This paper examines the history of the language distance studies: from the genesis of the language distance measuring concept to rapid adoption as one of the standard methods for different types of language classification during the 1990s-2020s. The general overview is split in two parts, one dedicated to the computational dialectology and the second to the computational phylogenetic linguistics, both of which currently use measuring language distance as a crucial part of their methodology. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the listed approaches, such as the Levenshtein distance and Bayesian phylogenetics, arguing that some of these methods are unfairly criticised in comparison to the human-made classifications. It proposes the strategies of enhancing the existing approaches and explores the latest emerging ones. The paper underlines the relatively poor performance of the current methods on small raw historical corpora material as the potential course for future research.
Kashmiri phonology has received considerable attention from many scholars but the occurrence of the nasal vowels as a separate category has not been discussed till date. This paper presents a comprehensive account of the nasal vowels in Kashmiri language. Nasal vowels in this study have been established through the standard phonemic procedures and their evolution and occurrence has been represented and explained within the autosegmental framework. The data includes examples from the core vocabulary, phenomena of nasal deletion, nasal vowel packing and unpacking in different contact languages and dialects of Kashmiri language. The data for the study have been collected over a time span of several years from three different dialects of Kashmiri from north, south and central Kashmir to get a comprehensive account of the nasal vowels in Kashmiri. The primary data consists of the fifty hours of the recorded speech. The study establishes the presence of fourteen nasal vowels in Kashmiri along with their distribution and frequency of occurrence.
In the Syunik-Artsakh dialect area of Armenian, 141 words of Indo-European origin have been preserved in the lexical group related to body parts. Some of them, according to etymological results, are evidenced only (or mainly) in Syunik and Artsakh dialect units, such as: հարու տալ (haru tal), սէռ (ser), հօռ (hor), գէղտ (geght), անգ (ang), լա̈բ (läb), սէպռիկ (seprik), լէմ (lem), տըմտէմուկ (tĕmtĕmuk) etc. The studies of these and related issues, in fact, once again confirm that the inter-dialect group of Karabakh-Shamakhi directly carries not only the material values of the Indo-European culture, but also the linguistic traditions. In terms of territory, the largest dialect group of Armenian has not reached the level of a literary language, but for about 5000 years it has preserved not only the phonetic and grammatical features of the proto-Armenian language, but also the vocabulary layers, the main part of which is of Indo-European origin.
This paper reinterprets Imai (2004), a study of Tokyo vowel devoicing in linguistic and social contexts; the focus here is on the latter. In that study, the data were analyzed in GoldVarb, widely used by variationists at the time (Tagliamonte 2006). Although it was a form of binomial logistic regression, it had limitations and was reworked in more widely used formats (Johnson 2009) and supplemented with nonparametric approaches (Tagliamonte & Baayen 2012), models now more often used by variationists and applied here to re-examine the 2004 findings. The major findings of this reanalysis point to the overwhelming influence of style over other factors and a distinction between young men and women that seems to contradict usual sociolinguistic interpretations of gender, style, and age. A reanalysis of the standardness of Tokyo Japanese based on Tamminga et al. (2016) addresses this apparent contradiction.
The language situation in Morocco is an ongoing process jointly influenced by historical, sociocultural, and educational dynamics. The local ethnocultural fabric, the colonial legacy, and language policy are all interrelated elements that have shaped the multilingual landscape and continue to inform the linguistic performance of Moroccan Arabic. The aim of the current study is to offer a theoretical review with linguistic examples to contextualize these forces in line with the development of Moroccan Arabic (i.e., Darija) and its frequent alternation to French. As such, the study revisits language contact between Arabic and French in this Arabic colloquial variety, examining sites of equivalence and constraints at the overt and covert levels, and unpacking the underlying language ideologies at work. Adopting this approach is critical not only for understanding the linguistic applications of language shift, but also for discerning linguistic choices considering societal attitudes in post-independence Morocco and the sociopolitical implications they bear on language policy.
This article discusses the source domains used to create the Javanese herbal plant metaphor, their similarity, and the social factors that underlie it. This qualitative descriptive study describes Javanese herbal plant metaphors. It employs Javanese lexicon (Bausastra Jawa) data and involves listening, note-taking, and interviewing speakers and biologists. To assess linguistic reality, data analysis classifies metaphors by source domains, similarities, and sociocultural aspects using a referential technique. We identify source and target domains, conceptualize metaphors, and grasp the speaker’s perspective using reflective-introspective procedures to assure data validity. Many plant species surround people, yet languages typically lack unique names. People name Javanese herbal plants using their language based on cultural similarities and connotations. These metaphorical Javanese herbal plant names emphasize shape, size, attractiveness, habitat, and application from human, animal, plant, object, and illness realms. Metaphorical plant names in Javanese reflect the speakers’ agricultural, forest, traditional, and modern sociocultural backgrounds.
