Proposes a reinterpretation of the language bioprogram hypothesis to show how substrate influence and bioprogrammatic factors may all be invoked to account for various complementary aspects of creole genesis. A contextual and weighted interpretation of markedness shows the selective application of substrate influence in creolization and transfer…

Examines doublets in Arabic, discussing the alterations between the determinants in the doublets, and shows that the alterations are the result of phonological changes. It is concluded that the phonological changes are in agreement with changes that have occurred in other Semitic languages and in modern Arabic dialects. (30 references) (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the infiltration of English into the French language. The article covers terms belonging to one of three levels of acceptability and perception: (1) terms that have been in the French language for a long period; (2) terms that have recently gained a foothold in the language; and (3) terms that still escape the notice of dictionaries.…

Demonstrates the dimensions of the processes of simplification, transfer, and convergence in the contact situation of Chicano Spanish and English. It is argued that changes in a language may be accelerated by a contact situation, reviewing data on bilingual Spanish-speakers in the United States and monolingual Spanish-speakers in Mexico. (11…

Offers a historical view of the Latvian language to show ways in which different political realities have affected Latvian vocabulary; for instance, in terms of loan words, and ways in which Latvian perceptions of loans shed light on cross-cultural aspects of translation. Discusses strategies by which Latvian translators have tried to solve these…

The cross-cultural use of French in francophone Africa has resulted in creative linguistic and stylistic modifications reflecting the sensibilities, inherited cultural patterns, and disposition of its users. French is acquired in the sociocultural context of Africa and not the Christian, Franco-European intellectual milieu. Readers of literary…

The applicability of transferability principles to language contact in the British Isles, especially Ireland, is shown with a detailed discussion of absolute constructions, structures with interesting relations between syntax and discourse, and with susceptibility to cross-linguistic influence. Evidence for transferability of absolutes in…

The motives for the integration of French elements into Lubumbashi Swahili are investigated. Based on an analysis of three different texts, it is argued that the mixing process is carefully regulated and controlled to serve several communicative functions. (18 references) (Author/LB)

The development of language conditions in Helsinki, including its origins in a Swedish-speaking area, makes it possible to observe many processes of sociolinguistic interest. Helsinki's colloquial Finnish has served as a model for the evolution of colloquial Finnish throughout the country. (Contains eight references.) (Author/LB)

Proposes a way of creating a modern scientific vocabulary in various African languages by giving scientific meaning to generally accessible words that are explanatory concepts rather than by borrowing from European languages by phonetic transcription. Describes a sample Nguni nomenclature for physics. (Author/WRM)

Categorization of lone lexical items from one language embedded in another is often difficult due to their ambiguous status as either loanwords or codeswitches. Following variationist principles, a comparative method is used to disambiguate lone English-origin nouns in Acadian-French discourse. (Author/VWL)

Documents the development of a regional dialect in Jakarta, Indonesia, resulting in part from interaction between standard Indonesian and native Jakartan (Betawi). Analysis of verb morphology and the effect of register shift on its use show that a process of koineization has occurred, and Jakarta Indonesian is crystallizing into a nativized koine…

Provides an account of a distributional patterning found with certain modal verbs in a number of SVO languages of Southeast Asia, the occurrence of a particular alethic modal in predicate-final position. Describes the paradigm and how it's arguably the result of borrowing and transfer among the various languages. Its relevance for Cinque's defence…

Synthesizes work on research concerned with the influence of a second language on speaker's first language competence in late bilingualism. Research in the areas of phonology, morphosyntax, lexis, semantics, pragmatics, rhetoric, and conceptual representations suggests that borrowing, convergence, shift, restructuring, and loss result from the…

Analyzes the anterior tense and its interaction with object clitics in Palenquero (a creole spoken in a northern Colombia village), arguing that in Palenquero, the morpho-syntax of the anterior tense and its interaction with clitics results from a convergence of Iberian, especially Portuguese, and relevant African languages. Examples are provided…