Language convergence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Language convergence is a type of contact-induced change whereby languages with many bilingual speakers mutually borrow morphological and syntactic features, making their typology more similar.

A presently occurring example of this is with the Maltese language, where almost all the population of Malta is bilingual in Maltese and English, and often mix the two languages in speech. In addition to this, 66% of the population speaks Italian, and the language is also continuing to influence Maltese.

[edit] See also

• Sprachbund
• Language merger
• Linguistic divergence
• Dialect levelling
• Maltese language

[edit] External links

• The convergence project
• School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, The University of Manchester