What are borrowing, codeswitching, transfer, and replication? A cognitive take on major manifestations of language contact

Prof. Dr Alexander Onysko (Universität Klagenfurt)

Language contact, emerging from the interaction of speakers and their languages, is one of the major shapers of language use and language development. In the field of the study of language, language contact has thus not only informed investigations into how languages are related and have historically developed and influenced each other, but also, and perhaps even more so, how languages interact in everyday language use of speakers. This focus has become particularly prominent with a “multilingual turn” in linguistics.

The description and analysis of how languages interact depends on identifying the manifestations of language contact. A core endeavour of research in the field has revolved around this issue and a great number of labels and descriptors have been put forward with the aim of capturing the processes that underlie the different manifestations of contact in language use and development. This talk will approach this issue from a cognitive perspective using the categories of borrowing, codeswitching, transfer and replication to differentiate major processes of language contact. Examples from English influence on German and from other language contact situations involving the English language will illustrate these major manifestations of contact as well as their potential interrelations and the intricacies in their classification.

Please contact Julia Landmann to register for the event.

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