The Dynamics Of Linguistic Variation

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The Dynamics of Linguistic Variation

Author : Terttu Nevalainen
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9027290385
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis The Dynamics of Linguistic Variation by : Terttu Nevalainen

Download or read book The Dynamics of Linguistic Variation written by Terttu Nevalainen and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008-12-03 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Variability is characteristic of any living language. This volume approaches the ‘life cycle’ of linguistic variability in English using data sources that range from electronic corpora to the internet. In the spirit of the 1968 Weinreich, Labov and Herzog classic, the fifteen contributions divide into three sections, each highlighting different stages in the dynamics of English across time and space. They show, first, how increase in variability can be initiated by processes that give rise to new patterns of discourse, which can ultimately crystallize into new grammatical elements. The next phase is the spread of linguistic features and patterns of discourse, both new and well established, through the social and regional varieties of English. The final phase in this ebb and flow of linguistic variability consists of processes promoting some variable features over others across registers and regional and social varieties, thus resulting in reduced variation and increased linguistic homogeneity.

The Dynamics of Linguistic Variation

Author : Terttu Nevalainen
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9027234825
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis The Dynamics of Linguistic Variation by : Terttu Nevalainen

Download or read book The Dynamics of Linguistic Variation written by Terttu Nevalainen and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Variability is characteristic of any living language. This volume approaches the 'life cycle' of linguistic variability in English using data sources that range from electronic corpora to the internet. In the spirit of the 1968 Weinreich, Labov and Herzog classic, the fifteen contributions divide into three sections, each highlighting different stages in the dynamics of English across time and space. They show, first, how increase in variability can be initiated by processes that give rise to new patterns of discourse, which can ultimately crystallize into new grammatical elements. The next phase is the spread of linguistic features and patterns of discourse, both new and well established, through the social and regional varieties of English. The final phase in this ebb and flow of linguistic variability consists of processes promoting some variable features over others across registers and regional and social varieties, thus resulting in reduced variation and increased linguistic homogeneity.

The Dynamic Interlanguage

Author : Miriam R. Eisenstein
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1489909001
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (899 download)

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Book Synopsis The Dynamic Interlanguage by : Miriam R. Eisenstein

Download or read book The Dynamic Interlanguage written by Miriam R. Eisenstein and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent work in applied linguistics has expanded our understanding of the rule governed nature of language. The concept of an idealized speaker -hearer whose linguistic competence is abstract and separate from reality has been enriched by the notion of an actual interlocutor who possesses communicative compe tence, a knowledge of language which accounts for its use in real-world con texts. Areas of variation previously relegated to idiosyncratic differences in performance have been found to be dynamic yet consistent and lend themselves to study and systematic description. Because language acquisition involves the development of communicative competence, by its very nature it incorporates variation and systematicity. Sec ond-language acquisition is similarly variable, since interlanguage is subject to the same universal and language-specific conventions. In addition, aspects of the second language have been found to be unevenly acquired and are differ entially reflected in particular contexts or settings. Yet, despite our expanding knowledge, this variability is only beginning to be treated in much of the sec ond-language acquisition literature. This volume presents the work of some researchers and methodologists who have taken on the challenge of including variation in their research designs and pedagogical recommendations. Variation is shown to be relevant to lin guistic, social, and psychological aspects of language. It is apparent in the registers and dialects of the target language and in the inter language of learners.

The Locus of Linguistic Variation

Author : Constantine Lignos
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 9027263663
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis The Locus of Linguistic Variation by : Constantine Lignos

Download or read book The Locus of Linguistic Variation written by Constantine Lignos and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2018-09-06 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores how the patterning of surface variation can shed light on the grammatical representation of variable phenomena. The authors explore variation in several domains, addressing intra- and inter-dialectal patterns, using diverse sources of data including corpora of naturally-occurring speech and judgment studies, and drawing on lesser-studied varieties of familiar languages, such as Northwest British Englishes and varieties of Canadian French. Ultimately, the contributions serve to expand our understanding of the nature of the mental representations and abstract processes required to support variation in language. Originally published as special issue of Linguistic Variation 16:2 (2016)

