Highlights the complexity of contact-induced language change throughout the history of English by bringing together cutting-edge research from historical linguistics, variationist sociolinguistics, pidgin/creole linguistics and language acquisition. With contributions from leading experts, the book offers fresh and exciting perspectives as well as an up-to-date overview of the respective fields.
Recent developments in contact linguistics suggest considerable overlap of branches such as historical linguistics, variationist sociolinguistics, pidgin/creole linguistics, language acquisition, etc. This book highlights the complexity of contact-induced language change throughout the history of English by bringing together cutting-edge research from these fields. Special focus is on recent debates surrounding substratal influence in earlier forms of English (particularly Celtic influence in Old English), on language shift processes (the formation of Irish and overseas varieties) but also on dialects in contact, the contact origins of Standard English, the notion of new epicentres in World English, the role of children and adults in language change as well as transfer and language learning. With contributions from leading experts, the book offers fresh and exciting perspectives for research and is at the same time an up-to-date overview of the state of the art in the respective fields.
This book reflects on the future of the English language as used by native speakers, speakers of nativized New Englishes, and users of English as a lingua franca (ELF). The volume begins by outlining the current position of English in the world and accounts for the differences among native and nativized varieties and ELF usages. It offers a historical perspective on the impact of language contact on English and discusses whether the lexicogrammatical features of New Englishes and ELF are shaped by imperfect learning or deliberate language change. The book also considers the consequences of writing in a second language and questions the extent to which non-native English-speaking academics and researchers should be required to conform to ‘Anglo’ patterns of text organization and ‘English Academic Discourse.’ The book then examines the converse effect of English on other languages through bilingualism and translation. This volume is essential reading for students and scholars in English language, sociolinguistics, language acquisition, and language policy.
More than any other European language English has been shaped by its contacts with other languages such as Celtic, Latin, Scandinavian and French. This is true not only of the vocabulary, but also of morphology and even phonology and syntax. But also the contact between different varieties of English played an important role, especially in the shaping of the Englishes outside England. The papers contained in this volume deal with such contacts from various points of view. Major topics are: the restructuring of lexical fields by borrowing processes in Old, Middle and Early Modern English, the influence of Scandinavian on the morphology, the influence of Latin on English syntax, the development of Middle English verse meter under Italian influence, the origin of spelling conventions, the role of code-switching and language mixing for the development of the language, and the role of language contact in general in Central Europe.
Grounded in linguistic research and argumentation, THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: FROM SOUND TO SE01 General/tradeE offers readers who have little or no analytic understanding of English a thorough treatment of the various components of the language. Its goal is to help readers become independent language analysts capable of critically evaluating claims about the language and the people who use it.
Through integrating different perspectives on language change, this book explores the enormous on-going linguistic upheavals in the wake of the global dominance of English. Combining empirical research with theoretical approaches, it will appeal to researchers and graduate students of English, and also of other languages studying language change.
