Von Gäul-s-bauer, April-s-narr und Getreid-s-gabel : die Verwendung und Verbreitung des Fugen-s im Ostfränkischen

This article addresses the linking element -s- concerning its distribution and functionality in dialect German. Recent research has increasingly apprehended the system of linking elements in standard German. These systematical and functional aspects are introduced first. By means of an empirical study of lexicalized nominal compounds, this paper then examines the variation of the linking element -s- and zero linking element as well as other types of compositional stem forms (Gäul-s-bauer, Vögel-s-beere, April-a-narr) in the East Franconian dialect. We show that the distribution of linking elements in our study area is not only based on functional aspects, such as morphological complexity (Getreid-s-gabel vs. Treid-ø-gabel), but on diatopical preference as well. Language maps illustrate that the linking-s is more frequent in the northern part of our study area