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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 49:2/3 (2022) ► pp.336–354

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The Beginning of Quantitative Sociolinguistics in the Nineteenth Century

The Dane Anker Jensen (1878–1937) and his pioneering study “The Linguistic Situation in the Parish of Aaby, Aarhus County” (1898)

 | Aarhus University
 | Aarhus University
 | Aarhus University
 | Roskilde University
Published online: 18 August 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.00114.boe
Abstract
In 1898, a young Dane, Anker Jensen (1878–1937), published a pioneering study in which he investigated the linguistic situation in Aaby, then a village and parish located just west of Aarhus (the second-largest city of Denmark, in Jutland), and today an integrated part of the city. Anker Jensen’s article can safely be considered the first sociolinguistic study in a Danish context, and it may in fact be the world’s first quantitative sociolinguistic study altogether. Jensen’s research was ahead of its time, and written in Danish, and for these reasons it has gone largely unnoticed internationally. In this article, we present an introduction to Anker Jensen’s Aaby study, providing background information and additional context for modern readers, as well as offering an overview of the author’s collected works, both published and unpublished. We also briefly discuss our translation into English of the original 1898 article. The translation is likewise published in this issue of Historiographia Linguistica.
Résumé
En 1898, un jeune Danois, Anker Jensen (1878–1937), publie une étude pionnière dans laquelle il enquête sur la situation linguistique à Aaby, alors village et paroisse à l’ouest d’Aarhus, la deuxième ville du Danemark, dans la région du Jutland. Aujourd’hui, le village fait partie intégrante de la ville. L’article d’Anker Jensen peut sans risque être considéré comme la première étude sociolinguistique dans un contexte danois, et il peut même être considéré comme la première étude sociolinguistique quantitative au monde. Les recherches de Jensen étant en avance sur leur temps et écrites en danois, l’article est passé largement inaperçu au niveau international. Le présent article introduit à l’étude linguistique d’Aaby par Anker Jensen et en fournit une mise en contexte pour les lecteurs modernes, suivie d’un aperçu des travaux linguistiques de l’auteur, publiés et non publiés. Enfin, nous présentons notre traduction en anglais de l’article original de 1898. La traduction est également publiée dans ce numéro d’Historiographia Linguistica.
Zusammenfassung
Im Jahre 1898 veröffentlichte ein junger Däne, Anker Jensen (1878–1937), eine bahnbrechende Studie, in der er die Sprachsituation in Aaby untersucht, das damals ein Dorf und eine Gemeinde westlich von Aarhus (der zweitgrößten Stadt Dänemarks in der Region Jütland) war, aber heute ein integrierter Teil der Stadt ist. Der Artikel von Anker Jensen kann mit Sicherheit als die erste soziolinguistische Studie in einem dänischen Kontext angesehen werden, und sie könnte tatsächlich die weltweit erste quantitative soziolinguistische Studie überhaupt sein. Jensens Studie war nicht nur ihrer Zeit voraus, sondern auch auf Dänisch verfasst, und aus diesen beiden Gründen blieb sie international weitgehend unbeachtet. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt eine Einführung in Jensens Aaby-Studie dar, er bietet Hintergrundinformationen und zusätzlichen Kontext für heutige Leser sowie einen Überblick über die gesammelten Schriften des Autors, sowohl veröffentlichte als auch unveröffentlichte. Wir stellen auch unsere Übersetzung des Originalartikels von 1898 ins Englische vor. Die Übersetzung erscheint ebenfalls in dieser Ausgabe von Historiographia Linguistica.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Anker Jensen’s life and career
  • 3.Anker Jensen’s published works
  • 4.Anker Jensen’s Aaby study (1898)
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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Bøegh, Kristoffer Friis, Inger Schoonderbeek Hansen & Mette-Marie Møller Svendsen
2023. Perceptuel dialektologi og sproglig variation i Danmark. Nordlyd 47:2 ► pp. 55 ff. DOI logo
Jensen, Anker, Kristoffer Friis Bøegh, Peter Bakker, Inger Schoonderbeek Hansen & Inger Schoonderbeek Hansen
2022. The Linguistic Situation in the Parish of Aaby, Aarhus County. Historiographia Linguistica 49:2-3 ► pp. 355 ff. DOI logo

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