Dialects Across Borders

Nonstandard varieties of languages have recently become an object of new interest in scholarly research. This is very much due to the advances in the methods used in data collection and analysis, as well as the emergence of new language-theoretical frameworks. The articles in this volume stem from the 11th International Conference on Methods in Dialectology (Methods XI, August 2002, Joensuu). The theme for this conference was “Dialects across borders”. The selection of contributions included in this volume demonstrates how various kinds of borders exert major influence on linguistic behaviour all over the world. The articles have been grouped according to whether they deal primarily with the linguistic outcomes of political and historical borders between states (Part I); various kinds of social and regional boundaries, including borders in a metaphorical sense, i.e. social barriers and mental or cognitive boundaries (Part II); and finally, boundaries between languages (Part III).

Annotation Nonstandard varieties of languages have recently become an object of new interest in scholarly research. This is very much due to the advances in the methods used in data collection and analysis, as well as the emergence of new language-theoretical frameworks. The articles in this volume stem from the 11th International Conference on Methods in Dialectology (Methods XI, August 2002, Joensuu). The theme for this conference was Dialects across borders . The selection of contributions included in this volume demonstrates how various kinds of borders exert major influence on linguistic behaviour all over the world. The articles have been grouped according to whether they deal primarily with the linguistic outcomes of political and historical borders between states (Part I); various kinds of social and regional boundaries, including borders in a metaphorical sense, i.e. social barriers and mental or cognitive boundaries (Part II); and finally, boundaries between languages (Part III).

Nonstandard varieties of languages have recently become an object of new interest in scholarly research. This is very much due to the advances in the methods used in data collection and analysis, as well as the emergence of new language-theoretical frameworks. The articles in this volume stem from the 11th International Conference on Methods in Dialectology (Methods XI, August 2002, Joensuu). The theme for this conference was “Dialects across borders”. The selection of contributions included in this volume demonstrates how various kinds of borders exert major influence on linguistic behaviour all over the world. The articles have been grouped according to whether they deal primarily with the linguistic outcomes of political and historical borders between states (Part I); various kinds of social and regional boundaries, including borders in a metaphorical sense, i.e. social barriers and mental or cognitive boundaries (Part II); and finally, boundaries between languages (Part III).

The Low Saxon dialect area can be seen as a research laboratory par excellence. Here, linguists from very different disciplines - but especially from the fields of language history, dialectology, socio-, contact and variationist linguistics - come together in an endeavor to use the peculiarities of this dialect area for the analysis of various research questions. Evidence for the diversity of the linguistic research potential offered by Low Saxon is provided by this present volume and its 16 articles. English and German text.

This volume considers the linguistic borders between languages and dia­lects, as well as the administrative, cultural and mental borders that reflect or affect linguistic ones; it comprises eight articles examining the mental borders between dialects, dialect continua and areas of mixed dialect, language ideologies, language mixing and contact-induced language change. The book opens with Dennis R. Preston’s review article on per­ceptual dialectology, showing how this field of study provides insights on laymen’s perceptions about dialect boundaries, and how such perceptions explain regional and social variation. Johanna Laakso problematizes the common notion of languages as having clear-cut boundaries and stresses the artificialness and conventionality of linguistic borders. Vesa Koivisto introduces the Border Karelian dialects as an example of language and dialect mixing. Marjatta Palander and Helka Riionheimo’s article examines the mental boundaries between Finnish and Karelian, demonstrated by the informants when recalling their fading memories of a lost mother tongue. Niina Kunnas focuses on how speakers of White Sea Karelian perceive the boundaries between their language and other varieties. Within the framework of language ideology, Tamás Péter Szabó highlights the ways in which linguistic borders are interactionally (co)constructed in the school environment in Hungary and Finland. Anna-Riitta Lindgren and Leena Niiranen present a contact-linguistic study investigating the vocabulary of Kven, a variety lying on the fuzzy boundary of a language and a dialect. Finally, Vesa Jarva and Jenni Mikkonen approach demographically manifested linguistic boundaries by examining the Old Helsinki slang, a mixture of lexical features derived from Finnish and Swedish. Together, the articles paint a picture of a multidimensional, multilingual, variable and ever-changing linguistic reality where diverse borders, boundaries and barriers meet, intertwine and cross each other. As a whole, the articles also seek to cross disciplinary and methodological boundaries and present new perspectives on earlier studies.

"This volume considers the linguistic borders between languages and dia-lects, as well as the administrative, cultural and mental borders that reflect or affect linguistic ones; it comprises eight articles examining the mental borders between dialects, dialect continua and areas of mixed dialect, language ideologies, language mixing and contact-induced language change. The book opens with Dennis R. Preston's review article on per-ceptual dialectology, showing how this field of study provides insights on laymen's perceptions about dialect boundaries, and how such perceptions explain regional and social variation. Johanna Laakso problematizes the common notion of languages as having clear-cut boundaries and stresses the artificialness and conventionality of linguistic borders. Vesa Koivisto introduces the Border Karelian dialects as an example of language and dialect mixing. Marjatta Palander and Helka Riionheimo's article examines the mental boundaries between Finnish and Karelian, demonstrated by the informants when recalling their fading memories of a lost mother tongue. Niina Kunnas focuses on how speakers of White Sea Karelian perceive the boundaries between their language and other varieties. Within the framework of language ideology, Tamás Péter Szabó highlights the ways in which linguistic borders are interactionally (co)constructed in the school environment in Hungary and Finland. Anna-Riitta Lindgren and Leena Niiranen present a contact-linguistic study investigating the vocabulary of Kven, a variety lying on the fuzzy boundary of a language and a dialect. Finally, Vesa Jarva and Jenni Mikkonen approach demographically manifested linguistic boundaries by examining the Old Helsinki slang, a mixture of lexical features derived from Finnish and Swedish. Together, the articles paint a picture of a multidimensional, multilingual, variable and ever-changing linguistic reality where diverse borders, boundaries and barriers meet, intertwine and cross each other. As a whole, the articles also seek to cross disciplinary and methodological boundaries and present new perspectives on earlier studies.

Identifying and examining political, socio-psychological and symbolic borders, Language, Borders and Identity encompasses a broad, geographically diverse spectrum of border contexts, taking a multi-disciplinary approach by combining sociolinguistics research with human geography, anthropology and social psychology.

Addressing the roles of education, language, and identity in cyclical migration, this book highlights the voices and experiences of transborder students in Mexico who were born or raised in the US. The stories develop a portrait of the lived realities, joys, and challenges that young people face across elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The book not only discusses migration and education policies and pedagogies grounded in the fluid lives of these young people, but its photography also presents their experiences in a visual dimension that words alone cannot capture. This in-depth, multimodal study examines the interplay of language, power, and schooling as they affect students and their families to provide insights for educators to develop meaningful pedagogies that are responsive to students’ border crossing experiences. Living, Learning, and Languaging Across Borders is a vital resource for pre- and in-service teachers, teacher educators, graduate students and scholars in bilingual and multilingual education, literacy and language policy, and immigration and education in the US, Mexico, and beyond. It offers important insights into the complex landscapes transborder students navigate, and considers policy and pedagogy implications that reject problematic assumptions and humanize approaches to the education and migration experiences of transborder students.