Asian Englishes, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2016.1193348
BOOK REVIEW
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Languages in contact, by Lisa Lim and Umberto Ansaldo, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016, xiv + 233 pp., US$ 34.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-521-14925-9 In a modern world where the individual use and knowledge of only one language is already considered unusual, the effects of contact among languages becomes ever more evident as new languages are constantly and spontaneously ‘created’ and begin to eclipse other languages. In addition to migration, conflict, globalization, and other related factors, the unrelenting progress of technology seems to catalyze ever more language contact phenomena around the world. This highlights the growing need for up-to-date globalized studies and literature regarding language contact. Languages in Contact by Lisa Lim and Umberto Ansaldo is a book that fulfills the aforementioned demand. Divided into eight thematic chapters, it substantially showcases the different facets of language contact, primarily using sociolinguistics as a lens to understand the phenomenon. ‘Perspectives in contact,’ the first chapter of the book (pp. 1–26), sets the scene by providing an overview of contact linguistics anchored in the claim that sociolinguistics is the most powerful approach, and that language contact must be central to any linguistic theoretical framework. It gives a brief background of the language evolution process as well as the influences/effects of language contact. The chapter also narrates the current situation of English and other Asian languages, and thoroughly highlights cases such as those involving migration, the economic boom in China, and Expanding Circle Englishes. In addition to introducing various contact linguistic terms in this chapter, Lim and Ansaldo – showing awareness that some readers are unfamiliar with contact linguistics – attempt to connect concepts from other related subfields of linguistics such as World Englishes, to facilitate comprehension of the discussion on language contact in the succeeding chapters. Chapter 2 (pp. 27–58) directs the attention of the reader to the role of ‘code choice’ in language contact. More specifically, it aims to inform the reader how codes in multi-codal societies may be distributed and exploited by different communities. The authors utilize several original case studies in the Asian region (e.g. Singapore’s mixed code, the Philippines’ Taglish, and the like) to better outline factors of multilingualism, some of which include living in a linguistically-diverse archipelago, living in border areas, engaging in trade, exogamy, migration, and colonialism, among others. The authors continue the discussion by arguing that multilingual competence is no longer exclusive to the elite nor unique to bilingual communities. This chapter also examines approaches that deconstruct multilingualism, and contains a concise discussion of diglossia and related phenomena, hybrid competence, and domains of use. Furthermore, code-switching, a phenomenon unmistakably categorized under contact linguistics, is also aptly compared with code-mixing. The discussion in Chapter 3 (pp. 59–79) shifts from the individual’s choice of code to the formation of new varieties of languages due to language contact. To be more exact, Chapter 3 sheds light on different claims, stances, and perspectives that revolve around the study of pidgin and creole languages. In a concise manner, Lim and Ansaldo introduce the major theoretical frameworks of creole genesis. Relying on Mühlhäusler’s three scenarios and Bickerton’s Language Bi-program Hypothesis, they begin the chapter with the universal grammar framework, where they note the role of nativization in the evolution of a pidgin to a creole, while also stressing that there is no clear-cut distinction between pidgins and creoles. They continue the discussion by presenting and comparing two additional frameworks involving lexifiers and substrates, and
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point out the limitations of using supertratist and substratist approaches. This chapter ends by providing readers with information on language transfer in the plurilingual context and second language acquisition, and distinguishes creole from acquisition, based on Andersen’s nativization model. An attempt to explore and evaluate two major approaches in analyzing the role of language contact in the evolution of diversity is made in Chapter 4 (pp. 80–101). McWhorter’s Creole Prototype, which postulates that a new synthetic language occurs over different lines of transmission over time, forms the focus of the discussion in the first part of the chapter. In contrast, the evolutionary approach which follows in the second part of the chapter is characterized by language creation through ‘uniformitarian transmission’, where individuals select particular features from the input they receive from their peers, family, and the like, and construct their own grammars, similar but non-identical to those of the older generation. Lim and Ansaldo then proceed to distinguish contact from non-contact languages, which are foundational to the approaches