Syntactic Variation in Language Contact Situations.The view from an I-Language Perspective

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, most work on language variation, and especially on language contact may be phrased in terms of E-language correspondences. There are case studies in which the borrowing parameter is defined in terms of morphemes, constructions, or other superficial categories belonging to the domain of the immediately visible—putting more complex (and abstract) levels of analysis to the side. The notions of “similarity,” “convergence” and “parameter setting” through exposure to specific inputs are deeply rooted in E-language (descriptive, observable) notions.

This Special Issue seeks contributions that explore syntactic phenomena falling within any of these two areas of inquiry (language contact and language variation) from an I-language perspective (sensu Chomsky 1986)—that is, by focusing on the aspects of the individual-internal knowledge that is responsible for the relevant variation (a)symmetries when these are due to contact situations.

Methodologically, we especially encourage submissions that focus on data from European varieties of Spanish in contact with other languages (Iberian ones, but also those resulting from immigration). We are also interested in phenomena from other varieties of Spanish and Romance languages in general in analogous situations.

Please submit a 500 word abstract for original original contributions; email both the Guest editors, as indicated above and the journal (languages@mdpi.com)

Dr. Ángel Gallego
Dr. Bruno Camus
Dr. Ricardo Etxepare
Dr. Iván Ortega-Santos
Dr. Diego Pescarini
Dr. Francesc Roca
Dr. Juan Uriagereka
Dr. Greta Mazzaggio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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