Vols. for 1871-76, 1913-14 include an extra number, The Christmas bookseller, separately paged and not included in the consecutive numbering of the regular series.
Language Standardization and Language Change describes the formation of an early standard norm at the Cape around 1900. The processes of variant reduction and sociolinguistic focusing which accompanied the early standardization history of Afrikaans (or 'Cape Dutch' as it was then called) are analysed within the broad methodological framework of corpus linguistics and variation analysis. Multivariate statistical techniques (cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling and PCA) are used to model the emergence of linguistic uniformity in the Cape Dutch speech community. The book also examines language contact and creolization in the early settlement, the role of Afrikaner nationalism in shaping language attitudes and linguistic practices, and the influence of English. As a case study in historical sociolinguistics the book calls into question the traditional view of the emergence of an Afrikaans standard norm, and advocates a strongly sociolinguistic, speaker-orientated approach to language history in general, and standardization studies in particular.
Hans den Besten (1948-2010) made numerous contributions to Afrikaans linguistics over a period of nearly three decades. His writings helped shift the perspective on the roots of Afrikaans beyond Dutch to the structure and vocabulary of Khoekhoe, to Portuguese Creole, and to Malay varieties. This volume contains a selection of Den Besten’s most important papers – some of which originally appeared in less accessible journals – concerning the structure and history of Afrikaans. They cover a wide range of topics, including grammatical structure, vocabulary, the historical development of Afrikaans, as well its multiple roots. It is essential reading for any linguist interested in language contact and language change.