Abstract
Alsace in France has a well-established and rich gastronomic tradition, a border region where both French and the German dialect Alsatian have historically coexisted. However, the use of the dialect is clearly in decline; French has become the dominant language. In this context, Alsatian is losing its former significance: once a common means of everyday communication and a key marker of regional identity, its intergenerational transmission is no longer assured. Yet, a survey shows that regional cuisine may be taking over as an identity marker in place of the dialect. This raises new questions: How might language and gastronomy interplay as markers of regional identity in the future, not least in tourism context? How is regional food highlighted by regional language? What does it mean to “eat Alsatian” and which values relate to the local gastronomy? In an attempt to address these issues, this study focuses on local, traditional restaurants, the “Winstubs”, and examines their menus, web presentations and setting. To interpret the Alsatian food culture and the role of the different languages in it, we draw on insights from sociolinguistics and linguistic landscape studies, as well as food and tourism studies. The primary focus is on French and Alsatian in a broad, cultural meaning, analyzing their respective functions in the foodscape and discussing how regional food culture and regional gastronomic identity might be highlighted and strengthened by the use of the regional dialect.
Presenters
Katharina VajtaProfessor of French, Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Sweden
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Regional gastronomy, Food and identity, Language and food, Alsace
