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4 - Dialect Contact and the Emergence of New Varieties of English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2021

Danae Perez
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
Marianne Hundt
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
Johannes Kabatek
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
Daniel Schreier
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
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Summary

Varieties of English arose during the colonial period (roughly 1600-1900) at a number of different overseas locations. The specific situations of dialect contact and mixture and the sociolinguistic scenarios which obtained at these locations were instrumental in the variety profiles which resulted. Contact between dialects happened because of the different sources of emigrants to key locations such as Canada or New Zealand and from the status of these groups in the British colonies where they settled. In recent decades there have been several studies of how the varieties, which can now be observed in the modern Anglophone countries throughout the world, achieved the profiles they show. These studies throw light on the nature of language contact and the outcomes it engenders.

Type
Chapter
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English and Spanish
World Languages in Interaction
, pp. 53 - 75
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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