Language encounters across time and space: Studies in language contact

The study of language contact across time and space has in recent years received considerable attention in the international research literature. This book is a contribution to this growing field of inquiry. At the Faculty of Arts at the University of Oslo "Language Encounters" has been a special research program since 1995 within the more general framework of "Communication and Communication Patterns". This research program has comprised scholars at the Faculty who are working on projects related to the field of language contact which trace linguistic interaction diachronically as well as synchronically and across a multitude of geographical areas. In conjunction with the program several symposia were arranged in which internationally acclaimed scholars also participated.The present volume is a collection of articles by the participants at these meetings. The three main areas of focus of the contributions are: a) migration and language, b) high variety versus low variety of languages, and c) language encounters from an historical perspective. Common to all of the articles is the emphasis on language use in context. The interaction between the languages or language varieties has been studied in relation to their historical, cultural, social, and/or political settings. …