scholarly journals Object case variation of the pronoun mis ‘what’ in spontaneous spoken Estonian and Estonian dialects

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-301
Author(s):  
Hanna Pook
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Relative Pronoun ◽  
Object Position ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Usage Frequency ◽  
Estonian Language

Abstract. The Estonian language makes a systematic distinction between total and partial objects on the basis of semantic and syntactic features: total objects occur in nominative or genitive, partial objects in partitive. However, in the case of the interrogative-relative pronoun mis ‘what’, the partitive mida in the expected partial object position can be replaced with the nominative mis. The aim of this paper is to determine which variables significantly affect this object case variation, how the variation differs between contemporary speech and archaic dialects and what might have possibly motivated the development of this variation. This study is based on the data in the Phonetic Corpus of Estonian Spontaneous Speech and the Corpus of Estonian Dialects. The results show that the variation is most affected by verb type, clause type, length of the following word and dialect. It is concluded that there might be multiple motivations behind this variation, mainly language contact (or a lack of it in certain areas), high usage frequency of the pronoun mis and the effect of the standardisation of language. Kokkuvõte. Hanna Pook: Pronoomeni mis käände varieerumine objekti positsioonis spontaanses eesti keeles ja eesti murretes. Eesti keeles eristatakse täis- ja osasihitist mitmete semantiliste ja süntaktilise tunnuste põhjal; täissihitis on nominatiivis või genitiivis, osasihitis partitiivis. Relatiiv-interrogatiivpronoomeni mis puhul võib aga oodatud osasihitise positsioonis asendada partitiivi mida nominatiiviga mis. Selle artikli eesmärk on välja selgitada, millised tunnused mõjutavad oluliselt pronoomeni mis objekti käände varieerumist, kuidas see varieerumine erineb vanemates kohamurretes ja tänapäevases spontaanses kõnes ning mis on selle varieerumise võimalikud põhjused ja mõjurid. Analüüs põhineb eesti keele spontaanse kõne foneetilisel korpusel ja eesti murrete korpusel. Tulemused näitavad, et mis ja mida varieerumist osaobjekti positsioonis mõjutavad kõige enam verbitüüp, lausetüüp, järgneva sõna silpide arv ja murre. On tõenäoline, et pronoomeni mis käände varieerumine on korraga olnud mõjutatud mitmest tegurist, peamiselt keelekontaktidest (või kontaktivähesusest teatud piirkondades), pronoomeni mis suurest kasutussagedusest ja keele standardiseerimisest.

scholarly journals Breton a-marking of (internal) verbal arguments: A result of language contact?

Linguistics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-766
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Stark ◽  
Paul Widmer
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Object Position ◽  
Relative Chronology ◽  
Celtic Languages ◽  
Potential Case ◽  
Existential Constructions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Internal Change ◽  
Pronominal System ◽  
Verbal Arguments

AbstractWe discuss a potential case of borrowing in this paper: Breton a- ‘of’, ‘from’ marking of (internal) verbal arguments, unique in Insular Celtic languages, and reminiscent of Gallo-Romance de/du- (and en-) arguments. Looking at potential Gallo-Romance parallels of three Middle Breton constructions analyzed in some detail (a with indefinite mass nominals in direct object position, a-marking of internal arguments under the scope of negation, a [allomorphs an(ez)-/ahan-] with personal pronouns for internal arguments, subjects (mainly of predicative constructions) and as expletive subjects of existential constructions), we demonstrate that even if there are some semantic parallels and one strong structural overlap (a and de under the scope of negation), the amount of divergences in morphology, syntax and semantics and the only partially fitting relative chronology of the different constructions do not allow to conclude with certainty that language-contact is an explanation of the Breton facts, which might have come into being also because of internal change (bound to restructuring of the pronominal system in Breton). More research is necessary to complete our knowledge of a-marking in Middle Breton and Modern Breton varieties and on the precise history of French en, in order to decide for one or the other explanation.

scholarly journals Usage-Based Contact Linguistics: Effects of Frequency and Similarity in Language Contact

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-481
Author(s):  
Nikolay Hakimov ◽  
Ad Backus
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
Contact Linguistics ◽  
Usage Frequency ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Linguistic Behavior

