Language change: the invisible hand and the effects of contact

The course Language change: the invisible hand and the effects of contact is for PhD students in sociolinguistics and related linguistic disciplines . It is a part of the PhD course program within the National Research School in Linguistics and Philology (http://nafs.uib.no), but is open to all PhD students.

Lecturers

Rudi Keller, Emeritus Professor of German Linguistics, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany.

Peter Trudgill, professor II, Universitetet i Agder, Emeritus Professor of English Linguistics, Fribourg University, Switzerland.

In his part of the course, Rudi Keller will discuss the close relationship between a theory of the ontological status of a language (What type of „thing“ is language?) and a theory of language change (Why and in what form does a language change?). He will then make a case for the thesis that every theory of language change that claims to be not only descriptive, but also explanatory, must take the form of a so-called „invisible hand theory.“ (This thesis also makes clear the limits that are imposed upon the ability to provide an explanation.) This theory is tested and illuminated through a series of examples, principally derived from the areas of morphological and semantic change.

Peter Trudgill will examine the theme of linguistic change, simplification and complexification. The focus will be on the relationship between language contact and linguistic change; and there will be a discussion of different types of contact situation and their roles in inducing either simplicity or complexity from the point of view of sociolinguistic typology. There will be a consideration of the sociolinguistic matrices of spontaneous linguistic complexification; and a number of case studies will be adduced in order to consider the importance of isolation as opposed to contact.

Rudi Keller has taught at the universities of Regensburg, Heidelberg, and Düsseldorf. He has held guest professorships at the universities of Yaoundé (Cameroon) and Nantes (France). Professor Keller has given numerous lectures and seminars at European, American, and especially Korean universities. His main research interests lie in the fields of Pragmatics, Semantics and Sign Theory, and Language Change, as well as in an area somewhat outside the academic canon: Business Communication. These fields are represented by his most widely known publications: On Language Change. The invisible hand in language (Routledge), A Theory of LinguisticSigns (Oxford University Press), and Der Geschäftsbericht (Gabler). He has been retired since February, 2008, and now spends his time between giving lectures and acting as a linguistic consultant for business firms.

Peter Trudgill has taught at the Universities of Reading and Essex in England; and in Switzerland at the Universities of Lausanne and Fribourg. Currently, as well as being Professor II at UiA, Peter Trudgill is Emeritus Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Fribourg; Honorary Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of East Anglia, England; and Adjunct Professor of Linguistics at the Research Centre for Linguistic Typology at La Trobe University, Melbouren, Australia. As well as English, he has also worked on Greek, Albanian, Norwegian, and Spanish. His main interests are in sociolinguistics and dialectology, and his major publications include Sociolinguistics: an introduction to language and society (Penguin); Dialects in contact (Blackwell); and New-dialect formation: the inevitability of colonial Englishes (Edinburgh University Press).

Reading list:

Keller, Rudi (1994): On Language Change. The invisible Hand in Language. London and New York: Routledge. 182 p.

Keller, Rudi (1998): A Theory of Linguistic Signs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 87 - 200.

Thomason, Sarah G. (2001): Language contact: an introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 310 p.

REGISTRATION
If you wish to register for the course or have any other questions, please contact Helge Omdal (helge.omdal@uia.no) as soon as possible.

ACCOMMODATIONIn Kristiansand, there are a number of hotels at variable prices (search the web). The Norge Rica Partner Hotel, Dronningens gate 5, tel. +47 3817 40 00, has reserved a few rooms for our course period (agreed price NOK 1035 incl. breakfast per night). It is centrally located in Kristiansand, and the airport bus stops outside the hotel. From there it takes about half an hour to walk (brisk walk) to our campus at Gimlemoen. Also, there is a good bus connection. See the map (kristiansandkart.pdf)

Kristiansandkart

Preliminar time table

Course leader:
Professor Helge Omdal
helge.omdal@uia.no
Institutt for nordisk og mediefag
Fakultet for humaniora og pedagogikk
Universitetet i Agder
Sørvisboks 422
NO-4604 Kristiansand S
tlf. (+47) 38 14 20 76

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