Language and Space

Author : Peter Auer
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
ISBN 13 : 3110180022
Total Pages : 910 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Language and Space by : Peter Auer

Download or read book Language and Space written by Peter Auer and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2010 with total page 910 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series of HANDBOOKS OF LINGUISTICS AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCE is designed to illuminate a field which not only includes general linguistics and the study of linguistics as applied to specific languages, but also covers those more recent areas which have developed from the increasing body of research into the manifold forms of communicative action and interaction. For "classic" linguistics there appears to be a need for a review of the state of the art which will provide a reference base for the rapid advances in research undertaken from a variety of theoretical standpoints, while in the more recent branches of communication science the handbooks will give researchers both an verview and orientation. To attain these objectives, the series will aim for a standard comparable to that of the leading handbooks in other disciplines, and to this end will strive for comprehensiveness, theoretical explicitness, reliable documentation of data and findings, and up-to-date methodology. The editors, both of the series and of the individual volumes, and the individual contributors, are committed to this aim. The languages of publication are English, German, and French. The main aim of the series is to provide an appropriate account of the state of the art in the various areas of linguistics and communication science covered by each of the various handbooks; however no inflexible pre-set limits will be imposed on the scope of each volume. The series is open-ended, and can thus take account of further developments in the field. This conception, coupled with the necessity of allowing adequate time for each volume to be prepared with the necessary care, means that there is no set time-table for the publication of the whole series. Each volume will be a self-contained work, complete in itself. The order in which the handbooks are published does not imply any rank ordering, but is determined by the way in which the series is organized; the editor of the whole series enlist a competent editor for each individual volume. Once the principal editor for a volume has been found, he or she then has a completely free hand in the choice of co-editors and contributors. The editors plan each volume independently of the others, being governed only by general formal principles. The series editor only intervene where questions of delineation between individual volumes are concerned. It is felt that this (modus operandi) is best suited to achieving the objectives of the series, namely to give a competent account of the present state of knowledge and of the perception of the problems in the area covered by each volume.

Dynamic Variation in Second Language Acquisition

Author : Bronwen Patricia Dyson
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 9027259763
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Dynamic Variation in Second Language Acquisition by : Bronwen Patricia Dyson

Download or read book Dynamic Variation in Second Language Acquisition written by Bronwen Patricia Dyson and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2021-08-15 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dynamic Variation in Second Language Acquisition makes a cutting-edge contribution to knowledge about how second language learners develop their second language. Drawing comprehensively on Processability Theory’s theoretical understanding that individual variation dynamically interacts with ordered stages of language acquisition, the book provides an informative, critical analysis of historical and contemporary debates about the role of variation in linguistic variation, particularly second language variation. Richly illustrated with a forensic year-long study of how eight adolescent learners of English vary in their acquisition of syntax and morphology, this monograph shows that learners vary in their timing of development between two distinct learner types along a continuum and without skipping stages. The book uncovers how learner variation is dynamic and quite (although not entirely) systematic and how this variation contributes to change in the second language. It will be essential reading for researchers, students, and practitioners.

Aspects of Linguistic Variation

Author : Daniël Olmen
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110609878
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis Aspects of Linguistic Variation by : Daniël Olmen

Download or read book Aspects of Linguistic Variation written by Daniël Olmen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2018-12-03 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Linguistic variation is a topic of ongoing interest to the field. Its description and its explanations continue to intrigue scholars from many different backgrounds. By taking a deliberately broad perspective on the matter, covering not only crosslinguistic and diachronic but also intralinguistic and interspeaker variation and examining phenomena ranging from negation over connectives to definite articles in well- and lesser-known languages, the volume furthers our understanding of variation in general. The papers offer new insights into, among other things, the theoretical notion of comparative concepts, the social or mental nature of language structure, the areal factor in lexical typology and the diachronic implications of semantic maps. The collection will thus be of relevance to typologists and historical linguists, as well as to people studying variation within the areas of cognitive and functional linguistics.

