Citizendia

Language contact occurs when speakers of distinct speech varieties interact. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics.

Multilingualism has likely been common throughout much of human history. Prehistory See also Prehistory Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens In tribal hunter-gatherer societies, multilingualism was common, as tribes need to communicate with neighboring peoples. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting In present-day areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where there is much variation in language over short distances, it is usual for anyone who has dealings outside their own town or village to know two or more languages. Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries

When speakers of different languages interact closely, it is typical for their languages to influence each other. Languages normally develop by gradually accumulating dialectal differences until two dialects cease to be mutually intelligible, somewhat analogous to the species barrier in biology. In Linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between Languages in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand Speciation is the Evolutionary process by which new biological Species arise Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum languages, or as the result of migration, with an intrusive language acting as either a superstratum or a substratum. A language border (also language boundary) is the line separating two Language areas The term is generally meant to imply a lack of Mutual intelligibility In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language

Contents

Forms of influence of one language on another

Borrowing of vocabulary

The most common way that languages influence each other is the exchange of words. Much is made about the contemporary borrowing of English words into other languages, but this phenomenon is not new, nor is it even very large by historical standards. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The large-scale importation of words from Latin, French and other languages into English in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was more significant. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Some languages have borrowed so much that they have become scarcely recognizable. Armenian borrowed so many words from Iranian languages, for example, that it was at first considered a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, and was not recognized as an independent branch of the Indo-European languages for many decades. The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages [1]

Borrowing of other language features

The influence can go deeper, extending to the exchange of even basic characteristics of a language such as morphology and grammar. Morphology is the field of Linguistics that studies the internal structure of words Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Nepal Bhasa, for example, spoken in Nepal, is a Sino-Tibetan language distantly related to Chinese, but has had so many centuries of contact with neighboring Indo-Iranian languages that it has even developed noun inflection, a trait typical of the Indo-European family but rare in Sino-Tibetan. Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages In Grammar, inflection or inflexion is the way language handles grammatical relations and relational categories such as tense, mood, voice It has absorbed features of grammar as well, such as verb tenses. Romanian was influenced by the Slavic languages spoken by neighboring tribes in the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, not only in vocabulary but also in phonology and morphology. Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Phonology ( Greek φωνή (phōnē voice sound + λόγος (lógos word speech subject of discussion is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning It is easy to see how a word can diffuse from one language to another, but not as obvious how more basic features can do the same; nevertheless, this phenomenon is not rare.

Language shift

The result of the contact of two languages can be the replacement of one by the other. This is most common when one language has a higher social position. This sometimes leads to language endangerment or extinction. In Linguistics, language death (also language extinction, linguistic extinction, and sometimes pejoratively as linguicide) is a process

Substratal influence

Main article: Substratum

However, when language shift occurs, the language that is replaced (known as the substratum) can leave a profound impression on the replacing language (known as the superstratum), when people retain features of the substratum as they learn the new language and pass these features on to their children, leading to the development of a new variety. In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language Language transfer (also known as L1 interference, linguistic interference, and crossmeaning) refers to speakers or writers applying knowledge from their For example, the Latin that came to replace local languages in present-day France during Roman times was influenced by Gaulish and Germanic. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. The distinct pronunciation of the dialect of English spoken in Ireland comes partially from the influence of the substratum of Irish. Hiberno-English also known as Anglo-Irish and Irish English is English as spoken in Ireland, partly the result of the interaction of the English English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Outside the Indo-European phylum, Coptic, the last stage of ancient Egyptian, is a substratum of Egyptian Arabic. Coptic or Coptic Egyptian ( MetRemenkīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages

Creation of new languages: Creolization and mixed languages

Main articles: Pidgin, Mixed language, and Creole language

Language contact can also lead to the development of new languages when people without a common language interact closely, developing a pidgin, which may eventually become a full-fledged creole language through the process of creolization. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade A mixed language is a Language that arises through the fusion of two source languages normally in situations of thorough Bilingualism. A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin. A prime example of this is Saramaccan, spoken in Suriname, which has vocabulary mainly from Portuguese, English and Dutch, but phonology and even tones which are closer to African languages. Saramaccan ( Autonym: Saamáka) is a Creole language spoken by about 24000 people near the Saramacca and upper Suriname Suriname ( Dutch: Suriname; Sranan Tongo: Sranan) officially the Republic of Suriname (traditionally spelled Surinam by

A much rarer but still observed process is the formation of mixed languages. A mixed language is a Language that arises through the fusion of two source languages normally in situations of thorough Bilingualism. Whereas creoles are formed by communities lacking a common language, mixed languages are formed by communities fluent in both languages. They tend to inherit much more of the complexity (grammatical, phonological, etc. ) of their parent languages, whereas creoles begin as simple languages and then develop in complexity more independently. It is sometimes explained as bilingual communities that no longer identify with the cultures of either of the languages they speak, and seek to develop their own language as an expression of their own cultural uniqueness.

