Language in Contact, Part 1

Question 1

Language contact

Answer 1

when two or more languages or dialects come into extended contact with each other and how our languages change as a result

Question 2

Possible causes of language contact

Answer 2

geography, war, and trade

Question 3

Outcomes of language contact

Answer 3

1. Widespread bilingualism or code switching
2. Selection of a lingua franca
3. Language creation: pidgins and creoles

Question 4

Outcome 1: Widespread bilingualism or code switching

Answer 4

Speakers in an area are fluent in multiple languages
Seen in many areas of Africa and Asia

Question 5

Outcome 2: Selection of a lingua franca

Answer 5

Any language used to enable communication between groups of people with differing native languages

Question 6

Pidgins

Answer 6

simplified language used in specific interactions such as business, service, and trade

Question 7

Characteristics of pidgin langauges

Answer 7

Pidgins have no native speakers - it is always someones second, third, etc language
Governed by convention. They have established vocab and grammatical structures (so someone can speak poorly or well)
Grammars that are simpler than their source languages
Vocab is usually highly restricted and contains few terms for abstract objects
Pidgins are not mutually intelligible with their source languages (native speakers have to learn the pidgin)

Question 8

Superstrate/lexifier language

Answer 8

the language from which most vocab is drawn

Question 9

Chinese pidgin english

Answer 9

Spoken in Canton, China from about the late 17th c until around 1900
Very restricted vocab
Most words derived from English but modified to fit the phonological structure of Cantonese
English is superstrate language

Question 10

Creole language

Answer 10

Once children begin to acquire pidgin as a native language, it becomes a creole

Many creoles languages include the word “pidgin” in their name but are not actually pidgin (e.g. Hawaiian pidgin)

Question 11

Creole language characteristics

Answer 11

-Creole languages have native speakers
-complex grammar and vocab

Question 12

Creole languages are often the result of…

Answer 12

colonization

Question 13

Hawaiian Creole/Pidgin English

Answer 13

Low status and blamed for poor education test scores
Considered casual talk
Associated with lower class

Question 14

Similarities between pidgins and creoles

Answer 14

Simplified consonant clusters
E.g. Cameroonian Pidgin English
“Strong” becomes “trong”

Stopping of fricatives
e.g. Tok Pisin
“Think” become “tink”

Phonetics: tend to have sounds that are very common in the world’s languages
Implosives (when you take air in) are not as common

Use of reduplication to avoid homonymy and indicate plural
E.g. pigs = pikipiki, pig = piki

Question 15

Morphology and tonals in pidgins and creoles

Answer 15

Pidgins are not tonal, even when the input languages are tonal
Tonal creoles exist but are rare

Morphology
Pidgins lack inflectional morphology
Creoles can have inflectional morphology but not common

Question 16

Jamaican Creole Morphology

Answer 16

Plural formation:
Plural nouns are formed by combining an unmarked noun with a 3rd plural “dem” (definites only)
E.g. “di dag-dem” = the dogs; di dag = the dog

Question 17

Differences between pidgins and creoles

Answer 17

-Pidgins may have flexible word order, but creoles tend to have fixed word order
-Little inflection or affixation but these can be found in creoles but never pidgins
-No complex sentences in pidgins
E.g embedded sentences - “i will tell her that”
-Creoles have fully developed grammar and complex sentences are possible
-Pidgins don’t have definite or indefinite particles
-Many creoles lack articles but some do have them
-Creoles have fully developed tense systems

Question 18

Borrowing

Answer 18

Refers to borrowing of words

Not restricted to individual words
E.g. English adopted phonetic sounds from french

Question 19

Borrowing syntax: why vs how come

Answer 19

English has two ways of asking the reason for something: “why” and “how come”

Why: When you use “why” you have to use subject auxiliary inversion

How come: When you use “why” you have to use subject auxiliary inversion

This difference is because why is a native english word while how come is borrowed

Question 20

When does language shift/endangerment occur>

Answer 20

when language contact comes into contact, there is a power imbalance between the people

Question 21

Adstrates

Answer 21

languages in contact have equal prestige

Question 22

Superstrate

Answer 22

language of a dominant group

Question 23

Lexifier language

Answer 23

the input language that supplies most of the basic vocabulary or lexicon

Question 24

Substrate

Answer 24

the language of the less dominant group

Typically provides most of the phonological and grammatical features