Die diskursive Konstruktion nationaler Identität in dem bundeseinheitlichen Einbürgerungstest der Bundesrepublik Deutschland : Eine diskursanalytische Untersuchung

Sammanfattning: The essay analyses the discursive construction of national identity in the present naturalisation test of the Federal Republic of Germany. The essay includes an overview of immigration to Germany, and a survey of political measures to improve the integration of immigrants. The language and structure of representative multiple-choice questions (and answers) of the naturalisation test are analysed by using the method of critical discourse analysis (CDA). The theoretical background of this study is grounded in cultural studies. The methodological framework consists of a combination of critical discourse analysis and textual analysis. Criteria of the linguistic analysis are: the situational context of the text, thematic roles, deixis, lexical repetitions, modality, coherence (including implicit meanings and presuppositions), intertextuality and interdiscursivity, competence and performance. The analysis shows that national identity is conceptualized by the multiple-choice questions of the naturalisation test. National identity is above all constructed by the German language. One of the qualifications which the examinee has to fulfil is competence in German on the level B1 (of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Linguistic competence is necessary in order to answer the questions. National identity is linguistically created by using alterity. Binary oppositions are constructed by stipulations and presumptions about migrants living in Germany. These oppositions are created by giving three alternative answers, which represent prejudices about foreigners; we is represented by an idealized construction of Germans, and the other is represented by stereotypical assumptions about foreigners. National identity is created by the content of the questions, too. Many questions deal with German laws and standards, which implies that being a German means to be law-abiding. The present study shows that German identity is constructed by language and the construction of alterity.