120 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIV–LXV
aLb ech g euLe
scien i ic esea ch a eas: (especially heolinguis ics and spi i ual
song), ex g amma , onomas ics, his o ical syn ax.
The spi i ual song iM esea ch spec umM eligious giesmė eoling is ikos esea ch spec um
anMe king heolinguis ics desc ibes how people manage o communica e wi h language abou he
de heoLinguis ik
di ine. One o he asks o heolinguis ics is o es ablish a axonomy o heological ex s.
T ansla ion ex s, o example, play an impo an ole in his. ansla ions o he Bible, which a e
also used in olk wo ship. In addi ion, since he Re o ma ion, spi i ual songs ha e played an
impo an ole in he se ice o God in he Ge man-speaking wo ld. The ask o heolinguis ics is
also o analyze he ly ics in e ms o hei use ulness in he se ice o God in a linguis ic c i ical
way.
Theolinguis ics desc ibes how humans manage o communica e abou he di ine using language. I
is a ask o heolinguis ics o es ablish he axonomy o heolec al ex s. Thus, ansla ion
ex s play an impo an ole, e.g. ansla ions o he Bible, which a e also used in chu ch se ices,
held in he e nacula . Fu he mo e, since he P o es an Re o ma ion, hymns ha e played an
impo an ole in chu ch se ices wi hin he Ge man-speaking a ea. I is also a ask o
heolinguis ics o analyze he song ex s c i ically in e ms o language wi h ega d o he
usabili y o hese ex s in chu ch se ices.
1 . Linguis ics
I unde s and his objec ion o he e m heolinguis ics well, I ha e also s uggled o a long
ime wi h how I conclude wo ds: heolinguis ics, eligious language, sac ed language, spi i ual
song, language c i icism.
keywo ds: heolinguis ics, eligious language, sac ed language, hymn, linguis ic
c i icism.
das geis liche Lied im o schungsspek um
de heolinguis ik
121s aipsniai a icles should desc ibe wha in e es s and ascina es me in his a ea o
language use. Fi s , I used he e m "sac ed language" o his. O he s speak o " he
language o eligion" o " eligious language". In iew o he shee abundance o subjec s
and he eno mous esea ch po en ial ha has accumula ed o e ime, especially beyond
Ge man s udies, i has become inc easingly clea o me ha he e m Theo linguis ics is
s ill he mos sui able e m o desc ibing wha is going on beyond na ional linguis ic and
eligious science bounda ies. I we ask ou sel es wha a cul u al language is, hen we see
ha he ca alogue o c i e ia by which a language is designa ed as a cul u al language
does no wo k wi hou he inclusion o he c i e ion o whe he he e is a eligious
wohe komm das in e esse an heolinguis ischen ages ellungen? agen wi
exp ession o a eligious egis e in i , i.e. […] in o he e minology […] wi hou he
c i e ion o […]sac edness[…] (G eule 2004: 140 .). Anyone who has an o e iew o he
shape and eme gence o cul u al languages in Eu ope (janich, g eule 2002) will ind ha in
many cases he ansla ion o he Bible in o he "language o he people", o en as a
esul o he Re o ma ion, was he decisi e impulse o he eme gence o a s anda d
language o e en o he ansli e a ion o he language o he people a all.
The Ge man "uni ied language" is he bes example o his. Tha is o say, in he con ex o
a ie al linguis ics, i is o mula ed ha a e all linguis ic his o ical expe iences in e e y
language communi y, which is de ined by a his o ical single language, he e is a mo e o less
s ongly p onounced language domain de ined by one o mo e eligions. I s mani es a ion in
he a ie als can be called " heolec ". This can be spoken, sung and w i en. I I unde s and
eligion as he binding o man and man o a pe sonal anscenden al being, usually called God
(in G eek heos), hen heolinguis ics is he science ha deals wi h he o ms o language
in which man has exp essed and exp esses his ela ionship o heos. The e m
" heolinguis ics" was in oduced in o esea ch by jeanPie e an noppen, who used i o
he i s ime in he mid-1970s and de ined i mo e and mo e p ecisely in la e wo ks. 1995
w i es an noppen: heolinguis ics seeks o desc ibe how human discou se may be
employed o e e o he di ine, and beyond ha , how language ope a es in " eligious"
si ua ions in manne s which may no mee he na ow s anda ds o di ec , uni ocal
e e ence, bu which ne e heless ope a e wi h a logic which can be dema ca ed in e ms
o known linguis ic p ocesses (me apho , speech ac s, ...)
