Linguistic Change under Contact Conditions 9783110885170, 9783110139501

Table of contents :
Tadpoles, cuckoos, and multiple births: Language contact and models of change
Language contact leading to language change: The case of Northern Norway
Middle English is a creole and its opposite: On the value of plausi¬ble speculation
On the origin of Middle and Modern English
Notes on the history of word-final /g/ in English
Anglo-French and Medieval English scribal practice: The case of Middle English and

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Linguistic Change under Contact Conditions

W G DE

Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs 81

Editor Werner Winter

Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York

Linguistic Change under Contact Conditions

Edited by Jacek Fisiak

Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York

1995

Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague) is a Division of Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin.

© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Linguistic change under contact conditions / edited by Jacek Fisiak. p. cm. - (Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs ; 81) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 3-11-013950-2 (alk. paper) 1. Languages in contact. 2. Linguistic change. I. Fisiak, Jacek. II. Series. P130.5.L56 1995 417'.2-dc20 95-10316 CIP

Die Deutsche Bibliothek -

CIP-Einheitsaufnähme

Linguistic change under contact conditions / ed. by Jacek Fisiak. Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, 1995 (Trends in linguistics : Studies and monographs ; 81) ISBN 3-11-013950-2 NE: Fisiak, Jacek [Hrsg.]; Trends in linguistics / Studies and monographs

© Copyright 1995 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Typesetting and printing: Arthur Collignon GmbH, Berlin. Binding: Lüderitz & Bauer, Berlin. Printed in Germany.

Preface

This volume contains a selection of papers submitted to the International Conference on Language Contact and Linguistic Change held at Rydzyna near Poznan, Poland from June 5 to 8, 1991. Four of the papers were not delivered at the conference (Li, van Maarle and Smits, SilvaCorvalan, and Viereck). Some papers presented at Rydzyna have not been included in the present volume and will appear elsewhere. Most of the papers deal with language contact as a source of linguistic change in particular languages, quite often only with reference to specific constructions or certain aspects of phonology or grammar. A few contributions are focussed on more general issues, such as language contact and models of change (J. Aitchison) or the diagnostics of what change is contact-induced (W. van der Wurff). Two contributions are only loosely connected with the central theme of the volume (Markus and Manczak). Markus discusses limitations on language contact as a cause of linguistic innovation and variation and concentrates on internal factors giving rise to change. Manczak presents his method of "comparing the vocabulary in parallel texts" as the key to the solution of various linguistic problems, including the problem of Rumanian and "Lekhitic" languages. Although most of the papers deal with specific languages, some of them undoubtedly address issues of a broader nature and their methodology and findings will have a definite impact on the field in question (e. g., Posner on parameter settings and Li on pidginization in Chinese). The majority of papers are devoted to English language-contact phenomena both at the earlier and more recent times. It should be pointed out, however, that other languages have also been given due attention (e. g. Chinese, Catalan, French, Norwegian, Spanish, etc.). The present volume covers a wide spectrum of phenomena subsumed under the heading "language contact" from phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary to pragmatics and sociolinguistics. It is interesting to note a fairly large number of treatments of syntax. The Rydzyna conference has not resulted in a manifesto on the future of language contact research or a dramatic breakthrough in the field. It has, however, resulted in a number of interesting suggestions and concrete solutions which have been recorded in this volume and may be applied in future investigations. The conference has also proved that

VI

Preface

there is no agreement on numerous fundamental issues, let alone matters of detail. This clearly demonstrates that the field is not a dead one, and many problems are still to be solved by generations of linguists. Finally I would like to acknowledge with great pleasure the efficiency and involvement of conference secretaries Mrs Danuta Trawczynska and Mrs Katarzyna Btotnicka whose dedication to the conference organization contributed to its success. Jacek Fisiak

List of participants

At the International Conference on Language Contact and Linguistic Change held at Rydzyna, Poland, June 5-8, 1991. Director Professor Jacek Fisiak

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Conference secretaries Mrs. Danuta Trawczynska, M. Sc. Mrs. Katarzyna Blotnicka

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Participants Dr. Arleta Adamska-Salaciak

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Dr. Jean Aitchison

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Dr. Anders Ahlqvist

University College, Galway

Professor Wiesiaw Awedyk

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Professor Jerzy Banczerowski

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Professor Leiv Egil Breivik

University of Bergen

Professor Tove Bull

University of Troms0

Dr. Christiane Dalton-Puffer

University of Vienna

Professor Andrei Danchev

University of Sofia

Professor Bernhard Diensberg

University of Bonn

Professor Wolfgang U. Dressler

University of Vienna

Dr. Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kolaczyk

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Dr. Piotr Gasiorowski, M. A.

