The choice of forms in contact varieties
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Kapitolina Fedorova
Abstract
The article addresses the issue of language choice in contact situations on the basis of linguistic intersection in the Russian-Chinese border area. It aims to analyze morphological forms found in Russian-Chinese communication, both in the past (in data on Russian-Chinese pidgin) and in the present, and to reveal the nature of the motivations that determine speakers’ choice of forms. The analysis of three sets of data – (1) historical data on Russian-Chinese Pidgin; (2) modern data on actual interethnic communication; (3) metalinguistic data obtained from consultants without reference to a particular ethnic group (Chinese) – find more similarities between the first two sets. It shows therefore that choice of morphological forms can depend on social settings and linguistic stereotypes rather than linguistic structure per se.
Abstract
The article addresses the issue of language choice in contact situations on the basis of linguistic intersection in the Russian-Chinese border area. It aims to analyze morphological forms found in Russian-Chinese communication, both in the past (in data on Russian-Chinese pidgin) and in the present, and to reveal the nature of the motivations that determine speakers’ choice of forms. The analysis of three sets of data – (1) historical data on Russian-Chinese Pidgin; (2) modern data on actual interethnic communication; (3) metalinguistic data obtained from consultants without reference to a particular ethnic group (Chinese) – find more similarities between the first two sets. It shows therefore that choice of morphological forms can depend on social settings and linguistic stereotypes rather than linguistic structure per se.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Nominal borrowings in Tsova-Tush (Nakh-Daghestanian, Georgia) and their gender assignment 15
- Lexical convergence reflects complex historical processes 35
- The ideological background of language change in Permic-speaking communities 59
- Enets-Russian language contact 85
- Izhma Komi in Western Siberia 119
- From head-final towards head-initial grammar 143
- Russian influence on Surgut Khanty and Estonian aspect is limited but similar 183
- Quotative indexes in Permic 217
- Some structural similarities in the outcomes of language contact with Russian 259
- Why do two Uralic languages (Surgut Khanty and Erzya) use different code-switching strategies? 289
- Analyzing Modern Chinese Pidgin Russian 315
- The choice of forms in contact varieties 345
- Language data and maps 369
- Languages & language families 381
- Subject index 383
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Nominal borrowings in Tsova-Tush (Nakh-Daghestanian, Georgia) and their gender assignment 15
- Lexical convergence reflects complex historical processes 35
- The ideological background of language change in Permic-speaking communities 59
- Enets-Russian language contact 85
- Izhma Komi in Western Siberia 119
- From head-final towards head-initial grammar 143
- Russian influence on Surgut Khanty and Estonian aspect is limited but similar 183
- Quotative indexes in Permic 217
- Some structural similarities in the outcomes of language contact with Russian 259
- Why do two Uralic languages (Surgut Khanty and Erzya) use different code-switching strategies? 289
- Analyzing Modern Chinese Pidgin Russian 315
- The choice of forms in contact varieties 345
- Language data and maps 369
- Languages & language families 381
- Subject index 383
