“German” culture in France – Alsace and the Alsatians

„Německá“ kultura ve Francii – Alsasko a Alsasané

Abstrakt

The main aim of this paper is to specify perceptions of ethnicity among the German (or Alsatian)-speaking population living in Alsace in France. Because the German-population (or population speaking a German dialect) also live outside Alsace, it is possible to make relatively efficient comparisons of the influence exerted by government in shaping ethnicity and language. This paper therefore addresses the question: What is the relationship between the state and ethnicity of inhabitants and how Alsatians develop their own ethnicity?