Arno-Ruoff-Archive

The “Arno Ruoff Archive” consists of more than 2000 audio recordings that the linguist Arno Ruoff (1930–2010) has made in the Southwest since the 1950s, initially together with the cultural scientist Hermann Bausinger (1926–2021). The recordings stored in the archive are unrehearsed free conversations, most of whose audio carriers fell victim to a fire in 2016.

However, all of the recordings are available digitally and a large portion has already been transcribed. Today, the documents provide an insight into the everyday life of people in Baden-Württemberg, Bavarian Swabia, Vorarlberg, and Liechtenstein from around 1880 to 2000. The archive is used for teaching and research. On request, individual recordings can be listened to and the transcriptions can be viewed for research work. More detailed information on the recording locations can be found on the website of the “Tübinger Arbeitsstelle Sprache in Südwestdeutschland” of the Ludwig Uhland Institute.