"Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella" is back on TV in a continuous loop around Christmas. Many people can repeat entire scenes. But what about the classic Grimm fairy tales? Do we still know what the wicked queen says to her mirror in "Snow White"? Or what the wolf sounds like in Little Red Riding Hood? A linguist from Chemnitz now wants to find out for sure.
Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer is researching the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm at Chemnitz University of Technology. The Professor of English and Digital Linguistics is also investigating the English translations of the fairy tales. She is now launching an international online survey. She wants to find out how well known the famous sayings from the German fairy tales still are today.
What is remembered?
The survey only takes ten minutes. It is anonymous and is available in German and English. Anyone can take part, regardless of age. "But please don't look anything up! I'm interested in what exactly you remember," explains the linguist from Chemnitz. She is interested in spontaneous memory. What do we have in mind when we think of these fairy tales? Which phrases have been memorized over generations?
Results to be presented to the public
There is good news for fairy tale fans. The researcher will be sharing the results with everyone. "I will report on the results of the survey in public - for example in my podcast Linguistics Behind the Scenes", promises Sanchez-Stockhammer. This way, all participants can find out how well they performed in the comparison.
The survey is already running and can be accessed at www.mytuc.org/grimm.
