Is Otomí creating a new lexical class for the modification of noun phrases as a result of the contact with Spanish?

Authors
Publication date 2010
Journal STUF: Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung = Language typology and universals
Volume | Issue number 63 | 1
Pages (from-to) 5-19
Number of pages 15
Organisations
  • Faculty of Humanities (FGw) - Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR) - Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC)
Abstract
In this contribution we seek support for the hypothesis that Otomí, a language from Mexico, which is in intense contact with Spanish, is developing a specialized set of adjectives, a category that is lacking from the classical language. Arguments are derived from two sources, a corpus of translations into Otomí of around 750 Spanish adjectives, and a corpus of 59 short texts in spoken Otomí, in which a number of Spanish adjectives were found as loanwords. Pointing out several changes in the contemporary language, mainly among younger, often bilingual speakers, we provide support for our hypothesis, which suggests that Otomí is undergoing a typological change.

Document type Article
Published at https://doi.org/10.1524/stuf.2010.0002
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