The Linguistic landscape of Lower Styria on Picture Postcards (1890-1920)

Toward the end of the nineteenth century in the multilingual Habsburg Empire, language became an important – if not the most important – ethnic marker in the construction of different national identities. In the linguistically mixed regions of the Empire, language was no longer perceived as simply a tool for communication that could be chosen pragmatically depending on social situations and instead became an emblem of one’s national identity. But how much is really known about how language was actually used in bilingual regions? By using the example of the bilingual Slovene-German speaking region of Lower Styria (Spodnja Štajerska/Untersteiermark), this paper suggests that picture postcards, a rich source available in large qualities, can help shed light on the visibility of language(s) in the public sphere, the social stratification and geographic distribution of languages, the language of formal and informal communication, and also on various forms of bilingualism and language contact. In short, an examination of picture postcards from the turn of the century, a medium close to everyday life, yields insights into the linguistic landscape of Lower Styria and can paint a picture of a region characterized not just by national conflicts but also by peaceful coexistence.