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Epistemological issue: The dynamics of bilingualism in language shift ecologies
Edited by Cristina Flores and Neal Snape
[Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 13:1] 2023
► pp. 1–39

The dynamics of bilingualism in language shift ecologies

ORCID logo | University of Chicago
ORCID logo | North-Eastern Federal University | Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North | Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

A large percentage of the world’s languages – anywhere from 50 to 90% – are currently spoken in what we call shift ecologies, situations of unstable bi- or multilingualism where speakers, and in particular younger speakers, do not use their ancestral language but rather speak the majority language. The present paper addresses several interrelated questions with regard to the linguistic effects of bilingualism in such shift ecologies. These language ecologies are dynamic: language choices and preferences change, as do speakers’ proficiency levels. One result is multiple kinds of variation in these endangered language communities. Understanding change and shift requires a methodology for establishing a baseline; descriptive grammars rarely provide information about usage and multilingual language practices. An additional confounder is a range of linguistic variation: regional (dialectal); generational (language-internal change without contact or shift); contact-based (contact with or without shift); and proficiency-based (variation which develops as a result of differing levels of input and usage). Widespread, ongoing language shift today provides opportunities to examine the linguistic changes exhibited by shifting speakers, that is, to zero in on language change and loss in process, rather than as an end product.

Keywords: endangered languages, speaker variation, attrition, shift
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Bilingualism in shift ecologies
  • 2.Social and methodological considerations
    • 2.1Endangered language communities
    • 2.2Identifying a baseline
    • 2.3Variation in endangered language communities
  • 3.Terminology: Speaker types and variation in endangered language communities
    • Innovative speakers: Shifters and new speakers
  • 4.Background: Even
    • 4.1A baseline for even
  • 5.Methodology
    • 5.1Procedures
    • 5.2Participants
    • 5.3Coding procedures
  • 6.Regional variation
  • 7.Word order in even and Sakha
    • 7.1Word order and shift
    • 7.2Word order, shift, and Sakha
    • 7.3Nouns and case marking
  • 8.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 2 February 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.22035.gre
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