Investigating the mechanisms of pattern replication in language convergence

Abstract

The replication of concrete formal-structural material (morpho-phonological forms with attached meanings) from one language in another is universally understood to instantiate grammatical and lexical ‘borrowing’ (we follow mainstream usage here and attach no value judgement to the word ‘borrowing’ itself, which is obviously just a metaphor). More controversial is the interpretation of contact-induced structural change that does not involve such replication of forms, but is manifested rather through shift in meaning, distribution, or organisation of inherited material, inspired by an external model. Such changes are sometimes referred to as ‘convergent developments’, and are often typical of linguistic areas. We explore the position of language convergence of this kind in the overall context of contact-induced change. Taking into consideration recent work on language convergence in the context of grammaticalisation theory (Heine & Kuteva 2005), we address the mechanism that is involved when language-internal resources are employed to replicate an external model. We attempt to trace this mechanism to its roots at the level of the organisation of communicative discourse in multilingual settings.

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“…A study that would explore the possibilities of categorising borrowings into Russian using more widely accepted classifications, e.g. Thomason and Kaufman's (1988) borrowing scale, classification, Matras and Sakel's (2007) framework of MAT (matter) and PAT (pattern) integration of loans, Carstensen and Busse's (1994) classification of forms of linguistic transfer, etc. in order to contribute to the development of a typology of linguistic borrowing, would be valuable.…”

In and Out of Suriname

“…Due to convergence, (partial) similarities increase at the expense of differences between the languages in contact (Weinreich 1954: 395). In line with Matras and Sakel (2007) and others, we define convergence in more concrete terms as the adaptation of an element in language A to match the scope and distribution of an element of language B that is perceived to be its functional equivalent. We will show that Sranantongo has experienced a shift from primarily postpositions to prepositions in line with Dutch.…”

Grammatical collocations and verb-particle constructions in Brussels French: a corpus-linguistic approach to transfer

“…It is therefore unlikely that Dutch prepositions or adverbs are imported into Brussels French collocations, but the structural patterns in which après, dehors and en bas occur are potentially copied from Dutch. This contrast is clearly captured in the distinction Matras and Sakel (2004) make between matter replication (the replication of morphological material and its phonological shape) and pattern replication: 'the organisation, distribution and mapping of grammatical or semantic meaning, while the form itself is not borrowed' (Sakel, 2007, p. 15).…”