The ac ual dissemina ion and ecep ion o he e m was con ibu ed by Da id
C ys al, who published "Theolinguis ics" in The Camb idge Encyclopedia o Language
122 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIV[…]LXV edi ion o 1993): […] heolinguis ics. […]
aLb ech g euLe
Theolinguis ics is a b anch o linguis ics ha deals wi h he s udy o languages. he
s udy o he language o biblical schola s, heologians and o he pe sons conce ned
wi h he heo y and p ac ice o eligion. Acco ding o he In e ne , mos o he
e idence o he use o his e m comes om English-language sou ces. Wagne 's
subs an i e plea o heolinguis ic esea ch poin s ou he ad an ages ha could
an diese s elle muss de p og amma ische au sa z on and eas wagne Theo-
linguis ik? – Theolinguis ik! (wagne 1999) he o gehoben we den. in diesem lei-
esul om he coope a ion o linguis s and heologians in bo h disciplines. Ta ge ed,
he add esses nume ous esea ch gaps and pos ula es conc e e esea ch p ojec s.
No eligion is excluded om heolinguis ic esea ch, nei he he so-called pagan
(p e-Ch is ian) no he na u al eligions. Howe e , he e m " heolinguis ics" is no
wi hou p oblems in his espec . Theos s ands o God (in mono heism) o gods (in
poly heism) in pe sonal o m; Thus, heolinguis ics, a leas i one is guided by he
e ymology o his wo d, would exclude eligions which, o example, To wo ship mana,
ha is, a wo ld-pe ading, no pe sonal, supe na u al powe o ene gy. I is also
ob ious ha heolinguis ics, in simple e ms, is o be placed on he bounda y be ween
linguis ics and heology, jus as e hno-, psycho- o sociolinguis ics a e o be placed on
he bounda y be ween linguis ics and, acco dingly, e hno-, psycho- and sociology.
Howe e , he e m " heology" has a e y s iking p o ile: al hough i de i es om
he Hellenis ic (cul -my hical) adi ion, i was inco po a ed in o Ch is ian usage in
he 4 h cen u y. Because o i s e e ence o pagan oo s, i ook a leas ano he
eigh cen u ies o i o become he o e a ching concep o he scien i ic s udy o
he belie s o he Ch is ian adi ion, bu oday i is mos s ongly ancho ed in his
adi ion. To pu i blun ly, " heolinguis ics" would be qui e Eu o- and e en
Ch is ocen ic. I is he e o e impe a i e ha a consensus solu ion be ound he e in
he long e m, so as no o gi e he imp ession ha a single adi ion wishes o claim
he whole o scien i ic e lec ion on eligious language o i sel . This is an objec ion
ha comes inc easingly om an h opological, e hnological and, in pa , eligious
schola ly anks.
in 1987. "Languages" a e no only s anda d o w i en languages; The subjec o he
in es iga ion a e in p inciple all human exp essions which cons i u e a heolec al
communica ion si ua ion o a ise om a heolec al communica ion si ua ion. In
addi ion, heolinguis ics is no conce ned wi h synch onici y.
das geis liche Lied im o schungsspek um
de heolinguis ik
123s aipsniai a icles his o ical dep h he e can also be he in e lingual,
sch änk , sie ha du chaus auch his o ische ie e. so wie es den Ve gleich in de
con as ing compa ison as well as he in e eligious. By he la e I mean ha , o
example, as has al eady happened, Jewish p aye is compa ed wi h Ch is ian
p aye . This a ea includes he majo p oblem o ansla ing canonical ex s in o
he e nacula .
Theological esea ch can ake place in he e y b oad amewo k o esea ch a all
le els o he language sys em, i.e. a he le el o phone ics (e.g. he o ic in se mons,
bu also songs), g aphics (e.g. e ag ams), mo phology (e.g. sac al ma king
mo phemes), lexicon, syn ax, ph asology, ex g amma (e.g. ex g amma o
p aye ) and p agma ics. No o be o go en is he heonym ca ego y, which deals
wi h he names and nicknames o God and gods. The s udy can also co e heological
ypes o ex s, e en hough we do no ye ha e a semi-binding axonomy o
heological ex classes. I is one o he u u e asks o heolinguis ics o wo k on
" eligion o eligion and language o language". The complexi y o such a axonomy
is qui e simila o he complexi y o he e m " heolec ", which I would like o
equa e wi h he olde e m " eligious language". In iew o his complexi y, he
ollowing conside a ions on possible ca ego ies o heological ex classes a e
logically incomple e and a e based mainly on he expe ience gained so a in he ield
o Ch is ian eligion. The ca ego y o canonical ex s, o which he Bible and i s
ansla ions, he To ah, he Ko an, e c. belong, is ela i ely easy o dis inguish.