The future of dialects

Author : Marie-Hélène Côté
Publisher : Language Science Press
ISBN 13 : 3946234186
Total Pages : 411 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (462 download)

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Book Synopsis The future of dialects by : Marie-Hélène Côté

Download or read book The future of dialects written by Marie-Hélène Côté and published by Language Science Press. This book was released on 2016-02-05 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditional dialects have been encroached upon by the increasing mobility of their speakers and by the onslaught of national languages in education and mass media. Typically, older dialects are “leveling” to become more like national languages. This is regrettable when the last articulate traces of a culture are lost, but it also promotes a complex dynamics of interaction as speakers shift from dialect to standard and to intermediate compromises between the two in their forms of speech. Varieties of speech thus live on in modern communities, where they still function to mark provenance, but increasingly cultural and social provenance as opposed to pure geography. They arise at times from the need to function throughout the different groups in society, but they also may have roots in immigrants’ speech, and just as certainly from the ineluctable dynamics of groups wishing to express their identity to themselves and to the world. The future of dialects is a selection of the papers presented at Methods in Dialectology XV, held in Groningen, the Netherlands, 11-15 August 2014. While the focus is on methodology, the volume also includes specialized studies on varieties of Catalan, Breton, Croatian, (Belgian) Dutch, English (in the US, the UK and in Japan), German (including Swiss German), Italian (including Tyrolean Italian), Japanese, and Spanish as well as on heritage languages in Canada.

German(ic) in language contact

Author : Christian Zimmer
Publisher : Language Science Press
ISBN 13 : 3961103135
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (611 download)

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Book Synopsis German(ic) in language contact by : Christian Zimmer

Download or read book German(ic) in language contact written by Christian Zimmer and published by Language Science Press. This book was released on with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is well-known that contact between speakers of different languages or varieties leads to dynamics in many respects. From a grammatical perspective, especially contact between closely related languages/varieties fosters contact-induced innovations. The evaluation of such innovations reveals speakers’ attitudes and is in turn an important aspect of the sociolinguistic dynamics linked to language contact. In this volume, we assemble studies on such settings where typologically congruent languages are in contact, i.e. language contact within the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. Languages involved include Afrikaans, Danish, English, Frisian, (Low and High) German, and Yiddish. The main focus is on constellations where a variety of German is involved (which is why we use the term ‘German(ic)’ in this book). So far, studies on language contact with Germanic varieties have often been separated according to the different migration scenarios at hand, which resulted in somewhat different research traditions. For example, the so-called Sprachinselforschung (research on ‘language islands’) has mainly been concerned with settings caused by emigration from the continuous German-speaking area in Central Europe to locations in Central and Eastern Europe and overseas, thus resulting in some variety of German abroad. However, from a linguistic point of view it does not seem to be necessary to distinguish categorically between contact scenarios within and outside of Central Europe if one thoroughly considers the impact of sociolinguistic circumstances, including the ecology of the languages involved (such as, for instance, German being the majority language and the monolingual habitus prevailing in Germany, but completely different constellations elsewhere). Therefore, we focus on language contact as such in this book, not on specific migration scenarios. Accordingly, this volume includes chapters on language contact within and outside of (Central) Europe. In addition, the settings studied differ as regards the composition and the vitality of the languages involved. The individual chapters view language contact from a grammar-theoretical perspective, focus on lesser studied contact settings (e.g. German in Namibia), make use of new corpus linguistic resources, analyse data quantitatively, study language contact phenomena in computer-mediated communication, and/or focus on the interplay of language use and language attitudes or ideologies. These different approaches and the diversity of the scenarios allow us to study many different aspects of the dynamics induced by language contact. With this volume, we hope to exploit this potential in order to shed some new light on the interplay of language contact, variation and change, and the concomitant sociolinguistic dynamics. Particularly, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of closely related varieties in contact.

