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  3. Language Contact
  • Cited by 475
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
2009
Online ISBN:
9780511809873
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809873
Series:
Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics
Subjects:
Sociolinguistics, English Language and Linguistics: General Interest, Language and Linguistics
Information

Book description

Most societies in today's world are multilingual. 'Language contact' occurs when speakers of different languages interact and their languages influence each other. This book is an introduction to the subject, covering individual and societal multilingualism, the acquisition of two or more languages from birth, second language acquisition in adulthood, language change, linguistic typology, language processing and the structure of the language faculty. It explains the effects of multilingualism on society and language policy, as well as the consequences that long-term bilingualism within communities can have for the structure of languages. Drawing on the author's own first-hand observations of child and adult bilingualism, the book provides a clear analysis of such phenomena as language convergence, grammatical borrowing, and mixed languages.

Reviews

'Matras does indeed succeed in his stated goal of bringing a much-needed emphasis on the individual bilingual speaker back to language contact theory.'

Source: Journal of Sociolinguistics

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