Morphosyntactic Complexity, Normativity and Language Contact

Abstract

Standard German is considered to be a high-contact language. Intensive language contact of adult L2-learners leads to simplifications of languages (Trudgill 2009, 2010, 2011a, 2011b). There are, however, indications to be found in the literature that Standard German is morphosyntactically more complex than other Germanic high-contact standards such as English or Norwegian (Campbell / Poser 2008, McWhorter 2008). The German language also shows differences relevant for complexity on an intralingual basis: In an empirical, frequency-based research it is shown that the morphosyntax of the written standard is supposed to be significantly more complex than in spoken everyday language. This leads to the question of a potential factor other than language contact, which influences complexity and may explain the research’s results. A possible effect of normativity will be discussed. This could be especially relevant for the written standard, not only because of its medium but also because of its distinctive prestige within the German-speaking area. Whereas the spoken everyday language – as a fugitive form of communication – naturally underlies less normative pressure. This article represents a project sketch of a dissertation.