Investigating Obsolescence: Studies in Language Contraction and Death

Abstract

List of maps List of contributors Preface Introduction Part I. Focus on Context: 1. On language death in eastern Africa Gerrit J. Dimmendaal 2. The disappearance of the Ugong in Thailand David Bradley 3. Scottish and Irish Gaelic: the giant's bed-fellows Seosamh Watson 4. The rise and fall of an immigrant language: Norwegian in America Einar Haugen 5. Breton vs. French: language and the opposition of political, economic, social, and cultural values Lois Kuter 6. 'Persistence' or 'tip' in Egyptian Nubian Aleya Rouchdy 7. Sociolinguistic creativity: Cape Breton Gaelic's linguistic 'tip' Elizabeth Mertz 8. Skewed performance and full performance in language obsolescence: the case of an Albanian variety Lukas D. Tsitsipis 9. On the social meaning of linguistic variability in language death situations: variation in Newfoundland French Ruth King 10. The social functions of relativization in obsolescent and non-obsolescent languages Jane H. Hill Part II. Focus on Structure: 11. Problems in obsolescence research: the Gros Ventres of Montana Allan R. Taylor 12. The structural consequences of language death Lyle Campbell and Martha C. Muntzel 13. On signs of health and death Eric P. Hamp 14. Case usage among the Pennsylvania German sectarians and nonsectarians Marion Lois Huffines 15. Estonian among immigrants in Sweden Katrin Maandi 16. The incipient obsolescence of polysynthesis: Cayuga in Ontario and Oklahoma Marianne Mithun 17. Urban and non-urban Egyptian Nubian: is there a reduction in language skill? Aleya Rouchdy 18. Some lexical and morphological changes in Warlpiri Edith L. Bavin 19. Language contraction and linguistic change: the case of Welland French Raymond Mougeon and Edouard Beniak 20. Lexical innovation and loss: the use and value of restricted Hungarian Susan Gal Part III. Invited Commentaries: 21. Some people who don't talk right: universal and particular in child language, aphasia, and language obsolescence Lise Menn 22. Language obsolescence and language history: matters of linearity, leveling, loss, and the like Henry M. Hoenigwald 23. Language convergence and language death as social processes Kathryn A. Woolard 24. Pidgins, creoles, immigrant, and dying languages Suzanne Romaine 25. The 'up' and 'down' staircase in secondary language development Roger W. Anderson Bibliography Index of languages General index.