Abstract The influence of usage frequency, and particularly of linguistic similarity on human linguistic behavior and linguistic change in situations of language contact are well documented in contact linguistics literature. However, a theoretical framework capable of unifying the various explanations, which are usually couched in either structuralist, sociolinguistic, or psycholinguistic parlance, is still lacking. In this introductory article we argue that a usage-based approach to language organization and linguistic behavior suits this purpose well and that the study of language contact phenomena will benefit from the adoption of this theoretical perspective. The article sketches an outline of usage-based linguistics, proposes ways to analyze language contact phenomena in this framework, and summarizes the major findings of the individual contributions to the special issue, which not only demonstrate that contact phenomena are usefully studied from the usage-based perspective, but document that taking a usage-based approach reveals new aspects of old phenomena.

scholarly journals Language contact within the speaker: Phonetic variation and crosslinguistic influence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khia A. Johnson ◽  
Molly Babel
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Recent Model ◽  
Phonetic Variation ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Language Influence

A recent model of sound change posits that the direction of change is determined, at least in part, by the distribution of variation within speech communities (Harrington, Kleber, Reubold, Schiel, & Stevens, 2018; Harrington & Schiel, 2017). We explore this model in the context of bilingual speech, asking whether the less variable language constrains phonetic variation in the more variable language, using a corpus of spontaneous speech from early Cantonese-English bilinguals (Johnson, Babel, Fong, & Yiu, 2020). As predicted, given the phonetic distributions of stop obstruents in Cantonese compared to English, intervocalic English /b d g/ were produced with less voicing for Cantonese-English bilinguals and word-final English /t k/ were more likely to be unreleased compared to spontaneous speech from two monolingual English control corpora (Pitt, Johnson, Hume, Kiesling, & Raymond, 2005; Swan, 2016). Cantonese phonology is more gradient in terms of voicing initial obstruents (Clumeck, Barton, Macken, & Huntington, 1981; W. Y. P. Wong, 2006) than permitting releases of final obstruents, which is categorically prohibited Bauer & Benedict (2011); Khouw & Ciocca (2006). Neither Cantonese-English bilingual initial voicing nor word-final stop release patterns were significantly impacted by language mode. These results provide evidence that the phonetic variation in crosslinguistically linked categories in bilingual speech is shaped by the distribution of phonetic variation within each language, thus suggesting a mechanistic account for why some segments are more susceptible to cross-language influence than others in studies of mutual influence.

Do contact languages influence the distribution of prepositions in Estonian dialects?

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-384
Author(s):  
Mirjam Ruutma
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Prepositional Phrase ◽  
Gradual Decrease ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Regular Distribution ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Usage Frequency ◽  
New Findings

AbstractThe origins of prepositional phrase structure in Finnic languages shows little evidence of being contact-induced. However, whether language contact has influenced the structure at a later stage is debatable. The current paper provides new findings on the topic of contact-induced change by comparing the distribution of prepositions in Estonian dialects with the respective contact languages. The purpose is to determine whether the usage frequency of prepositions is higher in areas mainly in contact with prepositional Indo-European languages. The topic is approached from a corpus-based, frequency-driven viewpoint. The results show a small, gradual decrease in the use of prepositions from the northeastern to the western dialect areas. Thus, the uneven but regular distribution of prepositions in Estonian dialects cannot be explained with language contact. This evidence supports the general understanding that adpositions are an unlikely class to be influenced by contact.

Uh, bueno, em … : Filled pauses as a site of contact-induced change in Boston Spanish

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Erker ◽  
Joanna Bruso
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Filled Pauses ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Linguistic Inquiry ◽  
A Site ◽  
Do So

AbstractThere is mounting evidence that the filled pauses that pervade spontaneous speech constitute a rich site of linguistic inquiry. The present study uses a comparative variationist method to explore possible effects of language contact on pause behavior, examining 3810 filled pauses produced by 24 Spanish-speaking residents of Boston, Massachusetts. Interspeaker differences in pause behavior correlate with intensity of contact. Participants who have lived in the United States for a larger fraction of their lives, who use English more frequently, and who do so more proficiently fill pauses differently when speaking Spanish than do those who have spent less time in the contact setting and whose English skills and usage are more restricted. Results show that a greater degree of contact corresponds to increased use of centralized vowels in phonologically filled pauses (i.e., more frequent use of [a(m)] and [ə(m)] at the expense of [e(m)]). This pattern is interpreted as evidence of contact-induced change.

