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Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 12: Selected papers from the 45th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages (LSRL), Campinas, Brazil
Edited by Ruth E.V. Lopes, Juanito Ornelas de Avelar and Sonia M. L. Cyrino
[Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 12] 2017
► pp. 199–212

Chapter 13
Oral Portuguese in Maputo from a diachronic perspective

Diffusion of linguistic innovations in a language shift scenario

| Department of Romance Studies and Classics, Stockholm University
| Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University | School of Languages and Media Studies, Dalarna University

This paper analyzes the diffusion of contact-induced linguistic innovations in Portuguese spoken in Maputo, Mozambique, in two datasets from 1993/4 and 2007, focusing on quantitative accounts of linguistic innovations at lexical, lexico-syntactic, syntactic and morphosyntactic levels. Overall, innovative features that registered in the two datasets are qualitatively the same. Results confirm an increase in the frequency of innovative features related to second language acquisition and language contact at all linguist levels, with particularly high diffusion rates of morphological simplifications. This increase may be related to bilingualism and changes in use of, access to, and input of Portuguese. Furthermore, the qualitative stability of features may be a sign of an emerging usage norm.

Keywords: language contact, language shift, linguistic innovation, diachronic quantitative approach, contact-induced change, Portuguese, Bantu languages, Mozambique
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Material and method
  • Previous research
  • Results
    • Analysis of variation
  • Summary and discussion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 19 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rllt.12.13rei
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