#545 Martin Puchner: Rotwelsch, The Language of Thieves, and the Nazi Regime
RECORDED ON JULY 28th 2021.
Dr. Martin Puchner is the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University. He serves as the founding director of the Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University. He is the author of several books, including The Language of Thieves: My Family’s Obsession with a Secret Code the Nazis Tried to Eliminate.
In this episode, we focus on The Language of Thieves. We talk about the origins of Rotwelsch, how it was influenced by other languages, the identity of the people who spoke it, and its social functions. We also discuss its relationship with the Nazi regime, and how Rotwelsch-speaking people were persecuted by the Nazis. Finally, we talk about what can we learn about a specific language by studying the history of its names, and what Rotwelsch can tell us about the development and evolution of other languages.
Time Links:
Intro
The history of Rotwelsch
The speakers of Rotwelsch
What got Dr. Puchner interested in this language
The history of names in Rotwelsch, and its connection to the Nazi regime
How the Rotwelsch-speaking people were dealt with across Europe
Do these people still exist?
What we can learn about other languages by studying Rotwelsch
Follow Dr. Puchner’s work!
Follow Dr. Puchner’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3rfcZP6
Website: https://bit.ly/2TteePP
Amazon page: https://amzn.to/3sdUfRc
The Language of Thieves: https://amzn.to/2QrsM0k