Recent developments in contact linguistics suggest considerable overlap of branches such as historical linguistics, variationist sociolinguistics, pidgin/creole linguistics, language acquisition, etc. This book highlights the complexity of contact-induced language change throughout the history of English by bringing together cutting-edge research from these fields. Special focus is on recent debates surrounding substratal influence in earlier forms of English (particularly Celtic influence in Old English), on language shift processes (the formation of Irish and overseas varieties) but also on dialects in contact, the contact origins of Standard English, the notion of new epicentres in World English, the role of children and adults in language change as well as transfer and language learning. With contributions from leading experts, the book offers fresh and exciting perspectives for research and is at the same time an up-to-date overview of the state of the art in the respective fields.

This volume, covering a range of topics such as Spanish as a heritage language in the United States, policy issues, pragmatics and language contact, sociolinguistic variation and contact, and Bozal (Creole) Spanish, will serve the interests of linguists, educators, and policy makers alike. It provides cutting edge research on varieties of Spanish spoken by children, teenagers, and adults in places as diverse as Chicago, New York, New Mexico, and Houston; Valencia and Galicia; the Andean highlands; and the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The emphasis is on spoken Spanish, although researchers also investigate code-switching in the lyrics of bachata songs and the presence of creole in Cuban and Brazilian literature. This collection will be of interest wherever Spanish is spoken.

It is generally agreed that about 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today and at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. This state-of-the-art Handbook examines the reasons behind this dramatic loss of linguistic diversity, why it matters, and what can be done to document and support endangered languages. The volume is relevant not only to researchers in language endangerment, language shift and language death, but to anyone interested in the languages and cultures of the world. It is accessible both to specialists and non-specialists: researchers will find cutting-edge contributions from acknowledged experts in their fields, while students, activists and other interested readers will find a wealth of readable yet thorough and up-to-date information.

More than any other European language English has been shaped by its contacts with other languages such as Celtic, Latin, Scandinavian and French. This is true not only of the vocabulary, but also of morphology and even phonology and syntax. But also the contact between different varieties of English played an important role, especially in the shaping of the Englishes outside England. The papers contained in this volume deal with such contacts from various points of views. Major topics are: the restructuring of lexical fields by borrowing processes in Old, Middle and Early Modern English, the influence of Scandinavian on the morphology, the influence of Latin on English syntax, the development of Middle English verse meter under Italian influence, the origin of spelling conventions, the role of code-switching and language mixing for the development of the language, and the role of language contact in general in Central Europe.

The global spread of English has resulted in contact with an enormous variety of different languages worldwide, leading to the creation of many new varieties of English. This book takes an original look at what happens when speakers of these different varieties interact with one another.

Written for both researchers and advanced students, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art survey of the field of Spanish linguistics. Balancing different theoretical perspectives among expert scholars, it provides an in-depth examination of all sub-fields of research in Hispanic linguistics, with a focus on recent advances.

Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.