In this paper I argue that textual data from WhatsApp Conversation among the Malaysian youths can be evidence of indexicality and enregisterment, in other words, expressions denoting various social meanings and recognised as a style of speech of the community. Using a corpus of WhatsApp conversations from 52 participants, I discuss a repertoire of features that was enregistered as “Manglish” to the youths. I do this by comparing data from a corpus of WhatsApp conversations from three major ethnic groups in Malaysia specifically Malay, Chinese and Indian and an online survey of the speakers’ perceptions of the Manglish dialect. I suggest that Manglish features are socially recognised and therefore enregistered forms of speech, indexical not only to place but also to ethnic groups.
The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain the characteristics and geographical distribution of the Son Tay dialect. The study employs synchronic methods to describe Son Tay tone variants, and diachronic comparison method to compare those variants with neighboring Muong dialects, and at the same time, presents a description and analysis of the distribution of tone variants of the Son Tay dialect on maps. The results show that the synchronic, diachronic, and geographical data on Son Tay tone variants all demonstrate significant similarities between Vietnamese and Muong language in this region, but show fundamental differences from other Vietnamese dialects and Muong dialects. This indicates that Vietnamese and Muong residents of the Son Tay form a community that shares many common linguistic and cultural characteristics from 'historical times up to the present.
This is the fourth issue of DIACLEU, Dialect classifications of languages in Europe, published in Dialectologia. In the first issue (Dialectologia 2022, special issue X, ) the project was introduced. It also contains a theoretical paper on dialectometry, and an overview of classifications of Basque, Finnish, Gallo-Roman, Greenlandic, Irish, Italian, Luxembourgish, Norwegian and Welsh dialects. In the second issue (Dialectologia 2023, special issue XI, ) Matej Šekli discusses the genealogical classification of Slavic languages. This issue also presents a historical overview and analysis of classifications of Albanian, Faroese, Galician, Icelandic, Kashubian, Lithuanian, Polish and Balkan Turkish dialects. In the third issue (Dialectologia 2024, special issue XII, ) Jean Léo Léonard introduces the Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems (CADS) theory and how it can contribute to the theories and methods of dialect classification. It also presents classifications of the following languages: Asturleonese, Corsican, Czech, Friulian, Georgian, Hungarian, Slovak and Spanish.
Este artículo presenta la metodología de organización de un modelo de glosario temático de colocaciones y expresiones coloquiales del español. A partir de dicho instrumento, se comprueba la variabilidad y univocidad de los datos, de acuerdo con las regiones geodialectales. Se trata de un glosario compuesto de 335 expresiones del campo semántico de los juegos y deportes, con definiciones, ejemplos (tanto de diccionario como aportados por los informantes), variaciones y ocurrencias de una misma expresión. Se destaca lo más y lo menos compartido, considerando las capitales del Cono Sur y el Centro peninsular, y contrastes entre diferentes regiones. Se comprueba que el espacio es un elemento decisivo en la variación de las lenguas, pero que la distancia geográfica entre las variedades del español no se constituye como el único factor responsable de las diferencias en el plan lingüístico.
Se lleva a cabo un estudio de vitalidad léxica en el pueblo de Albuñol (Gr604) a través de una metodología contrastiva donde comparamos los datos obtenidos en Vitalex con los del tomo I del ALEA. Los resultados nos permiten contrastar cómo la evolución social y económica de la comarca de la Alpujarra influye en el proceso de vitalidad y mortandad del léxico. Todo esto lo hacemos comparando los resultados obtenidos por las tres generaciones estudiadas con los datos obtenidos en el ALEA, lo que nos permite establecer conclusiones léxicas relativas al comportamiento del léxico agrícola de Albuñol en tiempo real y en tiempo aparente.
Gorom Isolect is used variously and also differs between speakers. This study aims to descrbe status of languages, dialects, and esubdialects using dialectology approach and structural dialectology theory. Instrument consists of 880 basic vocabularies developed from 20 data of meaning which have the same semantic characteristics. Data analysis used dialectometric methods, isogloss files, and permutation maps. There are 18 data sources taken from six observation areas with details of each observation area of three people. Source of the data is taken from native speakers of the Gorom isolect. Determination of the six observation areas using vertical downward model. Data collection techniques consisted of notes, recordings, listening, and speaking. This study produces Gorom isolect as consisting of two languages, namely Ondor and Gorom. The four dialects are the Dada dialect, the Lalasa dialect, the Miran dialect, and the Wawasa dialect. One subdialect is the Amarwatu.
