Diglossia and Language Contact by Lotfi Sayahi

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Summary

The book will appeal to anyone interested in language contact, the Arabic language, and North Africa. It uses sociohistorical information and a wide range of data sets, including electronic communication, to provide a comprehensive picture of the past and present language situation in the region.

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Diglossia and Language Contact by Lotfi Sayahi

This volume provides a detailed analysis of language contact in North Africa and explores the historical presence of the languages used in the region, including the different varieties of Arabic and Berber as well as European languages. Using a wide range of data sets, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms of language contact under classical diglossia and societal bilingualism, examining multiple cases of oral and written code-switching. It also describes contact-induced lexical and structural change in such situations and discusses the possible appearance of new varieties within the context of diglossia. Examples from past diglossic situations are examined, including the situation in Muslim Spain and the Maltese Islands. An analysis of the current situation of Arabic vernaculars, not only in the Maghreb but also in other Arabic-speaking areas, is also presented. This book will appeal to anyone interested in language contact, the Arabic language, and North Africa.
'Sayahi's fascinating history of the collision of languages in the Maghreb reclaims the original definition of diglossia and will transform the way linguists conceptualize its role as a mechanism of language change' Barbara E. Bullock, University of Texas, Austin
'Combining synchronic and diachronic research on Arabic and the languages with which it has been in contact around the western Mediterranean, this book masterfully demonstrates the role diglossia can play in language change.' Keith Walters, Portland State University
'I have found the book as a whole to be very illuminating. It contains a great deal of new information, and also newly-packaged older information.' Uri Horesh, Journal of Sociolinguistics
Lotfi Sayahi is Associate Professor of Linguistics and Chair in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the State University of New York, Albany, where he teaches courses on sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and language contact.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780521119368
ISBN 10 0521119367
Title Diglossia and Language Contact
Author Lotfi Sayahi
Series Cambridge Approaches To Language Contact
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Year published 2014-04-24
Number of pages 267
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.