Dynamics of Contact-Induced Language Change

Author : Claudine Chamoreau
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
ISBN 13 : 3110271435
Total Pages : 403 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Dynamics of Contact-Induced Language Change by : Claudine Chamoreau

Download or read book Dynamics of Contact-Induced Language Change written by Claudine Chamoreau and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Open publication The volume deals with previously undescribed morphosyntactic variations and changes appearing in settings involving language contact. Contact-induced changes are defined as dynamic and multiple, involving internal change as well as historical and sociolinguistic factors. A variety of explanations are identified and their relationships are analyzed. Only a multifaceted methodology enables this fine-grained approach to contact-induced change. A range of methodologies are proposed, but the chapters generally have their roots in a typological perspective. The contributors recognize the precautionary principle: for example, they emphasize the difficulty of studying languages that have not been described adequately and for which diachronic data are not extensive or reliable. Three main perspectives on contact-induced language change are presented. The first explores the role of multilingual speakers in contact-induced language change, especially their spontaneous innovations in discourse. The second explores the differences between ordinary contact-induced change and change in endangered languages. The third discusses various aspects of the relationship between contact-induced change and internal change.

Variation and Evolution

Author : Sandro Sessarego
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 9027260893
Total Pages : 287 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Variation and Evolution by : Sandro Sessarego

Download or read book Variation and Evolution written by Sandro Sessarego and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of original studies analyzing how different internal and external factors affect Spanish language variation and evolution across a number of (socio)linguistic scenarios. Its primary goal is to expand our understanding of how native and non-native varieties of Spanish co-exist with other languages and dialects under the influence of several linguistic and extra-linguistic forces. While some papers analyze the linguistic dynamics affecting Spanish grammars from a cross-dialectal perspective, others focus more closely on the relations established between Spanish and other languages with which it is in contact. In particular, some of these studies show how power and prestige may support (or not) the use of Spanish in different social contexts and educational realities, given that the attitudes toward this language vary greatly across the Spanish-speaking world. On the one hand, in some regions, Spanish represents the variety spoken by the majority of the population, typically related to prestige and power (Spain and Latin America). On the other hand, in other contexts, the same language is conceived as a minority variety, which may or may not be associated with stigmatized immigrant groups (i.e., in the US).

Language Standardization and Language Change

Author : Ana Deumert
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9027295794
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Language Standardization and Language Change by : Ana Deumert

Download or read book Language Standardization and Language Change written by Ana Deumert and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2004-03-31 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Language Variation on Jamaican Radio

Author : Michael Westphal
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 9027264732
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Language Variation on Jamaican Radio by : Michael Westphal

Download or read book Language Variation on Jamaican Radio written by Michael Westphal and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2017-12-14 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents an in-depth analysis of language variation in Jamaican radio newscasts and talk shows. It explores the interaction of global and local varieties of English with regard to newscasters’ and talk show hosts’ language use and listeners’ attitudes. The book illustrates the benefits of an integrated approach to mass media: the analysis takes into account radio talk and the perception of the audience, it is context-sensitive, paying close attention to variation within and between genres, and it combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to demonstrate the complexity of language in the media. The book contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of World Englishes in the 21st century and endonormative stabilization processes in linguistically heterogeneous postcolonial speech communities, and shows how mass media both challenge and reproduce sociolinguistic stratification. This volume will be relevant for researchers interested in the fields of sociolinguistics, language attitudes, and language in the media.

Language Variety in the New South

Author : Jeffrey Reaser
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 1469638819
Total Pages : 449 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (696 download)

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Book Synopsis Language Variety in the New South by : Jeffrey Reaser

