Literary language

Literary language (including language of literature, literary language or poetic language ) is called a form of language within a language, which is characterized by a number of features from the other written language other text genres ( "everyday literature," that is, newspaper articles, instructions, recipes, etc. ) differs.

The differences from other varieties of the language based on the first line on the special function of literature: their language therefore does not efficiently serve the dedicated communication and be clearly understandable, but met primarily aesthetic functions. Here, therefore, is to much " poetic license ".

Language of oral Volksepik

A poetic language in the narrow sense is an orally transmitted, special rules subjugated language oral cultures, which often includes a special kind of presentation in the form of a chant, a melody or certain intonations includes (see epic ).

Examples are the Nordic poetic language, which was also later recorded in Iceland (see skald ), but already existed, ancient Arabic poetic language in pre-Islamic times, which was spelled out in the early Islamic period (see Hafiz ), or the ancient Indian poet language. A poetic language also cultivated the Celtic bards.

Poets languages, there are still in oral cultures, such as in Africa, where they are maintained by certain singers ( griots ), which can memorize many long poems and recite on certain occasions. The poets of the West African language Yoruba is called " ibeji "; it is their origin is closely related to the traditional twin cult.

Sometimes orally transmitted poets languages ​​still exist long after the development of a literate culture continued, often in the form of a traditional folk song. So an old Greek woman was discovered in the 20th century, could recite a long folk song, whose text was known until then in almost the same form only from medieval manuscripts.

The tradition of the substance of the Nibelungenlied is hard to imagine without the existence of a Germanic poetic language, since it partly quite accurate historical events describes that of which one at the time of written fixation of the epic had 700 years previously took place and hardly knowledge from other sources.