Oftgesagt

Oftgesagt is a term used in German linguistics and discourse studies to describe phrases or statements that recur extensively across speech and text. It functions as a label for recurring formulaic material rather than a quotation of a specific source.

Etymology and usage: The compound derives from oft meaning "often" and gesagt meaning "said." When used as a technical term, it is sometimes written as Oftgesagt.

Definition and scope: The concept encompasses stock phrases, refrain-like utterances, and formulaic sequences that appear across speakers and genres. It signals repetition of linguistic form rather than attribution to a particular speaker.

Examples and relation to related concepts: Common instances include phrases such as "das ist bekannt" and "wie bereits gesagt." The idea aligns with broader notions of formulaic language, stock phrases, and clichés (Floskeln).

Scholarly reception and critique: The term is not yet universally standardized; some scholars argue for explicit frequency thresholds using corpus data to distinguish oftgesagt from ordinary language.

In practical analysis, oftgesagt can help researchers examine how repetition shapes rhetoric, persuasion, and memory, or how media curates recurrent slogans. See also related concepts such as stock phrases, clichés, and formulaic language.