Principles in the emergence and evolution of linguistic features in World Englishes
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Tobias Weber
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Principles in the emergence and evolution of linguistic features in World Englishes
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Anchor Academic Publishing
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9783954896912
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1
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CHF 40.10
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Englische Sprachwissenschaft / Literaturwissenschaft
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English
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97
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kein Kopierschutz/DRM
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PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
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PDF
This study deals with different explanatory models for the emergence or existence of linguistic features in varieties of the English language. After a brief overview of the current research, five non-standard varieties from all over the world, ranging from a traditional dialect to pidgins and creoles, are analyzed in two morphosyntactic and two phonological features. The theoretical approaches are discussed with reference to the features, providing recommendations for or advice against certain explanatory models. Finally, Bybee's usage-based functionalist approach and the usage-based synthesis of new-dialect formation according to Ansaldo are highlighted as plausible explanations for the features. Formalist, descriptive universals are rejected in favour of functionalist, cognitive universals in human language processing, acquisition and evolution, as they occur in language contact or speaker contact scenarios - the driving force of language change.
Tobias Weber, M.Ed., was born in 1987 in Cottbus/Germany. He started his studies at Dresden University of Technology in 2006 and graduated as B.Ed. in 2010 with a first-hand account on Belfast's mural art and its socio-historical importance. After having
Text Sample: Chapter 3., Selection of varieties of English: In order to create a subset as interesting and representative as possible, five varieties of English were chosen for our purpose. We find one member of every variety type as classified in Kortmann/Lunkenheimer (2012: 3f.). The five types are: 1) L1t, a low-contact traditional L1 dialect or native-speaker variety, defined as '[t]raditional, regional non-standard mother-tongue varieties, e.g. East Anglian English and the dialects spoken in the Southwest, the Southeast and the North of England' (Kortmann/Lunkenheimer 2011). 2) L1c, a high-contact L1 variety, including 'transplanted L1 Englishes and colonial standards (e.g. Bahamian English, New Zealand English), as well as language shift varieties (e.g. Irish English) and standard varieties (e.g. colloquial American English)' (ibid.). 3) L2, an indigenized non-native variety that compete with local native languages, and 'that have a certain degree of prestige and normative status in their political communities, like Pakistani English, [...] but also non-native varieties that compete with local L1 varieties for prestige and normative status, e.g. Chicano English and Black South African English' (ibid.). 4) Creoles, English-based contact languages and native language to many people, and 'that developed in settings where a non-English-speaking group was under strong pressure to acquire and use some form of English, while access to its L1 speakers was severely limited (e.g. in plantation settings). Many creoles have become the native language of the majority of the population', e.g. Jamaican Creole (ibid.), and. 5) Pidgins, 'English-based contact languages that developed for communication between two groups who did not share the same language, typically in restricted domains of use (especially trade).' Almost all pidgins in eWAVE can be considered expanded pidgins in contrast to prototypical pidgins, i.e. they are less restricted in the domains of use, and many people speak them as native or primary languages (ibid.). Furthermore, the chosen varieties have historically quite well-recorded influences with respect to the origin of their settlers. In other words, we know the linguistic ecology of these varieties quite well, which provides fair chances of explanation to all theoretical approaches. Another aspect is the broad but distinct variety of substrate influences. We can find European, Asian, and Pacific languages in contact situations with non-standard varieties of English, creating quite a diverse impression. Scottish English was chosen as L1t because of its distinct features distinguishing it from Standard British English, and its influence on other language types as a result of contact situations due to colonial seafaring in the past centuries, especially as of the seventeenth century colonial expansion which finally lead to an increase of English-speakers all over the world (Hansen et al. 1996: 25). All varieties discussed here have founders who were British, partly Scottish, navy sailors - 'men of little education' and probably speakers of a non-standard variety of English (Zettersten 1969: 133). An attractive L1c is New Zealand English, spoken almost at the opposite end of the world and influenced by native Maori. The indigenized L2 in this work will be Chicano English which is mainly spoken by Mexican immigrants to the United States but which took an interesting development. The Bonin Island English, also called Ogasawara Mixed Language, is an English-Japanese hybrid spoken on an archipelago south of Japan and will serve as creole. Last but not least, we will deal with the pidgin spoken on Norfolk Island and Pitcairn with its Tahitian roots. In the following, the five varieties will be introduced in order to gain insight in their sociolinguistic, historical and geographic situation, outlining their main characteristics and providing aspects for later discussion. 3.1, Traditional L1 variety: Scottish English: It seems to be rather difficult to define the term Scottish English. Aitken and others think of 'Scottish English as a bipolar linguistic continuum, with broad Scots at one end and Scottish Standard English at the other' (Stuart-Smith 2004: 47). Maguire (2012: 55) expands this bipolar continuum to 'a multi-dimensional sociolinguistic variation space' in which the speakers operate. This space is dependent on the speakers' socioeconomic class, level of education, identification as a Scot or a British, religion, urban or rural origin, age, and fashion of speaking, which still is an abstraction from reality. By far the greatest differences between Standard English and ScE exist in pronunciation and intonation (Hansen et al. 1996: 71). Scots is generally, with exceptions, spoken by working class people, and in informal situations with friends and family, mainly in the ru
Principles in the emergence and evolution of linguistic features in World Englishes
1
Abstract
3
Table of Contents
4
List of abbreviations
6
1. Introduction
7
1.1 Aim of this study
7
1.2 Methods
7
1.3 Basic assumptions
8
2. Current research
12
2.1 Sociolinguistic approaches
12
2.2 Language evolution
14
2.3 Linguistic formalism
16
2.4 Synthetic approaches
19
2.5 Summary
22
3. Selection of varieties of English
23
3.1 Traditional L1 variety: Scottish English
24
3.2 High-contact L1 variety: New Zealand English
26
3.3 Indigenized L2: Chicano English
29
3.4 Creole: Bonin Island English/Ogasawara Mixed Language
31
3.5 Pidgin: Norfolk Island/Pitcairn English
34
4. Selection of linguistic features
38
4.1 Morphosyntactic features
38
4.2 Phonological features
44
5. Discussion
50
5.1 Sociolinguistic approaches
50
5.2 Language evolution
63
5.3 Linguistic formalism
69
5.4 Synthetic approaches
72
5.5 Conclusion – principles at work
76
6. Considerations
80
6.1 Does the input matter? Languages vs. dialects in contact
80
6.2 A different perspective on universals
81
6.3 Reflection upon material and methods
82
6.4 Outlook
83
Bibliography
84
I Works cited
84
II Online articles and electronic resources
90
Appendices
92
