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Abstract
Walhalla, South Carolina, was founded in 1850 by a group of prominent German immigrants in Charleston calling themselves the German Colonization Society. The members of this group aspired to establish a prosperous community with a strong German character and identity. Although German heritage is celebrated to this day in Walhalla, the language is no longer spoken. This paper examines the language shift from German to English in the community through a Warren-based approach (Salmons 2005a, Salmons 2005b, Warren 1963). Focus is placed on local and extracommunal control of institutions such as churches and schools, and examining the various domains of language use. The analysis finds that Walhallas language shift occurred rather early rapidly, especially considering the intentions of its founders. The ability of the Warren-based approach to account for the rate and timing of the communitys language shift extends the application of the framework.