Abstract
Linguistically and culturally, South Tyrol is essentially characterized by the clash of two worlds, the Italian and the German-Austrian. The annexation of South Tyrol by Italy after the First World War had a significant impact on all relevant areas of life. The region has developed its own German-speaking school system, which serves as a targeted language planning measure to protect the linguistic minority.
For a significant portion of the population, dialectal and regiolectal varieties of German are used in daily life, private settings, and professional contexts, as well as in parts of the education system. In contrast, the standard German language, often seen as the language of formal education, is the focus of most institutional language policies.
Despite the dominance of standard German in educational settings, the role of dialect is acknowledged and addressed within educational policies and curricula, according to which dialect should play a role in German lessons. Particular emphasis is placed on the ability to differentiate between varieties, including dialectal ones, as well as their deliberate use.
This paper explores how dialectal variation interacts with the standard language within the South Tyrolean school system. This includes examining institutional guidelines, didactic materials, and teaching practices that highlight the relationship between standard and non-standard forms of German.