English as a Contact Language

Daniel Schreier is Associate Professor of English Linguistics in the English Department at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Marianne Hundt is Full Professor of English Linguistics in the English Department at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

• 1. Introduction: nothing but a contact language … Marianne Hundt and Daniel Schreier; 2. The role of contact in English syntactic change in the Old and Middle English periods Olga Fischer; 3. Multilingualism and code-switching as mechanisms of contact-induced lexical change in late Middle English Herbert Schendl; 4. The contact origins of Standard English Laura Wright; 5. English as a contact language in the British Isles Juhani Klemola; 6. English as a contact language in Ireland and Scotland Raymond Hickey; 7. The contact dynamics of socioethnic varieties in North America Walt Wolfram; 8. English as a contact language: the 'New Englishes' Edgar W. Schneider; 9. English as a contact language: lesser-known varieties Daniel Schreier; 10. The role of mundane mobility and contact in dialect death and dialect birth David Britain; 11. The diversification of English: old, new and emerging epicenters Marianne Hundt; 12. Driving forces in English contact linguistics Salikoko S. Mufwene; 13. Substrate influence and universals in the emergence of contact Englishes: reevaluating the evidence Donald Winford; 14. Transfer and contact in migrant and multiethnic communities: the conversational historical be + -ing present in South African Indian English Rajend Mesthrie; 15. English as a contact language: the role of children and adolescents Paul Kerswill, Jenny Cheshire, Sue Fox and Eivind Torgersen; 16. Innovation and contact: the role of adults (and children) Sarah G. Thomason; 17. Accelerator or inhibitor? On the role of substrate influence in interlanguage development Terence Odlin; 18. Speculating on the future of English as a contact language Christian Mair.

'This multifaceted volume demonstrates the important role of language contact and dialect contact in the development of English and its many current varieties, providing new insights into questions of who were the agents of change and what were the processes involved. The list of authors of the eighteen chapters reads like a who's who in contact linguistics and the history of English. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in these areas.' Jeff Siegel, University of New England, Australia