This work studied the linguistic situation between Ife and Modakeke, two Yoruba communities experiencing incessant war spanning more than 100 years despite their close proximity to each other. It is reported that the two communities consciously deploy dialectal variations to maintain their differences. Segmental, tonal, and lexical variations between the speech forms of the two groups were identified and discussed. Specifically, the dialectal variation in the pronunciation of the word ewúro “bitter leaf” by the Ife people was a key identity marker during the year 2000 war. Beyond this, people from either group emphasise a negative attitude to accommodating the other group by speaking their dialect. It is therefore inferred that dialectal variation is a major indicator of negative attitude between the two groups and any attempt to foster lasting peace in the community needs to also put this into consideration.
Este artículo propone una zonificación dialectal del español en México en tres superzonas léxicas: Norte, Centro y Sur. El corpus está conformado por 319 mapas léxicos del atlas mexicano de Manuel Alvar, El español en México. Estudios, mapas, textos. Se utiliza Gabmap para el análisis dialectométrico, a partir del cual se identifican las tres superzonas dialectales de gran extensión geográfica que implican una división grosso modo de México. El número de zonas coincide con la segmentación perceptual del español mexicano y con otras propuestas dialectales de base fónica.
The study of dialects is crucial for understanding the history of a language. Attempts to study Armenian dialects began in the mid-twentieth century and have included single-characteristic and multi-characteristic classifications. However, to this day, there are unresolved issues regarding the complex relationships between dialect units. The creation of a dialectological atlas is an essential tool for a comprehensive examination of dialectological issues. Many languages already have such atlases. Unfortunately, the investigation of Armenian, in this sense, is falling behind, and linguistic geography, which is a research method that can help to study the spatial distribution of linguistic phenomena, has only recently been applied in Armenian studies. Fortunately, efforts are currently underway in Armenian studies to create an Armenian dialectical atlas to fill this gap.
Due to the growing status of the standard language, dialects have become lesser used in Hungary. By obtaining documentation via data-based observation, this study reports the change in the role of German dialects during the past decades. First, the reader will receive an overview of the language-using habits among members of the Hungarian German minority and the historical reasons underlying these phenomena. The study focuses on the dialect knowledge among kindergarten children because this perspective provides a window onto the future while also representing the language usage of families. The study will then discuss the partial results of a large-sample, self-administered questionnaire survey that were processed with an SPSS program. In the concluding chapter, the authors argue for the importance of supporting the use of dialects and the need to address the local social, cultural, and educational contexts for not only using, but also revitalising dialects.
El objetivo principal de este artículo es rescatar del olvido algunas de las tradiciones populares más extendidas en cuanto a técnicas y métodos utilizados por los habitantes rurales del Sáhara Occidental (antiguo Sáhara Español) para la conservación, transporte y almacenamiento de alimentos básicos y necesarios para su subsistencia. El trabajo de campo, basado en fuentes orales, tiene un componente fundamentalmente cultural y lingüístico –el principal vehículo de comunicación es el dialecto árabe ḥassāniya–, aunque abarca, igualmente, aspectos antropológicos y etnológicos relacionados con las costumbres y tradiciones, casi ancestrales, de la población autóctona saharaui. El material lingüístico y terminológico aborda aspectos tales como los utensilios y recipientes destinados al transporte y la conservación de cereales, los recipientes para el transporte de productos líquidos y grasos, conservación de la miel, los dátiles, los higos, las carnes y el pescado, entre otros.
The colonization of the New World gave to the term "negro" a racist connotation with the appearance of series of popular expressions and proverbs, as attested by the paremiology. This terminology, revealing a profoundly contemptuous mentality towards the Black, did not disappear with the abolitions, although Hispanic speakers have sometimes forgotten its origins, as contemporary dictionaries suggest.
Most of the population living near the southern border of Thailand are Thai Malays who speak Patani Malay as their mother tongue. Thai and Patani Malay languages are from two different language families, but Sanskrit influenced both languages. The "Indianization” or "Sanskritization" in Southeast Asia had contributed many Sanskrit loanwords in both languages. They have shared the same vocabularies in different forms and with different pronunciations without being aware of the similarities. By investigating the relationship between the two languages, both language users can enhance their language comprehension and outlook towards Thai and Patani Malay language. This study aims to compare vowel changes of shared Sanskrit loanwords in Thai and Patani Malay. The methodology used qualitative based, and the data were collected from documentaries. The findings showed that linguistic adjustments of loanwords occurred with phonology such as deletions, insertions, vowel raising, and vowel lowering.
The main objective of this article is to rescue from oblivion some of the most widespread popular traditions regarding the techniques and methods used by the rural inhabitants of the Western Sahara (former Spanish Sahara), for the conservation, transport and storage of basic and necessary food. The field work, based on oral sources, has a mainly cultural and linguistic component-the main vehicle of communication is the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic-but also encompasses anthropological and ethnological aspects related to the almost ancestral customs and traditions of the indigenous Saharawi population. The linguistic and terminological material addresses aspects such as utensils and containers for the transport and storage of cereals, containers for transporting liquid and fatty products, conservation of honey, dates, figs, meat and fish, among others.
