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Mapping language changes in real time: A panel study on Finnish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2004

Kari Nahkola  and
Marja Saanilahti
Kari Nahkola
Affiliation:
University of Turku
Marja Saanilahti
Affiliation:
University of Turku
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Abstract

This article is based on an extensive panel study wherein the real-time progress of several language changes was mapped over a period of ten years. Our study suggests that categorical linguistic features are inclined to remain categorical in the idiolect. If a speaker, as a child, “learns” a feature with little or no variation in it, no major changes are likely to take place during the speaker's lifetime. In other words, new changes rarely commence in an idiolect later in life. If, however, a speaker adopts a feature as a variable one, with two or more truly competing variants, it is possible that the balance of the variants will shift during the speaker's lifetime. The more equal the proportions of the rivalling variants are, the more likely it is that one of the variants will gain dominancy during the speaker's lifetime.The present study has been partially funded by the Academy of Finland. For assistance we thank the staff of the Virrat Project at the University of Tampere, Finland.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , July 2004 , pp. 75 - 92
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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References

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