Generally speaking, creoles and hybrids took more from the dialects of their superstrata than from the standard languages. Hybridization took place in England, in the area called Danelaw (extended from London to Chester), between the10th and the 11th Century, when Danish was probably used for some time. This is testified by the fact that places […]
As it happened to Latin in relation to Romance languages, varieties of English have developed autonomously during centuries, shaping into different languages. Some linguists consider this being the cause of the death of English, while others address this issue as a natural consequence of usage. What is sure is that, generally speaking, Natural languages are […]
Louisiana may be considered as a unique example of multicultural and multi-language coexistence. The extraordinary interaction occurred between dialects deserves, among US States, the name of “exotic sister”. To explain such a peculiarity we must remount to Louisiana’s historical background as well as geographical and economical aspects: a strategic position, touched by the Mississippi River […]
Whoever wants to discuss the subject of English as a language has to keep in mind three main points: 1- It does not exist only one English, but many Englishes; 2- Variety also affects Standardization of English; 3- Standard English corresponds to the acrolectic form, while Creoles may be identified with basilect and the mixture […]
There are approximately 6,912 living languages in the world today. Most languages belong to larger language groups or families, which is a group of similar or related languages that developed from a common ancestor, referred to as protolanguage (“proto” means “early” in Greek). Let’s take a look at a few major language groups, including an […]
