This paper introduces a new, concept-based method for measuring variation in the use and success of loanwords by presenting the results of a case-study on 149 English person reference nouns (i.e. common nouns used to designate people, such as manager) in Dutch. With this paper, we introduce four methodological improvements to current quantitative corpus-based anglicism research, based on the general tenets of Cognitive Sociolinguistics (Geeraerts 2005; Kristiansen and Geeraerts 2007; Geeraerts 2010; Geeraerts et al. 2010): (1) replacing raw frequency as a success measure by a concept-based onomasiological approach; (2) relying on larger datasets and semi-automatic extraction techniques; (3) adding a multivariate perspective to the predominantly structuralist orientation of current accounts; (4) using inferential statistical techniques to help explain variation. We illustrate our method by presenting a case-study on variation in the success of English person reference nouns in Dutch. Generally, this article aims to show how a Cognitive Sociolinguistic perspective on loanword research is beneficial for both paradigms. On the one hand, the concept-based approach provides new insights in the spread of loanwords. On the other hand, attention to contact linguistic phenomena offers a new expansion to the domain of cognitive linguistic studies taking a variationist approach.
This paper introduces anew,concept-based method for measuringvariation in the use and success of loanwordsb yp resentingt he results of ac asestudyon149 English person referencenouns (i.e. common nouns used to designatep eople, sucha smanager)i nD utch.W ith this paper,w ei ntroducef our methodological improvements to current quantitative corpus-based anglicism research,based on the general tenets of Cognitive Sociolinguistics (Geeraerts 2005;Kristiansen and Geeraerts 2007;Geeraerts 2010;Geeraerts et al. 2010): (1) replacingraw frequencyasasuccess measurebyaconcept-based onomasiological approach; (2)relyingonlargerdatasets and semi-automatic extraction techniques;(3) addingamultivariateperspective to the predominantlystructuralist orientation of current accounts;( 4) usingi nferential statistical techniques to help explain variation. We illustrateour method by presentingacase-studyonvariation in the success of English person referencenouns in Dutch.Generally, this article aims to show how aCognitive Sociolinguistic perspective on loanword research is beneficial for both paradigms.Onthe one hand, the concept-based approachprovides new insights in the spread of loanwords. On the other hand, attention to contact linguistic phenomena offersanew expansion to the domain of cognitive linguistic studies takingavariationist approach.In this paper,an ew concept-based method for measuringv ariation in the use and success of loanwordsi si ntroduced. We present the results of ac ase-study on 149E nglish person referencen ouns (i.e. common nouns used to designate people, suchasmanager)inDutch,arguingthat the success of the loanwordsis amultifactorial phenomenon, with success beingdetermined simultaneouslyby Unauthenticated Download Date | 6/24/16 11:12 PM 252 E. Zenner,D.Speelman and D. Geeraerts processingf actors, usage factors, structural factors, and cultural factors. In the present section, we position our studyagainst the background of contact linguistics.Section 2situates it in the context of Cognitive Sociolinguistics,with aspecial focus on the methodological requirements.Section 3introduces the data and Section 4presents the multivariateanalyses to whichwesubjected the data. Section 5formulates our conclusions.Likethe studyoflexical borrowinging eneral (Whitney 1881;Haugen1950; vanC oetsem 1988;F ield 2002;H aspelmath and Tadmor 2009), anglicism research has al ongstandingt radition in (historical) linguistics,w ith an otable rise in attention for the topic in the laten ineteenth and earlyt wentieth century (e.g. Dunger1 899;D eV ooys1 925). Today, anglicism research is still very muchinfashion. Especiallyinweak contact settings likeW estern Europe, where contact with English is typicallyr emotea nd primarilym ediated through the media (Onysko2009:58), English loanwordsare often subject to much(heated) debate.Most studies on anglicisms (in weak contact situations) center around one of four issues.Afi rstg oal is to provide ap recise definition of what an anglicism is (Nettmann-Multanowska2003;Onysko2007; Fischer 2008)...
The world-wide spread of English is one of the most visible symptoms of globalization. In weak contact settings such as Western Europe, where contact with English is usually indirect, remote and asymmetrical, the English language started diffusing at a hitherto unknown rate in the second half of the twentieth century. Crucially, this diffusion happens at two different levels. First, on the macrolevel, English is more and more used as a language of (international) communication. Second, on the micro-level, English is intruding in local languages, most notably by means of lexical borrowing. So far, the macro-and micro-level of linguistic influence are hardly ever linked or simultaneously studied. Nevertheless, as will be shown in this paper, it is interesting to investigate whether a connection between both levels exists. Specifically, we present a quantitative multivariate comparison of the features underlying the choice for English at both levels of analyses, using a diachronic corpus of over 16 000 job ads published in two Dutch job ad magazines. On the macro-level, we verify what communicative and situational parameters (e.g., branch of industry of the recruiter) determine the choice for and distribution of ads written entirely in English. On the micro-level, we verify the impact of the same set of parameters on the choice for inserting English elements in ads where Dutch is the matrix language. Using two multiple logistic regression models, we can verify to which extent the mechanisms underlying language choice at both levels are different. Results show that a large difference exists in the basic proportion of English at both levels, but that quite some similarities in the distribution of English are found when zooming in on the specific parameters underlying language choice. As such, this paper advocates to perceive of the different manifestations of the spread of English as part of a continuum, rather than as isolated phenomena. Hence, we hope to provide a first step in bridging the theoretical and methodological gap between the ELF paradigm and anglicism research.
This paper presents a corpus-based analysis of child-directed speech during Flemish family dinner table interactions. Specifically, we study parents’ style-shifts, that is, their alternation between Standard Dutch and Colloquial Belgian Dutch, a non-standard supraregional variant of Dutch, when interacting with their children. By integrating insights and methods from variationist and interactional sociolinguistics, we pay attention not only to macro-social categories (such as the age of the children), but also to the micro-social and pragmatic context (e. g. frames) of the style-shifts. The fact that this study focuses on a single case-study is a consequence of opting for this combination of course-grained quantitative analyses and fine-grained qualitative analyses. We rely on detailed transcriptions of three hours of recordings for one Flemish household with four children (age nine months, and four, five and seven years old). Our results reveal significant variation in the style-shifts of the mother (age 35) and the father (age 39) with respect to the four children. These results were interpreted against the background of comments made by the parents during a sociolinguistic interview that followed the recordings. Generally, our analyses allow us to provide a nuanced insight into the social meaning of the two language layers (Standard Dutch and Colloquial Belgian Dutch) as they are distributed across the speakers and situations in this family, thus revealing a link between the attested patterns of child-directed speech and the acquisition of sociolinguistic norms.
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