English as a Contact Language

English as a Contact Language (Studies in English Language)

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.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: nothing but a contact language
Chapter 2 The role of contact in English syntactic change in the Old and Middle English periods
Chapter 3 Multilingualism and code-switching as mechanisms of contact-induced lexical change in late Middle English
Chapter 4 The contact origins of Standard English
Chapter 5 English as a contact language in the British Isles
Chapter 6 English as a contact language in Ireland and Scotland
Chapter 7 The contact dynamics of socioethnic varieties in North America
Chapter 8 English as a contact language: the “New Englishes”
Chapter 9 English as a contact language: lesser-known varieties
Chapter 10 The role of mundane mobility and contact in dialect death and dialect birth
Chapter 11 The diversification of English: old, new and emerging epicentres
Chapter 12 Driving forces in English contact linguistics
Chapter 13 Substrate influence and universals in the emergence of contact Englishes: re-evaluating the evidence
Chapter 14 Transfer and contact in migrant and multiethnic communities: the conversational historical be + -ing present in South African Indian English
Chapter 15 English as a contact language: the role of children and adolescents
Chapter 16 Innovation and contact: the role of adults (and children)
Chapter 17 Accelerator or inhibitor? On the role of substrate influence in interlanguage development
Chapter 18 Speculating on the future of English as a contact language