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Cross-linguistic areal patterns in non-standard
grammar: Northern Germany and the Nordics
Sabrina Goll, Steffen Höder & Nina Sternitzke (Kiel)
Structure
The GrammArNord project
Background: historical contact scenarios
Aims
Theory: variation-sensitive areal typology & conceptual model
Practice: digital model & workflow
Exemplary analysis: possessive constructions
Types of constructions
Distribution in communicative space
Areal patterns
Conclusion
2
3
the Nordics and Northern Germany
(focus on Continental Scandinavia)
Background | The GrammArNord area
Background | Historical contact scenarios
[Bock 1933, 1948, Fredsted 2009ab, Höder 2016, 2019, 2021]
Scenario A: Cimbrian Peninsula
Danish-German contact zone
multilingualism as the rule rather
since time immemorial
same macroscenario,
various sociolinguistic constellations
polyglossia
language shift
national minorities
…
4
Background | Historical contact scenarios
Scenario B: Continental Scandinavia
long-term, intense contact since Late Middle Ages
maritime trade (Hanseatic League)
German immigration
(trading posts and merchant settlements)
German as lingua franca
[Braunmüller 2002, 2005, Höder 2016, Rambø 2010, Nesse 2002]5
Low German
High German
Danish
Norwegian
Swedish
Bokmål
Nynorsk
Faroese
Icelandic
NorthLG
NorthHG
German →Continental Scandinavian
trading, migration, culture
German ↔Danish
neighbouring languages
Background | Historical contact scenarios
Nordics
Northern
Germany
6
Background | Historical contact scenarios
Std Danish
jeg skal arbejde på mandag
‘I’ll be working on Monday’
Schleswig High German
ich soll Montag arbeiten
‘I’ll be working on Monday’
Previous research
on individual varieties or regions
loans
language history
historical sociolinguistics
dialect research
→but no areal perspective
de-obligational future
(shall future)
7
Background | Aims of the project
Drawing on existing documentary resources, the project
aims to identify, document and map grammatical arealisms
across language boundaries in the Nordics and Northern
Germany, with a focus on non-standard varieties.
8
Results are published in a digital atlas.
Areal patterns are interpreted against the background of
contact history.
To do that, a conceptual model of linguistic areality is
developed that includes both geographic and non-
geographic dimensions of language variation.
areality across linguistic boundaries,
including non-standard varieties
(→combines advantages,
avoids disadvantages)
Theory | Variation-sensitive areal typology
[Auer 2004, Bisang 2004, Campbell 2017, Dahl 2001, Heine & Kuteva 2006, Höder 2016, Kortmann 2009, Seiler 2019]
traditional areal
linguistics
areal typology
dialectology
variation
-
sensitive
areal typology
cross
-linguistic
+
+
–
+
intralinguistic
variation
–
–
+
+
feature
-based
–
+
+
+
13
Theory | Conceptual model
14
2D geographic space
feature A
languoid A languoid B
[Höder 2016]
traditionally:
areality as
contiguity in geographic space
Theory | Conceptual model
15
[Höder 2016]
communicative space
geographic dimensions
non-geographic dimensions
place 1 place 2
languoid D languoid E
feature A
languoid C
languoid A languoid B
variation-sensitive areal typology:
areality as
contiguity in communicative space
languoid F
place 2place 1
Theory | Conceptual model
16
[Höder 2021]
communicative space
geographic dimensions
S Schleswig S Jutland
de-obligational future
non-geographic dimensions
Std German
N HGerman
Std Danish
Std Danish
jeg skal arbejde på mandag
‘I’ll be working on Monday’
Schleswig Low German
ik schall Maandag arbeiden
Schleswig High German
ich soll Montag arbeiten
Standard German
ich werde Montag arbeiten
(de-inchoative future)
Schl
