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Chapter 13. Dialect levelling or shift

Lexical outcomes of Štokavian-Čakavian contact in Dalmatia
  • Ivana Škevin Rajko and Lucija Šimičić
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Language Variation - European Perspectives VII
This chapter is in the book Language Variation - European Perspectives VII

Abstract

South Čakavian dialects spoken in Dalmatia, the coastal part of Croatia, are characterised by a high level of innovation coupled with heavy Romance influence, which is mostly discernible at the lexical and, less often, at the syntactic level. Despite their continued presence, dialect levelling led to the decline in the quantity and frequency of locally specific Romance elements. In the paper we examine whether and to what extent four Čakavian varieties are affected by levelling leading to either the Regional Dalmatian koine (RD) or a shift in the direction of the Standard Croatian variety (SC), and whether there are differences in that respect between the varieties under research. In order to determine the degree of advergence toward SC or RD, we examine the reported use and familiarity with lexical variants of Romance origin by means of apparent time analysis, followed by a comparative analysis of the collected data in four originally Čakavian settings. Our research reveals that differential resistance to shift and levelling of certain parts of the lexicon can be observed, that there are preferred models in the processes of levelling and change, and that the motives for maintenance and shift found at the lexical level depend on extralinguistic factors including geographical, social and linguistic isolation of certain Čakavian varieties.

Abstract

South Čakavian dialects spoken in Dalmatia, the coastal part of Croatia, are characterised by a high level of innovation coupled with heavy Romance influence, which is mostly discernible at the lexical and, less often, at the syntactic level. Despite their continued presence, dialect levelling led to the decline in the quantity and frequency of locally specific Romance elements. In the paper we examine whether and to what extent four Čakavian varieties are affected by levelling leading to either the Regional Dalmatian koine (RD) or a shift in the direction of the Standard Croatian variety (SC), and whether there are differences in that respect between the varieties under research. In order to determine the degree of advergence toward SC or RD, we examine the reported use and familiarity with lexical variants of Romance origin by means of apparent time analysis, followed by a comparative analysis of the collected data in four originally Čakavian settings. Our research reveals that differential resistance to shift and levelling of certain parts of the lexicon can be observed, that there are preferred models in the processes of levelling and change, and that the motives for maintenance and shift found at the lexical level depend on extralinguistic factors including geographical, social and linguistic isolation of certain Čakavian varieties.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Chapter 1. Language hybridism 9
  6. Chapter 2. Of clocks, clouds and sound change 27
  7. Chapter 3. Evaluations of foreign accent in a purist speech community 53
  8. Chapter 4. C’era i fascisti e i tedeschi 71
  9. Chapter 5. Language change caught in the act 85
  10. Chapter 6. Virtual sociolinguistics 103
  11. Chapter 7. ASPA Tools or how to measure foreign-accentedness and intelligibility in an objective manner 119
  12. Chapter 8. Vowel harmony patterns in Greek dialectal child speech 133
  13. Chapter 9. Tracking change in social meaning 145
  14. Chapter 10. Slit-t in Dublin English 159
  15. Chapter 11. Panel and trend studies 175
  16. Chapter 12. Quotative variation in Bernese Swiss German 191
  17. Chapter 13. Dialect levelling or shift 203
  18. Chapter 14. Complementing in another language 217
  19. Chapter 15. The past perfect in Cypriot Greek 231
  20. Index 245
https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.22.13raj

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Chapter 1. Language hybridism 9
  6. Chapter 2. Of clocks, clouds and sound change 27
  7. Chapter 3. Evaluations of foreign accent in a purist speech community 53
  8. Chapter 4. C’era i fascisti e i tedeschi 71
  9. Chapter 5. Language change caught in the act 85
  10. Chapter 6. Virtual sociolinguistics 103
  11. Chapter 7. ASPA Tools or how to measure foreign-accentedness and intelligibility in an objective manner 119
  12. Chapter 8. Vowel harmony patterns in Greek dialectal child speech 133
  13. Chapter 9. Tracking change in social meaning 145
  14. Chapter 10. Slit-t in Dublin English 159
  15. Chapter 11. Panel and trend studies 175
  16. Chapter 12. Quotative variation in Bernese Swiss German 191
  17. Chapter 13. Dialect levelling or shift 203
  18. Chapter 14. Complementing in another language 217
  19. Chapter 15. The past perfect in Cypriot Greek 231
  20. Index 245
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