were ultimately integrated into the complex overall structure. Today, in line with fashion, people are moving to simpler “modern” forms of language, formulations and means of expression that are generally understood.

Hints

The text of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 can be seen as an outstanding example:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Text of the Pragmatic Sanction