HGer
S Jutlandic
dialects
Schl
LGer
reg Danish
location in
communicative space
languoids
features
languoid B
feature X
feature Y
Theory | Conceptual model
[Cysouw & Good 2013, Höder 2016]
languoid B1
languoid A place
time
community
function
feature X1
feature X2
languoid B2
17
Practice | Digital model
18
linguistic modelling digital modelling tool development
data collection
knowledge base
(semantic web)
automatic mapping
(SPARQL queries)
atlas publication
areal analysis
contact linguistic
interpretation
feature
catalogue
Practice | Digital model
19
linguistic modelling digital modelling tool development
data collection
knowledge base
(semantic web)
automatic mapping
(SPARQL queries)
atlas publication
areal analysis
contact linguistic
interpretation
feature
catalogue
Data
386 languoids
250 features
736 places
(April 2022)
Practice | Digital model
Languoids (varieties, languages, language groups)
20
glottonyms
English
Schleswig Low German
Schleswigian
German
schleswigsches Niederdeutsch
Schleswigsch
affiliation
part of
North Low German 🔗
cross
-references to other resources
same as
Wikidata Q2239380 🔗
location(s) in communicative space
(places, communities, functions)
used in
Schleswig 🔗
used as
traditional dialect
grammatical feature
(including examples and references)
has feature
de-obligational future 🔗
source
Höder 2021.1 🔗p. 24
example
Ik schall Maandag noch arbeiden.
definition, …
geodata, …
Practice | Digital model
21
linguistic modelling digital modelling tool development
data collection
knowledge base
(semantic web)
automatic mapping
(SPARQL queries)
atlas publication
areal analysis
contact linguistic
interpretation
feature
catalogue
e.g. all languoids within a particular group used within a particular place
?lan ?used_in ?DuchyOfSchleswig; ?part_of* ?Danish
e.g. all languoids with a particular feature
?lan ?has_feature ?DeObligationalFuture
mapping & optional colour-coding
(e.g. languages or communicative functions)
Practice | Mapping
22
de-obligational future
standard and non-standard varieties
Practice | Mapping
23
de-obligational future
standard and non-standard varieties
◼Nordic languoids
◼German languoids
Practice | Mapping
24
de-obligational future
standard and non-standard varieties
◼Nordic languoids
◼German languoids
arealism in the Danish-German
contact zone
Exemplary analysis | Possessive constructions
Possessive relations
25
Lisa’s house
the top of the mountain
she owns a car
Exemplary analysis | Possessive constructions
Possessive relations
26
Lisa’s house
the top of the mountain
she owns a car
possessor
relation
possessum
Exemplary analysis | Possessive constructions
Semantic categories
27
[Aikhenvald 2013]
orientation
the top of the mountain
attribution
his tolerance
ownership
Tom’s car whole-part
Tom’s arm
kinship
Tom’s mother
belonging
her doctor
inalienability
core
periphery
Exemplary analysis | Possessive constructions
28
predicational
Lisa has a bookshelf
adnominal
Lisa’s bookshelf
German
Swedish
min mamma
s blomma ‘my mother’s flower’
Norwegian Nynorsk
Olaf
sitt hus ‘Olaf’s house’
Norwegian Bok
mål
huset til Johan
‘Johan’s house’
external
German
sie brach ihm den Arm
‘she broke his arm’
Exemplary analysis | Possessive constructions
29
predicational
Lisa
has a bookshelf
adnominal
case
German
das Buch
des KindesGEN ‘the child’s book’
clitic
Swedish
min mamma
sblomma ‘my mother’s flower’
linking possessive
Norwegian Nynorsk
mannen
sitt hus ‘the man’s house’
adposition
Norwegian Bok
mål
huset
til Johan ‘Johan’s house’
external
non
-adpositional
German
sie brach
ihmDAT den Arm ‘she broke his arm’
adpositional
Danish
de
skar i fingeren på ham ‘they cut his finger’
Exemplary analysis | Linking possessive words
Related features
30
