Sitz im Leben

Sitz im Leben is a technical term of the form of history and referred to the alleged original emergence situation or function of a text. The seat in life must be taken into account in the interpretation of the text for understanding.

Origin

The term goes back to the German Protestant theologian Hermann Gunkel, the founder of the religious-historical school. Today, the term is also used outside of theological research, and always when it comes to examine a text in its sociological aspects. In linguistics, the seat is now investigated by the text pragmatics in life and determined. In addition, a seat is provided in the book of the prophets in research texts.

Examples

• The seat in the life of Abzählreimes ( " Ene mene dung, it rattles in the chest ...") is to select one of a group of children, which will make the beginning of a game.
• The Sitz im Leben of the Ave verum corpus ( " Hail, true body ") is the elevation of the Host at Mass and their suspension in the monstrance.