FEATURES OF THE AUSTRIAN VARIETY OF GERMAN IN ACADEMIC DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article deals with the main approaches to the study of the Austrian variant of the German language as a means of oral and written communication in the academic discourse. The authors focus on the lexical and pragmatic features of the Austrian variant of the German language that distinguish it from the language of the academic communication in Germany. Background. Though today much attention is given to the German variants, their functioning in institutional discourse haven’t been explored enough yet, which can lead to errors in cross-lingual communication and translation. Purpose. The aims of this paper are to analyze the main approaches and methods used in the study of the Austrian version of the German language in the academic discourse and to identify its main features on the lexical and pragmatic levels based on the results of the author’s research and the works of Austrian linguists. Materials and methods. The methods of continuous sampling and lexicographic analysis were used to describe the lexical and pragmatic features of the written academic discourse. Results. The paper describes the main methods for studying the Austrian variant of the German language in the academic discourse (lexicographic method, corpus analysis and sociolinguistic method) and identifies such features of the Austrian variant as terminological austriacisms, Latin words, gender-fair language, peculiarities of address and use of academic titles as well as internal multilingualism. Practical implications. The results of the study can be used for further, deeper study of academic discourse and other institutional discourses, for further analysis of the specific features of the Austrian variant of the German language, and will also be useful for translators and participants in international academic events and academic exchange.