ABSTRACT
The Economic Society of Berne was founded 1759 in the Republic of Berne. It aimed at improving state household and general well-being of Berne’s citizens by introducing, legitimizing, and popularizing projects of reform. In order to address the heterogeneous Bernese audience as well as members of the Republic of Letters, the Society published both in French and in German. Identifying, semanticizing as well as translating appropriate key concepts hence became a major challenge. By analyzing three frequently used terms, ‘reform’, ‘revolution’, and ‘Aufnahme’, this chapter shows how a general idea of improvement could be addressed by Bernese authors. It argues that the terms’ semantic ambiguity and their relation to both established discursive frameworks and future-oriented ideas of change were an important feature of the varied linguistic strategies that contributed to the society’s success.
