Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Change

Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Change focuses on the influence of sociocultural terms on the forms of languages.

The selection first underscores the sociocultural dimensions of language change and language evolution and speech style. Discussions focus on the relation of speech style and language evolution, linguistic evidence of language evolution, autonomy of code and style, language contact phenomena, and extension of the concept of language. The book then takes a look at speech and social prestige in the Belizian speech community; Japanese numeral classifiers; and speculations on the growth of ethnobotanical nomenclature. Topics include appearance of varietal names, differentiation and formation of specific names, six universal categories of ethnobotanical nomenclature, salience of speech, and prestige, social success, and language.

The publication elaborates on color categorization in West Futunese; creolization and syntactic change in New Guinea Tok Pisin; relexification processes in Philippine Creole Spanish; and the historical and sociocultural aspects of the distribution of linguistic variants in highland Chiapas, Mexico.

The selection is a valuable source of data for language experts and researchers interested in the sociocultural dimensions of language change.

Contenu

List of Contributors

Preface

Foreword: Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Change

Introduction: Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Change

Background

Extension of the Concept of Language

Language Variation

Language Contact Phenomena

Evolution of Language

Autonomy of Code and Style

Future Perspectives

References

Language Evolution and Speech Style

"Elaborated" versus "Restricted" Speech Style

Language Evolution-Linguistic Evidence

Relation of Speech Style and Language Evolution

Conclusion

Notes

References

Speech and Social Prestige in the Belzian Speech Community

Introduction

The Language Situation

The Salience of Speech

Prestige, Social Success, and Language

Summary and Conclusion

References

Language Acquisition and Language Change: Japanese Numerical Classifiers

References

Speculations on the Growth of Ethnobotanical Nomenclature

Introduction

The Six Universal Categories of Ethnobotanical Nomenclature

Reality of Natural Groupings of Organisms

Primacy of Generic Names

Differentiation and Generalization: The Appearance of Specific and Major Life Form Names

Differentiation and the Formation of Specific Names

Rise of Major Life-Form Names

Appearance of Varietal Names

The Problem of Intermediate Taxa

Linguistic Recognition of'Plant'

Ethnozoological Parallels

An Aside Concerning Nomenclatural Devolution

Conclusions

References

Color Categorization in West Futunese: Variability and Change

References

Creolization and Syntactic Change in New Guinea Tok Pisin

Background

Theoretical Issues in Depidginization

Two Syntactic Changes in Progress

Parallels and Generalizations

Notes

References

Recent Relexification Processes in Philippine Creole Spanish

Introduction

Creoles

Philippine Creole Spanish

Recent and Current Lexical Change

Summary

Notes

References

Lexical Expansion within a Closed Systems

Incoining

Calquing

Tonalizing

Reduplicating

Semantic Extension

Notes

References

Finnish in America: A Case Study in Monogenerational Language Change

References

Historical and Sociocultural Aspects of the Distribution of Linguistic Variants in Highland Chiapas, Mexico

The Dialect Survey

Analysis of Data

Historical Development of Tzeltal and Tzotzil

Dialects of Tzotzil

Dialects of Tzeltal

Patterns of Distribution

References

A Western Apache Writing System: The Symbols of Silas John

Methodological Problems

Development of the Writing System

Description of the Writing System

Meaning of the Symbols

Coding of Nonverbal Behavior

Summary and Conclusion

Notes

References

New Insights into the Nature of Language Change Offered by Language Planning

References

Language Creativity and the Psychotherapy Relationship

References

Index