On the Discursive Constitution of Language Norm Authorithies in German Schools and Their Influence on the Creation of the Standard Variety

This master thesis analyzes the question, how norm authority constitutes itself in the context of school education. It is based on firsthand data from several adio- and audiovisual recordings of classes in two German schools (trade school and high school). The project provides a description of the mechanism by which the teacher establishes himself as the norm-authority and how he is able to assert this authority towards the student, the norm subject. At the same time, the reaction of the norm subjects towards the intervention of the norm authority into their language production is analyzed. Theoretically, the essay is embedded in the social force field of a standard-variety ("soziales Kräftefeld einer Standardvarietät") by Ulrich Ammon and the language management theory. By following the steps of the language management process, the handling of the language norm is described and an analysis is made of how language norms are actively adopted into the learning process. The analysis and evaluation of the class recordings underline the dynamic character of language norms and show the procedural nature of norm formation and their adoption. Key Words: norm, variety, social force field, language management, macro and micro level, norm authority, norm subjec