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Professor Marinel Gerritsen

University of Nijmegen

Dr. Camiel Hamans

Breda

VIII

List of participants

Professor Raymond Hickey

University of Munich

Professor Ernst Hakon Jahr

University of Troms0

Professor Dieter Kastovsky

University of Vienna

Decent Veronika Kniezsa

Eötvös Lorand University, Budapest

Professor B. LewandowskaTomaszczyk

University of Lodz

Dr. Marie-Louise Liebe-Harkort

Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin

Professor Helmut Liidtke

University of Kiel

Professor Witold Manczak

Jagellonian University, Cracow

Professor Manfred Markus

University of Innsbruck

Professor Jaap van Marie

P. J. Mertens Institut, Amsterdam

Docent Alia Martynjuk

University of Kharkov

Dr. Rafat Molencki

University of Silesia, Katowice

Dr. Hanna Mausch

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Dr. Elvira Myachinskaya

University of Leningrad

Professor Stephen J. Nagle

USC Coastal Carolina College, Conway

Professor Ruta Nagucka

Jagellonian University, Cracow

Professor Henryk Niedzielski

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Professor Rebecca Posner

University of Oxford

Professor Sara Sanders

USC Coastal Carolina College, Conway

Professor Edgar Schneider

Free University, Berlin

Dr. John Charles Smith

University of Manchester

Dr. Robin Smith

University of Leiden

Dr. Peter Stein

University of Regensburg

Professor Seiichi Suzuki

University of Hiroshima/University of Munich

Dr. Jerzy Tomaszczyk

University of Lodz

Professor Hildegard L. C. Tristram

University of Freiburg

List of participants

IX

Dr. Manfred Voss

University of Bonn

Decent Jerzy Wehia

University of Warsaw

Professor Werner Winter

University of Kiel

Dr. Laura Wright

University of Oxford

Dr. Wim van der Wurff

University of Leiden

Dr. Anna Zbierska-Sawala

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

Contents

Jean Aitchison Tadpoles, cuckoos, and multiple births: Language contact and models of change

1

Tove Bull Language contact leading to language change: The case of Northern Norway

15

Christiane Dalton-Puffer Middle English is a Creole and its opposite: On the value of plausible speculation

35

Helmut Lüdtke On the origin of Middle and Modern English

51

Andrei Danchev Notes on the history of word-final /g/ in English

55

Bernhard Diensberg Anglo-French and Medieval English scribal practice: The case of Middle English and l\l change in Modern English, we get what can be presented as a partial complication (/Λ/ being a more highly marked vowel than /u/), that is, an "idiosyncratic" (or "rare") change. This would seem to tie in with the claim made before (Danchev 1991 b) that whereas Middle English was a period of prevailing structural simplification, displayed in the marked tendency towards overall analytic structure (the high productivity of the monosyllabic word-formation pattern, examined in this paper, is part of that tendency), during the Modern English period a parallel tendency towards synthetic structure and concomitant complications has begun to reassert itself (for some details cf. Danchev 1992). We can thus identify the following path of development. There exists a certain gap in the language, which is filled by borrowing. The pattern acquires expressivity and thus becomes productive. This leads to the syntagmatic normalization of the phonological system - /g/ begins to occur in all three basic positions - initial, medial, and final. As a result of these developments word-final /g/ in Modern English has become a fairly reliable indicator of non-Anglo-Saxon origin (cf. 1). To conclude, it may be repeated that general changes are more typical of language contact situations, whereas idiosyncratic changes can often be due to internal developments originating in specific communicative situations such as the need for greater expressivity. There remain various problems concerning the origin, dialectal distribution, meanings (and their changes) of the examples reviewed in this paper, which have not been dealt with at this stage.

74

Andrei Danchev

Appendix: List of words with final /g/ in English The following list contains all the words (not just phonological words) on which the present study is based. However, as has already been pointed out at the beginning (1), I do not claim to have found all the Middle and Modern English words ending in /g/. The figures after each item in the list refer to the respective sections of the diachronic classification (2.3), where the origin and meaning (of the less known examples) are indicated. agog 2.3.4 analogue 2.3.4 apologue 2.3.4 bag 2.3.3 beg 2.3.1; 2.3.7 big 2.3.3 blag 2.3.8 blitzkrieg 2.3.10 bog 2.3.2 bogue 2.3.8 brag 2.3.7 brig 2.3.3; 2.3.4; 2.3.8 brogue 2.3.2 bug 2.3.7 burg 2.3.10 catalogue 2.3.4 cholagogue 2.3.4 chug 2.3.6 dag 2.3.8 cleg 2.3.3 clog 2.3.7 cog 2.3.7 collogue 2.3.4 crag 2.3.2 crug 2.3.9 cyberg 2.3.11 ifog 2.3.8 decalogue 2.3.4