2. clea ly mo e he e ogeneous is he cul - i ual a ea, o which all ex s and ex
samples can be coun ed ega dless o he language used in wo ship and de o ion.
he spec um o hese ex s anges o a Ca holic se ice ( o example) om
he ixed componen s o he li u gy w i en in hie a ic language, o canonical
ex s ead as eadings, o he se mon, which can use e y di e en a ie ies
o a language, o chu ch songs o en cha ac e ized by a chaic g oups, o
spon aneous p aye s (e.g. in a child en's o you h se ice), which a e
inc easingly o mula ed in a eligious colloquial language. 3. he nex a ea would
be he pe sonal expe ience o God o he indi idual, who mos likely p ayed in
p i a e (o en independen , spon aneously o mula ed) and he so-called. Bu i
is also exp essed in s a emen s ha a e ebellious agains God.
124 ac a Linguis ica
aLb ech g euLe
Li huanica LXIVLXV
4. an a ea o i sel is he o icial language a ea o he case ha a eligion is
ins i u ionalized.
5. no o be sha ply sepa a ed om each o he a e he eligious-didac ic and he
heological-scien i ic ields, in which heology is spoken and w i en in a special way.
6. las bu no leas , he a is ic a ea should also be highligh ed he e wi h he ex s
o eligious poe y o eligious (in his case bu no heological-scien i ic o
jou nalis ic) w i ing. Since i is o en he pe sonal expe ience o God ha inspi es
a poe o a w i e , such ex s can ake he o m o a p aye o a es imony. 7. I
we hen wan o app oach he " eligious" language in he mass media, we will no e
u he de ails bu also nume ous o e laps wi h he a eas men ioned abo e. I is
clea om his compila ion ha he ques ion o he axonomy o heological ex s
is abo e all he ques ion o c i e ia o a ca alogue o c i e ia. he widely
unde s ood communica i e con ex , a ie y, s yle, unc ion, in en ionali y o
medium […] hey all (and ce ainly many o he a iables) play a ole he e. I 's abou
igu ing ou wha his s uc u e is going o look like in he end and wha i 's
ac ually going o look like.
I desc ibe he p og ess o heolinguis ic esea ch om my own expe ience: om he
pe spec i e o a Ge man linguis and philologis . F om his pe spec i e, howe e , i
should be no ed ha he p eoccupa ion wi h " eligious" language in he Ge manic
linguis ics o he p esen and ecen pas is w i en e y small, no o say igno ed,
al hough, as I ha e indica ed abo e, heoglossia, as one migh call i , is essen ially pa
o he desc ip ion o he linguis ic le el o a language communi y. The e seems o be a
shi in hinking as an impo an collec ion o language and eligion has ecen ly been
published, summa izing he cu en s a e o esea ch (Ge be , Hobe g 2009). The e y
impo an esea ch on he language o Lu he 's Bible ansla ion is a cons an sou ce
o Ge manic esea ch. in his a ea ha e been

das geis liche Lied im o schungsspek um
de heolinguis ik
125s aipsniai a icles g adually included he ly ics w i en by Ma in Lu he (see
chap e 4 below). The heolinguis ically impo an esul o hese in es iga ions is
he inding ha he Ge man e nacula no only ecei ed he i le o " ou h sac ed
language", bu also became he language o he E angelical wo ship o he Wu l
Chu ch un il he 2nd cen u y. The Va ican Council s uck, o he able, he p oblem
de. dami wa ü die e angelischen ki chen das P oblem, mi dem sich die ka ho-
o ha ing o celeb a e he li u gy in a o eign and dead language. The p oblems in he
c ea ion o he "uni ied ansla ion" show he a ac i eness o he ansla ion o
he Bible o Ge manis s and he signi icance i has o he in e chu ch ela ionship.
In 2005, a p ess elease om he ekd was headlined wi h he d ama ic wo ds:
"E angelical pa icipa ion in he 'uni ied ansla ion' o he Bible is no longe
possible". I was he e ision o he uni ied ansla ion agains he backd op o he
igid Roman ins uc ion […]Li u giam au hen icam[…] o 2001. I was he ins uc ion
[…]Li u giam au hen icam[…] ha b ough he ex ensi e majo p ojec o he
Message Book e ision ([…]Message Book 2000[…]) o ailu e. In 1988, he "In e na ional
Wo king G oup o Li u gical Commissions in he Ge man-speaking A ea" se up a s udy
commi ee which ul ima ely p oduced a new edi ion o he Ge man language,
acco ding o II. The Va ican c ea ed a missal in 1975 o p epa e i . I ha e epo ed on
my wo k in he Commission on se e al occasions. The e ision and e- ansla ion o
housands o li u gical ex s, he wo k done by he app oxima ely 10 membe s o he
AG3, was ul ima ely […] un o una ely […] des ined o he pape baske . Howe e , as
pa o he […]Messbuch 2000[…] p ojec , I also go o know he esea ch si ua ion on
he Polish sac al language. A compa ison o Ge man esea ch wi h Polish esea ch is
ex emely e ealing. They' e diame ically opposed.
