Date of Defense
3-1997
First Advisor
Dr. Peter Krawutschke
Second Advisor
Dr. Richard Joyce
Third Advisor
Dr. Louise Bourgault
Abstract
Vienna, the capital of Austria, a city whose beginnings can be traced back to 213 A.D. , is full of palaces, museums and churches. A tourist strolling around the center of town might visit the Hofburg Palace, St. Steven's Cathedral, or the Natural History museum. He/she would pass by the large city park, the impressive town hall and the Parliament building. The visitor would also pass by the Burg Kino, a movie theater showing Mission:Impossible in the original English, a McDonald's restaurant, a store selling Calvin Klein and Donna Karan New York clothing, and a Subway restaurant. There is no doubt that this city is full of culture. But whose culture is it full of? The longer that an American tourist stays in Vienna, the more he/she can find things that remind him/her of home: Hollywood movies, American clothes, and American restaurant chains. It is clear that American culture has swept through Europe. Focusing on the countries of Germany and Austria, this paper will serve as tool to show that our American pop culture is prevalent in their culture and language. One main source of current information from Europe is a survey that I conducted on 10 German and Austrian students, ages 20-30 (See Appendix J). The data derived from this source and others will show that there is indeed a considerable amount of American pop culture overseas.
Recommended Citation
Brausch, Rachel, "English as a Global Language: A Survey of How it Affects the Language of Pop Culture of Germany and Austria" (1997). Honors Theses. 1962.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/1962
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Campus Only