Conclusions

This chapter argues that the distinction previously made by some scholars between the linguistic forces underlying new dialect creation and those underlying contact between closely related varieties often considered to be discrete is probably misinformed. The changes involved in the contacts fuelling differentiation are, if not the same, essentially of the same type. Koineisation lies as the heart of both.

New dialect formation and near-dialect contact

Linguists have often wondered how ‘new’ varieties of a language come into being. This chapter provides a theoretical discussion of recent research on these developments, paying particular attention to determinism, the founder principle and swamping. Varieties discussed include New Zealand, Newfoundland, Falkland Islands and Australian English, Glaswegian Scots and Scottish Standard English. The last is of particular interest, since it discusses contact producing a written variety. The concept of koineisation is introduced.

Linguistic contact and near-relative relationships

In this chapter the reader is led further into the field of near-relative contact with greater time depth. Insights from the study of creole development are introduced, as is the concept of the creoloid. Greater depth is given to our understanding of koineisation. Varieties discussed include Bonin Islands and Pitcairn/Norfolk Island English, Fiji Hindi, Afrikaans and medieval Scandinavian (in relation to contact with Low German).

New dialect formation and time depth

Linguists have generally studied new dialect formation in varieties with relatively little time depth. In this chapter greater depth is considered in relation to the development of the Scots dialects of Orkney and Shetland, Irish English and Ulster Scots. While lengthier periods of contact do make analysis of the original impact more difficult, it is shown that essentially the same processes have been at work in these contexts as was the case in more recent contacts. Given their contact with the native North Germanic variety of the Northern Isles, the Shetland and Orkney examples lead us into the themes of the next two chapters.

English in the ‘transition period’: the sources of contact-induced change

Perhaps the central chapter of Contact, we focus here on the rapid and radical changes English passed through in relation to inflectional morphology (in particular but not exclusively in the noun phrase) in the later Old English and early Middle English periods. Comparison is made to other Germanic languages; the concept of drift is introduced. Theories for why these changes occurred and why the changes took place where, when and how they did are considered, with particular focus on earlier contact explanations. Recent proposals that bilingualism with Celtic languages was the primary impetus for the changes are critiqued. It is suggested that, while Celtic influence should not be dismissed, it is contact between Old English and Old Norse in the North of England which acted as catalyst. This contact is seen as a koine whose origin is markedly similar to that postulated for modern new dialects.

Some introductory thoughts

This chapter introduces the reader to a number of concepts central to our understanding of linguistic contact. The problematic nature of some of these concepts in relation to near-relative contact – contact between varieties which are at least borderline mutually intelligible – is flagged up as a central issue of the book.