Fi s ly, i is he Polonis s in Poland who a e p omo ing heolinguis ic esea ch.
Zwei ens wi d sie, nachdem die e o schung de eligiösen sp ache in Polen
o de wende so gu wie e hinde wa , je z umso dynamische be ieben. die
Religious language has now become one o he mos popula subjec s o s udy in
Polish linguis ics. he e a e a lo o smalle and la ge s udies on indi idual eligious
ex s (p aye , se mon, hymn, Bible ansla ions); many impo an heo e ical and
p ac ical aspec s a e pu sued bo h synch onously and diach onically; and al hough
se e al a eas ha e only been explo ed in he i s s ages, he necessa y capaci ies
a e in place and a ou able amewo k condi ions ha e been c ea ed o u he
de elopmen . Thi dly, in Poland he e a e cyclically la ge in e disciplina y
con e ences o e-es ablish in he Re o med chu ches he Ge man language as he
126 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIV[…]LXV league language ins ead. Some o hem see
aLb ech g euLe
hemsel es as a o um o a ious heolinguis ic ques ions, o he s as a o m o
appea ance o an aspec o eligious language, e.g. he language o ca echesis, he
eligious language in he media, he unc ions o indi idual heological ex s, in he
o eg ound. Fou hly, he scien i ic e o s o p omo e he eligious language in Poland
a e now also ins i u ionally ancho ed. The e is an (in e disciplina y and ecumenical)
Commission o Religious Languages, which is loca ed in he Council o Polish Language
a he P esidium o he Polish Academy o Sciences. The Commission will ollow up on
ele an p ojec s in a a ge ed manne and he esea ch esul s will hen be published.
A de ailed p esen a ion by G eule, Kucha ska-d eiß, Makuchowska 2005. F om he
compa ison wi h he si ua ion o esea ch in Ge many and in coope a ion wi h Polish
heolinguis s, he idea a ose o gi e heolinguis ic esea ch an in e na ional
amewo k. The in e na ional wo king g oup, which me o he i s ime in B eslau in
2006 and hen annually in Bochum, Kou ola, Jena, F eibu g and P ague, has se i sel he
ask o p omo ing he s udy o he di e se phenomena o eligious language in Eu ope.
The esul s o he mee ings a e published in he book se ies Theolinguis ica. 3 . Cen e
o heological linguis ics: he language o he li u gy
Li u gy gene ally e e s o eligious i uals o he wo ship o God and o he
s eng hening o he communi y's ai h. I will be ully implemen ed linguis ically. I is
he e o e essen ial o examine he language o he li u gy ca e ully, and a linguis ic
poin o iew in pa icula can be e y in o ma i e and ui ul.
language o wo ship can look back on a long adi ion, emained in he Roman Ca holic
Chu ch he La in, a "dead" language, he language o wo ship. The ex s used in he
li u gy, hei s yle o speech and he ques ion o hei classi ica ion we e he e
unde s andably no a opic o Ge man s udies, he science o a "li ing" single
language, i s his o y and i s 1965), which ecognized he use o he e nacula in he
li u gy as no e y use ul o he people.