detailed in the chapter. In Chapter 5 (pp. 102–128), entitled ‘Contact and Ecology,’ the role of ecology with respect to tone and particle use is examined due to their susceptibility to the influence of language contact. This chapter demonstrates how identified substrate features in contact languages call for an examination of demographical factors such as immigration, population make-up, and language policy. It adopts an Asia-centric perspective due to the predominance of tones and particles in this region, and recognizes the ecological variation of languages. Providing tables to complement the discussion, Lim and Ansaldo facilitate a bipartite discussion on ecology in language contact. The first section of the chapter details the scenario of Colloquial Singapore English, Taglish, and Hong Kong English with regard to discourse particles, while the second section focuses on tone and supra-segmental features exemplified in the chapter through Middle Korean, Singapore English, and Hong Kong English. Reflections on the internal (e.g. typology of substrates) and external (e.g. historical and social aspects) significance of ecology in language contact are also included in this chapter. In contrast to the previous chapters, Chapter 6 (pp. 129–158) places the spotlight on language shift. It gives a comprehensive overview of the issues and essential points concerning shift, and investigates the present situation of Sri Lankan Malays through a case study of sociolinguistic factors impacting choices that result in maintenance, shift, and endangerment. The chapter also returns to the issue of identity alignment discussed in Chapter 4, but in the context of community language decision-making. Presenting relevant cases and instances, Chapter 6 extends its discussion of language shift by pointing out several factors via which languages are endangered (e.g. natural catastrophes, overt repression). Similar to other chapters, this chapter also provides a snapshot of language shift from an Asian perspective by contextualizing the examples (e.g. Putonghua in Mongolia). It concludes with an argument on language reversal and infers possible outcomes in situations of language shift. Chapter 7 (pp. 159–187) is dedicated to globalization and its role in language contact in light of the global economic center of gravity shift from West to East, and the status of Asia as the region with the largest and quickest growing number of English speakers. Lim and Ansaldo outline phenomena that involve new dynamics of contact such as computer-mediated communication (e.g. textisms: lol, fyi), globalized new economy (e.g. linguistic migration, linguistic capital, ‘peidumama’[陪讀媽媽] and their children), call center industries (e.g. the future of Philippine English, Indian English and Inner Circle Englishes), and pop music among others. The final chapter (Chapter 8, pp. 187–204) aptly summarizes the earlier seven chapters. More precisely, this chapter assesses the present condition and gauges all of the scholarly work that has been done to date in contact linguistics. Lim and Ansaldo note three general similarities in current research from this perspective: first, the studies are primarily Euro-centric; second, they offer rather ‘clean’ investigations with standardized varieties; and third, they involve bilingual rather
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than multilingual encounters. The chapter also offers substantial discussion in two major areas of scholarship in language contact: particularly the notion of universality versus exceptionalism and simplicity versus complexity in languages. After succinctly highlighting that attempting to compare newly generated languages such as creoles with their lexifiers or substrates is problematic, Lim and Ansaldo wrap up their exceptionally well-versed book by highlighting a number of pertinent topics that should receive more attention in future studies in contact linguistics. Languages in Contact constitutes the first up-to-date comprehensive overview of language contact. Diverging from traditional structuralist analysis and Euro-centrism, the book offers a much-needed fresh sociolinguistic perspective by lime-lighting languages in Asia and integrating new insights from popular culture. True to its objective, it amalgamates, if not reconciles, research from other related branches such as code-switching, World Englishes, and multilingualism, which readers from these disciplines will find of interest. Although parts of the book may seem overwhelming for those without any background in contact linguistics, Languages in Contact is the perfect stepping stone for those who wish to delve further into modern trends in linguistics. For those who have more theoretical background on linguistics, the book provides an unbiased evaluation of existing debates and issues in language contact as well as reflections and insights which they may find useful. Beyond its obvious intrinsic value, this volume provides new direction for the study of the phenomenon of language contact, with special focus on Asia, in light of globalization. Wilkinson Daniel Wong Gonzales Department of English and Applied Linguistics, De La Salle University, Manila, The Philippines
[email protected] © 2016 Wilkinson Daniel Wong Gonzales
