Phonological Drift and Language Contact
The Northwest European Phonological Area

Using advances in linguistic theory this book explains multiple unusual sound patterns that occur in different languages of northern Europe.

Pavel Iosad (Author)

9781108497381, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 June 2025

342 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.64 kg

'The book offers a comprehensive case study of language contact in north-western Europe, contextualized within linguistic typology, traditional views, and contemporary theoretical frameworks. Iosad brings together both extensively documented and lesser-studied languages to present a compelling account of the synchronic and diachronic dimensions of pre-aspiration as an areal feature. Finally - and refreshingly - the book is a genuine pleasure to read.' Darya Kavitskaya, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and of Linguistics, UC Berkeley

Several language families of northern Europe – Germanic, Celtic, and Uralic – share phonetic and phonological patterns that are typologically unusual. This book demonstrates how we can better understand these convergences: they exemplify the phenomenon of drift. Using the latest advances in theoretical linguistics, the study of sound change, and language variation, it offers insights into the development of these features and what they tell us about past cultural and linguistic contacts. Although the languages are not closely related, an understanding of drift grounded in the theory of the life cycle of phonological patterns reveals the workings of convergent developments. Covering a wide range of vernacular varieties, this book shows how phonological microvariation is illuminated by an approach grounded in the theory of the life cycle and historical sociolinguistics. It is essential reading for historical and theoretical linguists, and anyone with an interest in the cultural and linguistic contacts across northern Europe.

Introduction
1. Setting the scene
2. Research context
3. Theoretical background
4. The sychrony and diachrony of preaspiration
5. North Germanic
6. Celtic
7. The Sámi Languages
8. Preaspiration and language contact
9. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Phonetics, phonology [CFH]