Project Components
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Exploring the difference between linguistic borrowing and inheritance...
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Summary
The project conjoins qualitative studies of (a) traces of cultural contact (P1) and (b) different types of contact-induced change (P2-P3-P4) with (c) the quantitative study of cultural and language contact (P5), see Table 1.
The project conjoins qualitative studies of (a) traces of cultural contact (P1) and (b) different types of contact-induced change (P2-P3-P4) with (c) the quantitative study of cultural and language contact (P5), see Table 1.
Topic |
Project Component |
Expected Outcome |
Qualitative study of cultural contact |
- Scenarios for dispersals, migrations and contacts between populations within and across the region. - Articles in Oceanic Linguistics, Linguistic Typology, Journal of Language Contact, Diachronica. - Monograph Reconstructing history through language in the Lesser Sunda Islands. |
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Case studies of contact-induced change |
- Reconstruction of the origins of words and grammatical structures in Abui, Alorese and Lamaholot. - Refined criteria for contact-induced transfer in social situations that vary in intensity of contact, direction of influence, language status, and time-depth. - Two PhD theses: (i) Indonesian influence in Abui; (ii) The history of Lamaholot. - Articles on contact-induced changes in the lexicon and grammar of Alorese, and on the role of parents in the transfer of Alorese to the next generation. |
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Quantitative study of cultural and language contact |
- Create and test scenarios for ancestral culture, dispersals, and linguistic history, using quantitative data on contact in culture and language. - Various articles (by postdoc or multiple team members). |
Table 1. Overview of research topics, projects and expected outcome.
P1 studies linguistic traces of socio-cultural historical contact events and types of linguistic diffusion. In addition, it will synthesise the results of P2-P3-P4, to produce detailed historical scenarios for particular populations; and compare these with existing proposals on historical linguistic affiliations (Holton et. al. 2012, Schapper and Klamer, to appear).
P2-P3-P4 study contact in different situations. P2 investigates how an Austronesian superstrate language (Indonesian) influences a Papuan Alor-Pantar (AP) language (Abui). P3 studies the influence from four adstrate AP languages on Austronesian Alorese. P3 studies the traces of a (Papuan) substrate in Austronesian Lamaholot. Most theories of contact assume a qualitative difference between change induced by bilingual speakers (P2-P3), and change due to substrate influence when speakers shift to a new language (P4) (Thomason 2010, Winford 2010). This project integrates both sides of the spectrum.
The quantitative project P5 will serve as cross-validation of the results from P1-P2-P3-P4. It will quantitatively model the history and dispersals of the AP family, and test the predictions of P1.
The Lesser Sundas offer a unique laboratory for this research. The project is urgent, as all the languages in question will soon become extinct, and essential data for linguistic theory and socio-cultural history will disappear.
References Link
P1 studies linguistic traces of socio-cultural historical contact events and types of linguistic diffusion. In addition, it will synthesise the results of P2-P3-P4, to produce detailed historical scenarios for particular populations; and compare these with existing proposals on historical linguistic affiliations (Holton et. al. 2012, Schapper and Klamer, to appear).
P2-P3-P4 study contact in different situations. P2 investigates how an Austronesian superstrate language (Indonesian) influences a Papuan Alor-Pantar (AP) language (Abui). P3 studies the influence from four adstrate AP languages on Austronesian Alorese. P3 studies the traces of a (Papuan) substrate in Austronesian Lamaholot. Most theories of contact assume a qualitative difference between change induced by bilingual speakers (P2-P3), and change due to substrate influence when speakers shift to a new language (P4) (Thomason 2010, Winford 2010). This project integrates both sides of the spectrum.
The quantitative project P5 will serve as cross-validation of the results from P1-P2-P3-P4. It will quantitatively model the history and dispersals of the AP family, and test the predictions of P1.
The Lesser Sundas offer a unique laboratory for this research. The project is urgent, as all the languages in question will soon become extinct, and essential data for linguistic theory and socio-cultural history will disappear.
References Link
