Gravestones of multilingual communities as sources for historical sociolinguistics

Bibliographic Data

ID19485992
AuthorsKaroline Kühl (0000-0002-0832-4953, Europa-Universität Flensburg), Joshua R Brown (0000-0001-8037-5360, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire , Eau Claire , WI , USA), Joshua Brown (0000-0001-8874-874X, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire)
Year2026
Volume12
Issue1
Pages179-184
Publication date2026-06-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Historical Sociolinguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2199-2894 • E-ISSN: 2199-2908
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/jhsl-2026-0014
OpenAlexW7163552836
LanguageEN
References cited22

This introduction to the special issue situates cemeteries as culturally and linguistically rich “heterotopias” that negotiate societal values, identities, and power structures. It positions gravestones, grave and cemetery layouts, and funerary practices as dynamic expressions of social norms, revealing how communities construct meaning through these elements. Particular attention is given to multilingual contexts, where gravestones serve as discursive practices that encode tensions, affiliations, and identities. It contextualizes the articles contained in this special issue and underscores cemeteries’ significance as linguistic landscapes for historical sociolinguistic inquiry

Construct (python library) · Identity (music) · Meaning (existential) · Negotiation · Power (physics) · Social category · Sociolinguistics · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Multilingual Education and Policy

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Open DOIOpen Access