Seminar Language Contact

Absence of inflection and a fixed word order, a multitude of periphrastic constructions and a large amount of loan words – English features a number of typical characteristics of creole languages. Can we possibly infer from that that English is a creole language and, if so, when and how did it develop? In this seminar we are first going to discuss different forms of language change through language contact and its outcome in linguistic terms. Language contact is all-pervasive and constantly present, the contact situations being very divers: they range from cultural contact and the peaceful co-existence of different language communities (e.g. Spanish, Chinese and English in the US) to hostile attitudes and conquest (e.g. Norman Conquest of England, Colonialism). Language contact results are diverse, too: from ‚mere‘ borrowings (e.g. words or syntactic structures) to the ‚birth‘ or ‚death‘ of languages (pidgins and creoles; Manx). In the second part of the seminar, we will discuss the history of the English as both conquerors and conquered, and look closely at the development of English, which underwent a radical typological change. The changes English was subjected to have led some linguists to describe them as processes of ‚creolisation‘ as a result of the intense language contact between English and Celtic, Old Norse and French. One of the main foci of interest in the third part of the seminar will be, therefore, the history of the English language and the question: -Was English ever a Creole?- State exam: The contents of this class are relevant for the topic B1 variation and change ('Variation und Wandel') of the synchronic part of the state exam, as well as for the topics B1 language change, B2 morphology and syntax, B3 lexicology and B4 varieties, standard and standardisation of the diachronic part of the exam. Recommended: Algeo, John (2006). The Origins and Development of the English Language. Boston: Wadsworth. Thomason, Sarah (2001). Language Contact. An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press; Anmeldung Prüfungsanmeldung (über LSF): 22. Juni - 3. Juli 2015 Department III - Anglistik und Amerikanistik LMU München SoSe 2015 Dr. Krischke Ulrike