Norwegian Nynorsk
mannen sitt hus ‘the man’s house’
Norwegian Nynorsk
huset hans Olaf ‘Olaf’s house’
[Höder 2021]
Exemplary analysis | Linking possessive words
31
◼possessor-initial
mannen sitt hus
‘the man’s house’
◼possessor-final
huset hans Olaf
‘Olaf’s house’
Geographic distribution
[Höder 2021]
Exemplary analysis | Possessor-initial LPW
32
◼non-standard varieties only
Low German
den Mann sien Huus
‘the man’s house’
◼standard varieties
Norwegian
mannen sitt hus
‘the man’s house’
Distribution in communicative space
[Höder 2021]
Exemplary analysis | Possessor-initial LPW
33
[Höder 2021]
Exemplary analysis | Possessor-initial LPW
34
Norwegian
mannen sitt hus
West Jutlandic
æ mand hans hus
South Jutlandic
æ mand sit hus
Low German
den Mann sien Huus
[Höder 2021]
communicative space
Norway
Exemplary analysis | Possessor-initial LPW
35
geographic dimensions
N Germany Jutland
non-geographic dimensions
Std German Std Danish
Low German S Jutlandic
W Jutlandic
Bokmål
Bergen
dialect
W Norwegian
Nynorsk
Exemplary analysis | Possessor-initial LPW
36
communicative space
geographic dimensions
N Germany Jutland
non-geographic dimensions
Std German Std Danish
Low German S Jutlandic
W Jutlandic
Scenario A
Cimbrian Peninsula
Exemplary analysis | Possessor-initial LPW
37
communicative space
geographic dimensions
N Germany
non-geographic dimensions
Std German
Norway
Low German Scenario B
Continental Scandinavia
Bokmål
Bergen
dialect
W Norwegian
Nynorsk
Exemplary analysis | Possessive constructions
38
predicational
Lisa
has a bookshelf
adnominal
case
German
das Buch
des KindesGEN ‘the child’s book’
clitic
Swedish
min mamma
sblomma ‘my mother’s flower’
linking possessive
Norwegian Nynorsk
mannen
sitt hus ‘the man’s house’
adposition
Norwegian Bok
mål
huset
til Johan ‘Johan’s house’
external
non
-adpositional
German
sie brach
ihmDAT den Arm ‘she broke his arm’
adpositional
Danish
de
skar i fingeren på ham ‘they cut his finger’
ownership
Tom’s car whole-part
Tom’s arm
kinship
Tom’s mother
inalienability
core
[Haspelmath 1999, Höder 2021, König 2001]
Exemplary analysis | External possession
39
◼non-adpositional
sie brach ihm den Arm
‘she broke his arm’
◼adpositional
de skar i fingeren på ham
‘they cut his finger’
Geographic distribution
Exemplary analysis | Non-adpositional external possession
40
[Höder 2021]
◼non-standard varieties only
◼standard varieties
Distribution in communicative space
Exemplary analysis | Non-adpositional external possession
41
[Höder & Winter 2020, Höder 2021]
South Jutlandic
E Födder gör me wee
‘my feet are hurting’
Low German
de Fööt doot mi weh
‘my feet are hurting’
Exemplary analysis | Non-adpositional external possession
42
communicative space
geographic dimensions
N Germany Jutland
non-geographic dimensions
Std Danish
Low German S Jutlandic Scenario A
Cimbrian Peninsula
Std German
Conclusion
Proof of concept
The conceptual model, combined with its digital implementation, allows us to investigate the
areal distribution of grammatical features in multilingual communicative space.
Pilot studies
Exemplary analyses illustrate the benefits of the variation-sensitive approach.
Areal patterns across language boundaries can be found, mapped, and interpreted against the
background of contact history.
Outlook
Systematic investigation of (many!) more features in order to identify recurring areal patterns.
43
Outlook
44
100% 100% 60%
0%
60%
80%
60%
20%
linguistic modelling digital modelling tool development
data collection
knowledge base
(semantic web)
automatic mapping
(SPARQL queries)
atlas publication
areal analysis
contact linguistic
interpretation
feature
catalogue
80%
20%
45
takk
tack
tak
danke
Thank you.
grammarnord.de
grammarnord.de/iclave11-refs