Difference between revisions of "Ancient Linguistic Area"
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==Article== | ==Article== | ||
| − | <p>The concept of linguistic area is one of the most variable and blurry ones in linguistic and cultural studies. It emerged in the first decades of the Nineteenth century in the environment of the functionalist schools of Europe, but was better defined in the second half of the century with the studies on the Balkan league and on the Standard Average European area ( | + | <p>The concept of linguistic area is one of the most variable and blurry ones in linguistic and cultural studies. It emerged in the first decades of the Nineteenth century in the environment of the functionalist schools of Europe, but was better defined in the second half of the century with the studies on the Balkan league and on the Standard Average European area (Matras 2009, 286-296). To some extent, it seems to be interchangeable with that of “language league” (Sprachbund), while, on the other hand, this latter label indicates a particularly intensive area of [[grammatical interference]], which is a rather uncommon case especially in the ancient world (Giusfredi - Merlin 2018, 101).</p> |
| − | In the environment of the ancient world, areas of intensive lexical exchange existed (Anatolia, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East provide several examples). However, cases of long distance grammatical interference | + | In the environment of the ancient world, areas of intensive lexical exchange existed (Anatolia, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East provide several examples). However, cases of long distance grammatical interference are not easily identified, nor was the existence of a proper [[mixed-language]] ever documented. Therefore, in the framework of reference employed by the PALaC project, a linguistic area is defined in a milder fashion as an area featuring one of the following: |
# intensive exchange of linguistic material (lexical or grammatical); | # intensive exchange of linguistic material (lexical or grammatical); | ||
# occasional shared structural traits that: | # occasional shared structural traits that: | ||
| − | + | ## are shared by the languages in the area; | |
| − | ## are shared by | ||
## are not shared by other branches of the language family to which the involved languages belong, or other neighboring languages; | ## are not shared by other branches of the language family to which the involved languages belong, or other neighboring languages; | ||
| − | ## are not typologically prevalent in a polygenetic fashion. | + | ## are not typologically prevalent in a [[polygenetic change | polygenetic fashion]]. |
==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | Giusfredi, F. and Merlin, S. 2018. A contact-based study of the languages and cultures of Pre-Classical Anatolia: the project PALaC, News from the lands of the Hittites 2018, 95-104. | + | Giusfredi, F. and Merlin, S. 2018. A contact-based study of the languages and cultures of Pre-Classical Anatolia: the project PALaC, News from the lands of the Hittites 2018, 95-104. Matras, Y. 2009. Language Contact, Cambridge. |
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Revision as of 13:59, 16 July 2021
Translations
Area linguistica (antica) | aire linguistique (ancienne) | Sprachenareal (im Altertum)
Article
The concept of linguistic area is one of the most variable and blurry ones in linguistic and cultural studies. It emerged in the first decades of the Nineteenth century in the environment of the functionalist schools of Europe, but was better defined in the second half of the century with the studies on the Balkan league and on the Standard Average European area (Matras 2009, 286-296). To some extent, it seems to be interchangeable with that of “language league” (Sprachbund), while, on the other hand, this latter label indicates a particularly intensive area of grammatical interference, which is a rather uncommon case especially in the ancient world (Giusfredi - Merlin 2018, 101).
In the environment of the ancient world, areas of intensive lexical exchange existed (Anatolia, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East provide several examples). However, cases of long distance grammatical interference are not easily identified, nor was the existence of a proper mixed-language ever documented. Therefore, in the framework of reference employed by the PALaC project, a linguistic area is defined in a milder fashion as an area featuring one of the following:
- intensive exchange of linguistic material (lexical or grammatical);
- occasional shared structural traits that:
- are shared by the languages in the area;
- are not shared by other branches of the language family to which the involved languages belong, or other neighboring languages;
- are not typologically prevalent in a polygenetic fashion.
References
Giusfredi, F. and Merlin, S. 2018. A contact-based study of the languages and cultures of Pre-Classical Anatolia: the project PALaC, News from the lands of the Hittites 2018, 95-104. Matras, Y. 2009. Language Contact, Cambridge.
