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Is Otomí creating a new lexical class for the modification of noun phrases as a result of the contact with Spanish?
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Dik Bakker
Published/Copyright:
April 16, 2010
Abstract
In this contribution we seek support for the hypothesis that Otomí, a language from Mexico, which is in intense contact with Spanish, is developing a specialized set of adjectives, a category that is lacking from the classical language. Arguments are derived from two sources, a corpus of translations into Otomí of around 750 Spanish adjectives, and a corpus of 59 short texts in spoken Otomí, in which a number of Spanish adjectives were found as loanwords. Pointing out several changes in the contemporary language, mainly among younger, often bilingual speakers, we provide support for our hypothesis, which suggests that Otomí is undergoing a typological change.
Published Online: 2010-04-16
Published in Print: 2010-03
© by Akademie Verlag, Berlin, Germany
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Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Is Otomí creating a new lexical class for the modification of noun phrases as a result of the contact with Spanish?
- Spanish articles in Correntinean Guaraní: a comparison with Paraguayan Guaraní
- Lexical evidence for a redefinition of Paraguayan “Jopara”
- Code switching in Sia Pedee story-telling
- Grammatical borrowing from Spanish/Portuguese in some native languages of Latin America
- Don’t mess with ergatives! How the borrowing of the Spanish indefinite article affects the split-ergative system of Chamorro
Keywords for this article
language contact;
borrowing;
Spanish, Otomí;
adjectives;
part of speech system
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Is Otomí creating a new lexical class for the modification of noun phrases as a result of the contact with Spanish?
- Spanish articles in Correntinean Guaraní: a comparison with Paraguayan Guaraní
- Lexical evidence for a redefinition of Paraguayan “Jopara”
- Code switching in Sia Pedee story-telling
- Grammatical borrowing from Spanish/Portuguese in some native languages of Latin America
- Don’t mess with ergatives! How the borrowing of the Spanish indefinite article affects the split-ergative system of Chamorro