sp achkul u . die g a ie ende Ände ung b ach e das ii. Va ikanische konzil (1962-
On he linguis ic p e equisi es o he eaching o li u gical ex s and he o ic,
especially in ela ion o Ca holic wo ship,
das geis liche Lied im o schungsspek um
de heolinguis ik
127s aipsniai a icles belongs o he knowledge o he ollowing basic ca ego ies: (1)
i ual o wo ship, (2) communica i e s uc u e o wo ship, (3) ways o appea ance o
language in wo ship. The ways in which language appea s in wo ship a e dis inguished:
(1) mul ilingualism, (2) ex uali y, (3) spoken language, (4) w i en language, (5) sung
language. In addi ion o he can illa ion, which is impo an o li u gical schola s, he
hymnologis s and linguis s ind he ex s o he hymns in e es ing. Wi h he ounding
o he in e disciplina y wo king g oup o songbook esea ch a he Uni e si y o
Mainz in 1991 and he subsequen es ablishmen o a songbook a chi e a he same
uni e si y, he s udy o he hymn and he language o he hymn in Ge many became
no only a home, bu also a decisi e sou ce o esea ch. I can be a gued ha he
es ablishmen o he G adua e College o Spi i ual Song and Chu ch Song
In e disciplina y (1996-2005) made Mainz he cen e o hymnological esea ch in
Ge many. Al hough he e a e no linguis ic monog aphs on he language o he Ge man
chu ch song, linguis ics is hea d and i s knowledge con ibu es o he illumina ion o
he subjec , such as: om he s anda d wo k o he Holy Mi acle Ho n
(Becke 2001) is eme ging. Simila ly, linguis s a e in ol ed in he "Glo y o God"
e ision. Wha is equi ed he e is i s and o emos he c i icism o language
and especially he linguis ically well- ounded c i icism o he new spi i ual song. 4 .
The spi i ual song […] aL and new
4 .1 . The subjec o he ollowing p esen a ion is he ex s o he spi i ual songs,
which a e also called chu ch songs and we e handed down o he i s ime be ween
abou 1450 and abou 1550. As he oldes Ge man-language chu ch song, om he Old
High Ge man Pe e 's Song, "Ch is is isen" is conside ed. no only he ini ium, bu he
en i e ex o he o iginally one-s oke, ou -line song and a comple e eco ding o
he neumen o e s o he i s ime a Klos e neubu g manusc ip o he 14 h
cen u y ( aksimile by Becke 2001: 29). The oldes p oo ha and whe e "Ch is has
isen" was sung by he people (populus) is ound in he Salzbu g Libe o dina ius abou
which songs we e sung o should ha e been sung by he cong ega ion in he chu ch
yea , sha es he p ies Paul Gössel in he be ween 1437 CE, so p e-Re o ma ion, by
Mi e des 12. jah hunde s: in das ende de Ma u in (nach go esdiens ) des os e -
sonn ags wu de ein „os e spiel“ in eg ie , ein gang zum „heiligen g ab“, an
128 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXIV[…]LXV whose high poin was he p oclama ion o
aLb ech g euLe
he esu ec ion o he cle gy and he people. The chu ch's esponse o he
message o he esu ec ion was he song "Ch is has isen". Communi y song is
he e an in eg al pa o he li u gy, o icially egula ed, delibe a ely concei ed and
o ganically inse ed in i s cou se, by no means an uno icial ing edien ha could be
omi ed a will.
(P aßl 2000: 36) This is a e y impo an poin .
him ansla ed book (page 92 ) o he cong ega ion gi e us nea Ambe g wi h: om
Lich bach o Palms Nu please he holy spi i , u he mo e he Sanc a Ma ia mu e all
nss (e ) no he helpe o us. In he ime om Eas e o Pen ecos Ch is has isen
and so he e is his day ha may ul ill he nyemend wi h p aise; In he Ch is mas
season: a child is bo n (G eule 1998: 386). Ma in Lu he began w i ing and composing
Ge man eligious songs in 1523. In his e lec ions on he eo ganiza ion o wo ship, he
exp essed he desi e o as many Ge man songs as possible o be sung by he people
in wo ship. In 1542 Cal in in oduced chu ch singing wi h a hymn (be o e and a e he
se mon) in Gene a and ensu ed ha a comple e hymn book was p oduced in 1562.
These a e he hymns sung by he "people" by hea , o language monumen s, whose
communica i e adius, hanks o hei widesp ead dis ibu ion and popula i y,
ex ends beyond dialec al and con essional bounda ies. The e o e, since he 16 h
cen u y, hey we e e y likely also in ol ed in he language equaliza ion and in he
eme gence o he New High Ge man w i en language. Howe e , he e is s ill
conside able esea ch o be done.
4.2. T adi ion and adi ion
Chu ch hymns and hymnbooks expe ienced a heyday in he 16 h cen u y. Much o wha
had al eady de eloped in he Middle Ages came o ui ion wi h he help o he
Re o ma ion. The li ely de elopmen o olk chu ch singing and he esul ing hymn
books also has a echnical p e equisi e: he in en ion o book p in ing in 1492 and he
in en ion o no e p in ing wi h mo able ypes a ound 1520 (Mölle 2000: 69). he
ansmission o he ex s ook place in di e en ways: he ea lies a e handw i en;
La e , he ex s a e p in ed. bo h handw i en and p in ed ly ics occu occasionally;
They' e usually