Quiz and Flashcards on Causes of Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Study Notes

Causes of Societal Multilingualism

Unknown reasons contribute to societal multilingualism
Territorial expansion leads to multilingualism
Group movements into previously uninhabited areas result in multilingualism
Group movements of one group into another's territory cause multilingualism
(Trans)migration is a cause of multilingualism
Immigration of small groups who join the existing population leads to multilingualism
Indentureship and slavery contribute to multilingualism
Trade and foreign language learning also lead to multilingualism
Media may also play a role in societal multilingualism

Three Concentric Circles of Englishes

Lingua franca: a language used for communication between individuals with different first languages
Examples of lingua franca use: Tamil and Hindi interacting in English in India, Japanese and Germans interacting in English

Immigrations to the British Isles

Pre-Celtic tribes migrated to the British Isles
Celtic tribes arrived around 300 BCE
Roman invasion occurred in 43 CE
Romans withdrew from Britain in 410 CE
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britain in 449 CE, leading to the development of Old English
Viking invasions began in 787 CE, leading to the establishment of Danelaw in northern and eastern England
Norman invasion occurred in 1066 CE, leading to a French-speaking court

Immigrations of Small Groups

Small groups typically join the pre-existing population rather than conquer them or take over their territory
Examples of small group immigrations: Latin American and Asian immigrants to the US, Commonwealth immigrants to the UK, Italian, Greek, and Turkish immigrants to Germany, refugees

Factors Supporting Stability

Number of speakers supports language stability
Institutional support contributes to language stability
Language as a symbol of ethnicity and language loyalty also support stability
Examples of stable situations: systematic exogamy (marriage in different communities), long-term trade relations

Instable Situations

Invasion, conquest, and transmigration lead to unstable language situations

Lingua Franca Contexts

Status of a lingua franca depends on political and economic factors (e.g. Spanish in the Philippines)

Consequences of Language Contact

Casual contact: few bilinguals, borrowing of content words (mainly nouns)
Slightly more intense contact: a significant minority group of speakers is fluent, borrowing of function words and phonological borrowing of sounds in loanwords
More intense contact: more bilinguals, attitudes and social factors favor borrowing, borrowing of basic vocabulary and word order patterns
Intense contact: very extensive bilingualism, social factors strongly favor borrowing, heavy lexical borrowing and structural borrowing at all levels

Description

This quiz covers the causes of societal multilingualism, including territorial expansion, group movements, and immigration. It also touches on individual bilingualism, exploring reasons such as foreign language learning.