Franz Kafkas Sprachen: A... in Einem Stockwerk Des Innern Babylonischen Turmes ...a

by Marek Nekula

With reference to biography, oeuvre, language reflection, reading, school material, and utility texts, the present volume examines Franz Kafka's (1883-1924) languages (a) with respect to their instrumental roles as means of communication, and (b) to symbolic functions that can summarized under the heading 'language identity'. In the first case the emphasis is on German and Czech, in the latter these are joined by Yiddish and Hebrew. Both Kafka's language competence and his language behaviour are situated in the contemporary context and also interpreted against this background.

397 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003