Swedish-American English: A longitudinal study of linguistic variation and identity

摘要

The sociolinguistic backdrop for this study of Swedish-American English is language contact due to large-scale Swedish migration to the Midwest (Hasselmo 1974a). Data were transcribed from 72 speakers recorded in oral history interviews, 1959--1998. The material consists of recordings of elderly Swedish immigrants and Swedish Americans whose data were compared to the speech of persons who have experienced relatively little language contact: monolingual speakers of Swedish and monolingual speakers of American English.;Previous research suggests that language contact has syntactic consequences on L2, especially in unguided acquisition (Rickford & McWhorter 1997; Escure 1997; Hopper & Traugott 1993; Mesthrie & Dunne 1990). One general claim is that speakers of contact varieties favor parataxis (coordination) over hypotaxis (subordination). Linguistic analysis of relative clause structures tests whether immigrant speakers favor hypotaxis, which is part of their native competence in Swedish, or whether they employ parataxis as a compensatory strategy in L2. Quantitative analysis revealed that immigrant speakers use proportionately fewer relative clauses and a reduced set of relative markers when compared to other speakers. While these findings point to pidginization, examination of the syntactic roles of embedded relative markers demonstrated that immigrant speakers relativize the same syntactic categories as other speakers. The latter finding is evidence supporting linguistic universals in contact situations. Frequency analysis of pragmatic particles revealed that immigrant respondents hypercorrect host community norms. Discussion explores the function of additional pragmatic particles. The inverse relationship between numbers of pragmatic particles and relative clauses raises the possibility that these structures counterbalance one another in contact varieties.;Longitudinal analysis of two speakers (30-year interval) reveals variability in the frequencies of relative clauses and pragmatic particles. The rate of relativization does not display evidence of fossilization. Stability emerged, however, with respect to pragmatic particles: speakers favored specific variants across time and across varieties.;Finally, socio-symbolic aspects of Swedish-English hybridization are identified. Strategies highlighting Swedish-American identity include the use of Swedish lexical items; preference for variants corresponding to non-native fluency; and language intertwining.