This book systematically discusses the link between bilingual language production and its manifestation in historical documents, drawing together two branches of linguistics which have much in common but are traditionally dealt with separately. By combining the study of historical mixed texts with the principles of modern code-switching and bilingualism research, the author argues that the cognitive processes underpinning the human capacity to produce mixed utterances have remained unchanged throughout history, even as the languages themselves are constantly changing. This book will be of interest to scholars of historical linguistics, syntactic theory (particularly generative grammar), language variation and change.

Applies current grammatical models and theories of code-switching to historical texts Offers insight into code-switching as a mode of communication in different periods and settings Argues that the cognitive principles underpinning language mixing have remained unchanged over the centuries

Autorentext

Mareike L. Keller is Junior Lecturer at Mannheim University, Germany. Her research focuses on historical bilingualism and code-switching patterns.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Understanding the Grammar of Mixed Language.- Chapter 3: Early English Code-Switching.- Chapter 4: Code-Switching Across Time and Space.