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mar. 21/04/2020
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Réunion Interne Atelier "History and Ecology of Languages": Copied form without content: Relexification in ordinary contact-induced change |
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14h30-16h00 |
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distance |
Conférence de :
dans le cadre HELAN2 |
Scholars investigating language contact generally distinguish between two major types of contact-induced change: the transfer of linguistic form and the transfer of structural and semantic patterns. These two types are variously labelled ‘direct diffusion’ vs. ‘indirect diffusion’, ‘global copying’ vs. ‘selective copying’, ‘MAT[ter borrowing]’ vs. ‘PAT[tern borrowing]’, or ‘substance copying’ vs. ‘schematic copying’, with the 'MAT/PAT' terminology being particularly popular. The nature of the terminological dichotomy evokes a conceptual dichotomy and thus leads to the simplistic view that all language contact processes involve either the transfer of form with at least some concomitant semantic and functional structure, or the transfer of semantic and functional structure alone, without concomitant transfer of form. However, as will be argued here, a third type of contact-induced change is possible, namely the transfer of form alone, which is subsequently filled with the semantic and functional specifications of the recipient-language item that is being replaced, called 'relexification' following Muysken (1981). The argument is based on a detailed analysis of three adpositions copied from the Turkic language Sakha (Yakut) into Lamunkhin Even, a Northern Tungusic lect spoken in central Yakutia, and is further substantiated with examples taken from a cross-linguistic survey of possible cases of relexification.
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Contact...
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