Mutual and non-mutual influence

Change as a result of contact is often one-sided. Chinese, for instance, has had a profound effect on the development of Japanese, but the Chinese language remains relatively free of Japanese influence, other than some modern terms that were reborrowed after having been coined in Japan. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities In India, Hindi and other native languages have been influenced by English up to the extent that loan words from English are part of day to day vocabulary. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is In some cases, language contact may lead to mutual exchange, although this exchange may be confined to a particular geographic region. For example, in Switzerland, the local French has been influenced by German, and vice-versa. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. In Scotland, the Scots language has been heavily influenced by English, and many Scots terms have been adopted into the regional English dialect. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Linguistic hegemony

Obviously, a language's influence widens as its speakers grow in power. Chinese, Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Russian, and English have each seen periods of widespread importance, and have had varying degrees of influence on the native languages spoken in the areas in which they have held sway. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Dialectal and sub-cultural change

Some forms of language contact affect only a particular segment of a speech community. Consequently, change may be manifested only in particular dialects, jargons, or registers. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of For Wikipedia jargon see WikipediaGlossary. For hacker slang see Jargon File. In Linguistics, a register is a subset of a Language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting The South African dialect of English has been significantly affected by Afrikaans, in terms of lexis and pronunciation, but English as a whole has remained almost totally unaffected by Afrikaans. South African English ( SAE, en-ZA) is a Dialect of English spoken in South Africa and in neighbouring countries with a large number Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in In Linguistics, lexis (in Greek λέξις = word describes the storage of language in our mental Lexicon as prefabricated patterns ( Lexical units In some cases, a language develops an acrolect which contains elements of a more prestigious language. Due to the relationship between a Creole language and its superstrate language that is a language that is very closely related and whose speakers assert social political and economic For example, in England during a large part of the Medieval period, upper-class speech was dramatically influenced by French, to the point that it often resembled a French dialect. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The same situation existed in Tsarist Russia, where the native Russian language was widedly disparaged as barbaric and uncultured. The Tsardom of Rus' (Царство Русское was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV 's assumption of the title of Tsar (Emperor in 1547 Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages

Sign languages

Main article: Contact Sign

Language contact is extremely common in most deaf communities, which are almost always located within a dominant spoken language culture. Contact Sign is a variety or style of language that arises from contact between a Deaf Sign language and a spoken language (or the written or manually Deaf Culture is social group of people who consider Deafness to be a difference in human experience rather than a Disability. A spoken language is a human Natural language in which the Words are uttered through the Mouth. It can also take place between two or more sign languages, in which case the expected contact phenomena occur — lexical borrowing, foreign "accent," interference, code switching, pidgins, creoles, and mixed systems. However, between a sign language and a spoken language, while lexical borrowing and code switching also occur, the interface between the spoken and signed modes produces unique phenomena: fingerspelling, fingerspelling/sign combination, initalisation, CODA talk, TTY conversation, mouthing and contact signing. Fingerspelling (or dactylology) is the representation of the letters of a Writing system, and sometimes Numeral systems using only the hands A Child Of Deaf Adult ( CODA) is a hearing person who was raised by a Deaf parent or guardian A telecommunications device for the deaf ( TDD) is an electronic device for text communication via a Telephone line used when one or more of the parties has hearing Contact Sign is a variety or style of language that arises from contact between a Deaf Sign language and a spoken language (or the written or manually

See also

References

  1. ^ Waterman, John (1976). Language transfer (also known as L1 interference, linguistic interference, and crossmeaning) refers to speakers or writers applying knowledge from their Code-switching is a term in Linguistics referring to using more than one language or variety in conversation A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely A mixed language is a Language that arises through the fusion of two source languages normally in situations of thorough Bilingualism. In Linguistics, a calque (kælk or loan translation is a Word or Phrase borrowed from another Language by Literal, word-for-word A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one Language from another with little or no translation Metatypy (stress on second syllable metátypy is a type of Morphosyntactic and Semantic Language change brought about by Language contact involving Due to the relationship between a Creole language and its superstrate language that is a language that is very closely related and whose speakers assert social political and economic A Sprachbund (ˈʃpraːxbʊnt in German plural Sprachbünde) from the German word for “language union” also known as a linguistic area, convergence A lexical gap or lacuna is an absence of a word in a particular Language. Cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by Alfred L Kroeber in his influential 1940 paper Stimulus Diffusion, or trans-cultural diffusion in later reformulations Linguistic anthropology is that branch of Anthropology that brings linguistic methods to bear on anthropological problems linking the analysis of Semiotic A History of the German Language. University of Washington Press, Page 4
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic