Karen P. Corrigan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748634286
- eISBN:
- 9780748671441
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748634286.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Although universal and language-internal processes have operated to create the structural features Northern Irish English described elsewhere in the book, they were also generated by a combination of ...
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Although universal and language-internal processes have operated to create the structural features Northern Irish English described elsewhere in the book, they were also generated by a combination of external factors unique to this part of the world. Of particular importance is historical linguistic contact between populations induced by various migratory processes, including colonisation. In language contact settings, before any claim can be made about the origins of a particular structural feature or the manner in which it has been learned, it is crucial to establish a number of facts about the contact situation itself. In particular, there is the issue of the so-called ‘founder effect’ (Mufwene 2001: 28-29, 2008: 134-143; Thomason 2001: 93; Thomason and Kaufman 1988: 111). This chapter therefore addresses questions regarding the manner in which language shift spread within the region over time utilizing the models of communication network, dialect geography and language ecology introduced in Chapter 1.Less
Although universal and language-internal processes have operated to create the structural features Northern Irish English described elsewhere in the book, they were also generated by a combination of external factors unique to this part of the world. Of particular importance is historical linguistic contact between populations induced by various migratory processes, including colonisation. In language contact settings, before any claim can be made about the origins of a particular structural feature or the manner in which it has been learned, it is crucial to establish a number of facts about the contact situation itself. In particular, there is the issue of the so-called ‘founder effect’ (Mufwene 2001: 28-29, 2008: 134-143; Thomason 2001: 93; Thomason and Kaufman 1988: 111). This chapter therefore addresses questions regarding the manner in which language shift spread within the region over time utilizing the models of communication network, dialect geography and language ecology introduced in Chapter 1.
