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Some structural similarities in the outcomes of language contact with Russian

  • Diana Forker and Lenore A. Grenoble
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Abstract

This paper surveys a broad range of languages in contact with Russian to provide an overview of a core set of similarities in the outcomes of contact-induced change. We consider both lexical and structural borrowings, focusing on five categories: adjectives, verbs, indefinite pronouns, participles and conjunctions, and the structure of complex clauses. There are clear genetic and areal tendencies for particular strategies for the integration of loan verbs, while we also find broad similarities in the changes across all languages surveyed, despite their differences typologically and genetically, and also in terms of their demographics and local contact ecologies.

Abstract

This paper surveys a broad range of languages in contact with Russian to provide an overview of a core set of similarities in the outcomes of contact-induced change. We consider both lexical and structural borrowings, focusing on five categories: adjectives, verbs, indefinite pronouns, participles and conjunctions, and the structure of complex clauses. There are clear genetic and areal tendencies for particular strategies for the integration of loan verbs, while we also find broad similarities in the changes across all languages surveyed, despite their differences typologically and genetically, and also in terms of their demographics and local contact ecologies.

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