Dynamics of Language Contact: English and Immigrant Languages

by Michael Clyne

Overview

Written by an expert in the field, this study examines the dynamics of contact between languages in an immigrant context. Michael Clyne discusses the dynamics of contact with English using data from a wide range of languages, including German, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Croatian and Vietnamese. Clyne analyzes how and why these languages change in a country with many immigrants such as Australia, as well as why some languages survive longer than others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521786485
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/20/2003
Series:	Cambridge Approaches to Language Contact
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Michael Clyne is Professorial Fellow in Linguistics and Director of the Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-Cultural Communication at the University of Melbourne. His books include Language and Society in German-Speaking Countries (Cambridge, 1984), Community Languages: the Australian Experience (Cambridge, 1991), Pluricentric Languages (1992), The German Language in a Changing Europe (Cambridge, 1995), and Intercultural Communication at Work (Cambridge, 1995).

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

"This fascinating and rewarding volume is exactly the kind of book on language contact that one would expect Michael Clyne to write."
-Anthony P. Grant, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk, United Kingdom, Anthropological Linguistics

"Clyne's discussion of various models and his terminological framework is an excellent introduction to the study of language contact. The tables throughout the book provide helpful summaries of the data."
-Mary Ruth Wise, SIL International

From the Publisher