
The Lingua Franca
Contact-Induced Language Change in the Mediterranean
Natalie Operstein(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 2. December 2021
Book
Hardback
424 pages
978-1-316-51831-1 (ISBN)
Description
Whose name is hidden behind the anonymity of the key publication on Mediterranean Lingua Franca? What linguistic reality does the label 'Lingua Franca' conceal? These and related questions are explored in this new book on an enduringly important topic. The book presents a typologically informed analysis of Mediterranean Lingua Franca, as documented in the Dictionnaire de la langue franque ou petit mauresque, which provides an important historical snapshot of contact-induced language change. Based on a close study of the Dictionnaire in its historical and linguistic context, the book proposes hypotheses concerning its models, authorship and publication history, and examines the place of the Dictionnaire's Lingua Franca in the structural typological space between Romance languages, on the one hand, and pidgins, on the other. It refines our understanding of the typology of contact outcomes while at the same time opening unexpected new avenues for both linguistic and historical research.
Reviews / Votes
'This book is a very good example of a concise full-language description along diachronic and synchronic axes. Plenty of data is provided, as should be the case with this type of study; the most interested readers will find that they can make additional discoveries about LF by proceeding from the author's solid sketch. The Lingua Franca is the most useful reference work in the history of research on this language.' David Douglas Robertson, LinguistMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
762 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-316-51831-1 (9781316518311)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
02/2024
Cambridge University Press
€37.70
Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
11/2021
Cambridge University Press
€89.99
Available for download

E-Book
11/2021
Cambridge University Press
€89.99
Available for download
Person
Natalie Operstein's publications include Consonant Structure and Prevocalization (2010), Zaniza Zapotec (2015), Valence Changes in Zapotec (ed. with Sonnenschein, 2015), and Language Contact and Change in Mesoamerica and Beyond (ed. with Dakin and Parodi, 2017). She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.
Content
Foreword; 1. Introduction; 2. The author; 3. The dictionnaire; 4. The orthography; 5. The lexicon; 6. The word formation; 7. The inflection; 8. The syntax; 9. The lingua franca; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C.