BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//events.la.psu.edu//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20201101T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20200308T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:16871-2805761e1ba64d89ddb04a6fdaa4e762@events.la.psu.edu DTSTAMP:20260412T054253Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180512T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180512T170000 SUMMARY:Talk by Dr. Robert Howell (University of Wisconsin, Madison) - The Promi se and Pitfalls of Research in Early Modern Urban Dialects DESCRIPTION:The Promise and Pitfalls of Research in Early Modern Urban D ialects\n\n \;\n\nOver the past several decades the relatively new f ield of historical sociolinguistics has developed into a full-fledged su bfield of historical linguistics. While placing language change in its s ocial context promises to yield new insights into the mechanisms and mot ivations for language change\, historical sociolinguists are also constr ained by the nature and availability of relevant social and linguistic d ata\, and they are challenged by the need to develop appropriate methodo logical tools. Using specific examples from recent and ongoing research in the development of Early Modern German and Dutch urban vernaculars th is talk explores the potential and the limitations of historical socioli nguistic research. At first blush\, the limitations seem to far outweigh the potential for real progress. Among other things\, researchers are l imited to textual data\, which means that the literate segment of the po pulation is in most instances the sole source of linguistic data. A seco nd issue is the masking effect that eventual standardization can have on orthographic representation of linguistic variation.\n\nFinally it is n otoriously difficult to gain solid evidence of belief systems\, concepti ons of social class and ethnic identity\, gender roles and a host of oth er social characteristics central to much research in contemporary socio linguistics. Nonetheless it is possible to isolate patterns of linguisti c variation in texts written during a period when any sort of standard l anguage ideology is weak or totally lacking\, and there is considerable data relevant to patterns of migration and social interaction that promi se to provide insight into the origin of changes in urban vernaculars. I n the final analysis I will argue that the primary engine of change in u rban dialects is demographic upheaval resulting from high urban mortalit y and large-scale migration. This demographic instability in turn brings people of heterogeneous linguistic backgrounds into close contact\, in many instances at the level of the nuclear family.\n\nFor more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/talk-by-dr-robert-howell-university-of-w isconsin-madison-the-promise-and-pitfalls-of-research-in-early-modern-ur ban-dialects/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

The Promise and Pitfalls of Research in Early M odern Urban Dialects

 

Over the past several decades t he relatively new field of historical sociolinguistics has developed int o a full-fledged subfield of historical linguistics. While placing langu age change in its social context promises to yield new insights into the mechanisms and motivations for language change, historical sociolinguis ts are also constrained by the nature and availability of relevant socia l and linguistic data, and they are challenged by the need to develop ap propriate methodological tools. Using specific examples from recent and ongoing research in the development of Early Modern German and Dutch urb an vernaculars this talk explores the potential and the limitations of h istorical sociolinguistic research. At first blush, the limitations seem to far outweigh the potential for real progress. Among other things, re searchers are limited to textual data, which means that the literate seg ment of the population is in most instances the sole source of linguisti c data. A second issue is the masking effect that eventual standardizati on can have on orthographic representation of linguistic variation.

< p>Finally it is notoriously difficult to gain solid evidence of belief s ystems, conceptions of social class and ethnic identity, gender roles an d a host of other social characteristics central to much research in con temporary sociolinguistics. Nonetheless it is possible to isolate patter ns of linguistic variation in texts written during a period when any sor t of standard language ideology is weak or totally lacking, and there is considerable data relevant to patterns of migration and social interact ion that promise to provide insight into the origin of changes in urban vernaculars. In the final analysis I will argue that the primary engine of change in urban dialects is demographic upheaval resulting from high urban mortality and large-scale migration. This demographic instability in turn brings people of heterogeneous linguistic backgrounds into close contact, in many instances at the level of the nuclear family.

Fo r more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/ talk-by-dr-robert-howell-university-of-wisconsin-madison-the-promise-and -pitfalls-of-research-in-early-modern-urban-dialects/

LOCATION:Nittany Lion Inn, Assembly Room END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR