Linguistics 1028A/B Chapter 14.4: Isolation

• School: Western University
• Department: Linguistics
• Course: Linguistics 1028A/B
• Professor: Stephanie Kelly

Document Summary

Isolated speech communities preserve older ways of speaking. The changes that occur in the language spoken in one area or group do not necessarily spread to another. Physical barriers impede transmission of linguistic changes and reinforce dialectal differences. Political separation like the border between the u. s. and canada: although isolation is less pronounced today, there is no evidence to show that dialect levelling is underway despite increased communication among geographically distant communities. Physical isolation: a situation in which speech communities are geographically isolated from other speech communities (e. g. , island communities) Newfoundland speech is distinct for four reasons: It was settled very early by north american standards. Its settlers came largely from two clearly defined areas. The island is a long way from other heavily populated areas. Individual communities were also relatively isolated from one another, each settled by people from only one of two input populations, making it highly regionally variable.