Convergence in generic pronouns: Language contact and Faroesemann

Abstract

Despite state-driven language policy against Danish linguistic influence, the Faroese language has borrowed the Danish generic pronoun mann 'one'. As in Danish, this pronoun varies with generically used tú 'you'. An analysis of the variation in Faroese shows that Faroese tú is used more often than its Danish equivalent du (26% vs. 16.5%) and that although there is extensive inter-individual variation, different linguistic factors (inclusion of the addressee in the referent of the pronoun, use in a conditional construction and verb tense) and social factors (age, gender and peripherality of location; possibly also speech style) constrain this variation in Faroese and in Danish. This suggests that extensive bilingualism has not led to sociolinguistic convergence between Faroese and Danish. Inclusion of sociolinguistic analysis in language contact research can help further our understanding of contact processes and inform language policy.