Linguistic Contact and Language Change - An Introduction

"Speakers of different languages come into contact; their languages influence each other. This textbook investigates this reality in modern and historical contexts. Each central theme introduces an in-depth, real-world case study, key concepts are clearly defined, and end of chapter exercises and research tasks encourage autonomous learning"--

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Language death, language attrition and language contact; 3. Pidgins and Creoles; 4. Semi-Creoles (varieties with Creole-like features which are not Creoles); 5. Macro-convergence; 6. Close-variety convergence and change: the Koine; 7. Some final thoughts.

About the author

Robert McColl Millar is Professor in Linguistics and Scottish Language at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has a particular interest in the ways in which history, economics, and ideology interact with language use, now and in the past. He his recent publications include A Sociolinguistic History of Scotland (2020), Trask's Historical Linguistics, 4th edition (2023), and A History of the Scots Language (2023).

Summary

Speakers of different languages come into contact; their languages influence each other. This textbook investigates this reality in modern and historical contexts. Each central theme introduces an in-depth, real-world case study, key concepts are clearly defined, and end of chapter exercises and research tasks encourage autonomous learning.

Product details

• Authors: Robert McColl Millar, Robert Mccoll (University of Aberdeen) Millar
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.11.2024
• EAN: 9781316512739
• ISBN: 978-1-316-51273-9
• No. of pages: 218
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative linguistics; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General, Sociolinguistics, Language: history & general works, Historical & comparative linguistics, Bilingualism & multilingualism, Language: history and general works, Bilingualism and multilingualism, Historical and comparative linguistics, For undergraduate education and equivalents