Dynamics of Language Contact
English and Immigrant Languages

Discusses disparate findings to examine the dynamics of contact between languages in an immigrant context.

Michael Clyne (Author)

9780521786485, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 20 March 2003

300 pages, 3 b/w illus. 1 map 35 tables
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.7 cm, 0.455 kg

'… a highly interesting and very readable book … offers a wealth of intriguing examples of language contact and some very lucid analysis … a very impressive overview of language contact in Australia and it can be expected to be on the bibliographies of studies of language contact for many years to come.' Journal of Linguistics

The past decade has seen an unprecedented growth in the study of language contact, associated partly with the linguistic effects of globalization and increased migration all over the world. Written by a leading expert in the field, this much-needed account brings together disparate findings to examine the dynamics of contact between languages in an immigrant context. Using data from a wide range of languages, including German, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Croatian and Vietnamese, Michael Clyne discusses the dynamics of their contact with English. Clyne analyzes how and why these languages change in an immigration country like Australia, and asks why some languages survive longer than others. The book contains useful comparisons between immigrant vintages, generations, and between bilinguals and trilinguals. An outstanding contribution to the study of language contact, this book will be welcomed by students and researchers in linguistics, bilingualism, the sociology of language and education.

List of map and figures
List of tables
Series editor's foreword
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. Dynamics of language shift
3. On models and terms
4. Dynamics of convergence and transference
5. Dynamics of transversion
6. Dynamics of plurilingual processing
7. Dynamics of cultural values in contact discourse
8. Towards a synthesis
Notes
References
Index of authors
Index of languages
Index of subjects.

Subject Areas: Sociolinguistics [CFB]