Ästhetische Dynamisierungen: Vulgär - gemein - niedrig - platt - populär

The article deals with the developement of the term 'popular' in the decades around 1800 and it takes a look at the negative attributions 'low', 'mean', 'platitudinous' and 'vulgar' that are related to it. In the text, the semantic differentiation processes of these five terms are analysed on the basis of relevant dictionary findings, and it is shown how these link to rhetorical, poetological, and socially specific circumstances. All of these terms contribute to outline the concept of the popular. The investigation is based on the assumption that with the partial revaluation of the popular, the terms related to it are recast and bundle the pejorative connotations of the popular in themselves.