Ritualism and Music as Elements in the use of a Minority Language

Abstract

The article is based on field research in various Slovenian minority communities in Austrian Carinthia during the last decade. Caroling, the celebration of a village’s patron’s feast, church services, and funerals are all events associated with ritualism. The role that Slovenian, as the language of the minority, plays in these events is the focus of this study. While the ritual framework is only one of the circumstances in the few spaces where Slovenian is the majority language, the situation in a mostly Germanized environment is quite different. This research shows that ritual events are rare occasions when Slovenian is spoken as a minority language in public places.