Metalinguistic comments and multilingual awareness: Estonian-Russian language contacts in blogs

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-415
Author(s):  
Anna Verschik
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Estonian Language ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe paper focuses on the manifestation of multilingual awareness (MLA) and the impact of Estonian in Russian-language blogs by ethnic Russians. MLA can be defined as “an ability to focus on linguistic form and to switch focus between form and meaning” (Jessner, Ulrike. 2014. On multilingual awareness or why the multilingual learner is a specific language learner. In Miroslaw Pawlak & Larissa Aronin (eds.), Essential topics in applied linguistics and multilingualism. Studies in Honor of David Singleton, 175–184. Wien: Springer.). The purpose is to show that metalinguistic comments form as a subcategory of metalinguistic awareness, i.e., the latter conditions the former but not vice versa. I consider not only explicit examples of metalinguistic comments, such as discussion on differences between Russian of Russia and Russian in Estonia, proficiency in Estonian, sometimes including discussions on fine points of Estonian grammar, but also implicit and more subtle examples, such as visual separation of Estonian stems and Russian inflections, playful switches from Cyrillic to Latin characters and back within a sentence or even a word. All blogs are in the Live Journal environment, a medium which combines features of stand-alone blogs and social networks. The bloggers are reasonably proficient in Estonian and work or study in a predominantly Estonian-language environment. Data comes from fifteen blogs from the period 2008–2012. The bloggers position themselves as autonomous language users and consider blogs as their private virtual space with an individual language policy. This is in accordance with the views of some contact linguists (e.g., Thomason, Sara Grey. 2007. Language contact and deliberate change. Journal of Language Contact 1. 41–62.), who consider change by deliberate decision as one of the mechanisms of contact-induced language change.

scholarly journals Contact-induced change in Surgut Khanty relative clauses

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Éva Dékány ◽  
Katalin Gugán ◽  
Orsolya Tánczos
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Western Siberia ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Relative Pronoun ◽  
Dominant Language

AbstractThis paper inquires into the structure of newly emerging relative clauses (RCs) in the Surgut dialect of Khanty, an endangered Finno-Ugric language of Western Siberia. The original externally headed RCs in this language are prenominal, with a participial verb form and a gap at the relativization site. More recently new types have been observed as well: post-nominal participles with and without ťu (a morpheme that looks identical to the distal demonstrative ‘that’) as well as postnominal finite RCs with a relative pronoun. These types have emerged as a result of extensive language contact with Russian, the socially dominant language of the area. The paper provides the first detailed description and analysis of the new Surgut Khanty RC types, exploring their syntactic structure as well as the extent to which language contact has shaped these structures.

scholarly journals How Software Features and Linguistic Analyses Add Value to Orthographic Markup in Transcription of Multilingual Recordings for Digital Archives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Rodriguez ◽  
Robert Vann
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Linguistic Analyses ◽  
Digital Language

This report discusses the importance of accounting for language contact and discourse circumstance in orthographic transcriptions of multilingual recordings of spoken language for deposit in digital language archives (DLAs). Our account provides a linguistically informed approach to the multilingual representation of spontaneous speech patterns, taking steps toward documenting ancestral and emergent codes. Our findings lead to portable lessons learned including (a) the conclusion that transcriptions can benefit from a bottom-up approach targeting particular linguistic features of sociocultural relevance to the community documented and (b) the implication (for researchers developing transcriptions for other DLAs) that the principled implementation of particular software features in tandem with systematic linguistic analysis can be helpful in finding and classifying such features, especially in multilingual recordings.

scholarly journals Broad focus declaratives in Veneto-Spanish bilinguals: Peak alignment and language contact

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Barnes ◽  
Jim Michnowicz
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Peak Alignment ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Identity ◽  
Early Peak ◽  
Spanish Bilinguals

AbstractThis paper examines peak alignment in Veneto-Spanish bilinguals in the small community of Chipilo, Mexico. We have two goals: First, to provide a description of the peak alignment patterns present in bilingual Chipilo Spanish. As Chipilo Spanish is in contact with a northern Italian variety (Veneto), we hypothesize that changes in peak alignment from monolingual norms, specifically regarding early peak alignment, may be due to transfer from Veneto. Second, we seek to compare the present data, based on controlled speech, to the results of a previous study on semi-spontaneous speech in Chipilo Spanish, contributing to the literature that compares methodologies in intonation research. Our results show that bilinguals demonstrate early peaks in controlled speech, although to a lesser extent than in semi-spontaneous speech. We attribute this to contact with Veneto and a strong sense of ethnolinguistic identity that leads speakers to maintain features of a Chipileño variety of Spanish.

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