Investigating Obsolescence : Studies in Language Contraction and Death (Hardcover)

List of maps; List of contributors; Preface; Introduction; Part I. Focus on Context: 1. On language death in eastern Africa Gerrit J. Dimmendaal; 2. The disappearance of the Ugong in Thailand David Bradley; 3. Scottish and Irish Gaelic: the giant's bed-fellows Seosamh Watson; 4. The rise and fall of an immigrant language: Norwegian in America Einar Haugen; 5. Breton vs. French: language and the opposition of political, economic, social, and cultural values Lois Kuter; 6. 'Persistence' or 'tip' in Egyptian Nubian Aleya Rouchdy; 7. Sociolinguistic creativity: Cape Breton Gaelic's linguistic 'tip' Elizabeth Mertz; 8. Skewed performance and full performance in language obsolescence: the case of an Albanian variety Lukas D. Tsitsipis; 9. On the social meaning of linguistic variability in language death situations: variation in Newfoundland French Ruth King; 10. The social functions of relativization in obsolescent and non-obsolescent languages Jane H. Hill; Part II. Focus on Structure: 11. Problems in obsolescence research: the Gros Ventres of Montana Allan R. Taylor; 12. The structural consequences of language death Lyle Campbell and Martha C. Muntzel; 13. On signs of health and death Eric P. Hamp; 14. Case usage among the Pennsylvania German sectarians and nonsectarians Marion Lois Huffines; 15. Estonian among immigrants in Sweden Katrin Maandi; 16. The incipient obsolescence of polysynthesis: Cayuga in Ontario and Oklahoma Marianne Mithun; 17. Urban and non-urban Egyptian Nubian: is there a reduction in language skill? Aleya Rouchdy; 18. Some lexical and morphological changes in Warlpiri Edith L. Bavin; 19. Language contraction and linguistic change: the case of Welland French Raymond Mougeon and Edouard Beniak; 20. Lexical innovation and loss: the use and value of restricted Hungarian Susan Gal; Part III. Invited Commentaries: 21. Some people who don't talk right: universal and particular in child language, aphasia, and language obsolescence Lise Menn; 22. Language obsolescence and language history: matters of linearity, leveling, loss, and the like Henry M. Hoenigwald; 23. Language convergence and language death as social processes Kathryn A. Woolard; 24. Pidgins, creoles, immigrant, and dying languages Suzanne Romaine; 25. The 'up' and 'down' staircase in secondary language development Roger W. Anderson; Bibliography; Index of languages; General index.