Download or read book Language Variety in the New South written by Jeffrey Reaser and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2018-03-15 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines to assess the use and meaning of language in the South, a region rich in dialects and variants, this comprehensive edited collection reflects the cutting-edge research presented at the fourth decennial meeting of Language Variety in the South in 2014. Focusing on the ongoing changes and surprising continuities associated with the contemporary South, the contributors use innovative methodologies to pave new pathways for understanding the social dynamics that shape the language in the South today. Along with the editors, contributors to the volume include Agnes Bolonyai, Katie Carmichael, Phillip M. Carter, Becky Childs, Danica Cullinan, Nathalie Dajko, Catherine Evans Davies, Robin Dodsworth, Hartwell S. Francis, Kirk Hazen, Anne H. Charity Hudley, Neal Hutcheson, Alex Hyler, Mary Kohn, Christian Koops, William A. Kretzschmar Jr., Sonja L. Lanehart, Andrew Lynch, Ayesha M. Malik, Christine Mallinson, Jim Michnowicz, Caroline Myrick, Michael D. Picone, Dennis R. Preston, Paul E. Reed, Joel Schneier, James Shepherd, Erik R. Thomas, Sonya Trawick, and Tracey L. Weldon.

Sources of Variation in First Language Acquisition

Author : Maya Hickmann
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 9027265321
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Sources of Variation in First Language Acquisition by : Maya Hickmann

Download or read book Sources of Variation in First Language Acquisition written by Maya Hickmann and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2018-02-22 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Developmental research has long focused on regularities in language acquisition, minimizing factors that might be responsible for variation. Although researchers are now increasingly concerned with one or another of these factors, this volume brings together research on three different sources of variation: language-specific properties, the nature of the input to children across contexts, and several aspects of the learners themselves. Chapters explore these sources of variation within an interdisciplinary and comparative approach allying theories and methodologies stemming from linguistics, psycholinguistics, developmental psychology, and neuroscience. The comparative perspective involves different languages, contexts of use, types of learners (first/second language acquisition, monolingual/bilingual learners, autism, language impairment), as well as vocal and visuo-gestural communicative modalities (co-verbal gestures, sign language acquisition). The volume points to the need to enhance interdisciplinary research using complementary methodologies to further examine sources of variation and to integrate variation into a more general developmental theory.

Linguistic Attractors

Author : David L. Cooper
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9027223548
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Linguistic Attractors by : David L. Cooper

Download or read book Linguistic Attractors written by David L. Cooper and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The interdisciplinary linguistic attractor model portrays language processing as linked sequences of fractal sets, and examines the changing dynamics of such sets for individuals as well as the speech community they comprise. Its motivation stems from human anatomic constraints and several artificial neural network approaches. It uses general computation theory to: (1) demonstrate the capacity of Cantor-like fractal sets to perform as Turing Machines; (2) better distinguish between models that simply match outputs (emulation) and models that match both outputs and internal dynamics (simulation); and (3) relate language processing to essential computation steps executed in parallel. Measure and information theory highlight the key variables driving linguistic dynamics, while catastrophe and game theory help predict the possible topologies of language change.It introduces techniques to isolate and measure attractors, and to interpret their stability and relative content within a system. Important results include the capability to distinguish the sequence of related sound changes, and to make point-to-point comparisons of different texts using common metrics. Other techniques allow quantifiable ambiguity landscapes illustrating the forces that propel different languages in different directions.

Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Variation

Author : Ermenegildo Bidese
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 902726631X
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (272 download)

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Book Synopsis Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Variation by : Ermenegildo Bidese

Download or read book Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Variation written by Ermenegildo Bidese and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributions of this book deal with the issue of language variation. They all share the assumption that within the language faculty the variation space is hierarchically constrained and that minimal changes in the set of property values defining each language give rise to diverse outputs within the same system. Nevertheless, the triggers for language variation can be different and located at various levels of the language faculty. The novelty of the volume lies in exploring different loci of language variation by including wide-ranging empirical perspectives that cover different levels of analysis (syntax, phonology and prosody) and deal with different kinds of data, mostly from Romance and Germanic languages, from dialects, idiolects, language acquisition, language attrition and creolization, analyzed from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. The volume is divided in three parts. The first part is dedicated to synchronic variation in phonology and syntax; the second part deals with diachronic variation and language change, and the third part investigates the role of contact, attrition and acquisition in giving rise to language change and language variation in bilingual settings. This volume is a useful tool for linguistics of diverse theoretical persuasions working on theoretical and comparative linguistics and to anyone interested in language variation, language change, dialectology, language acquisition and typology.