rate of language change

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

I wrote:
<< I read in D, Crystal that the loss of inflection in English has been
closely connected with the bilingualism effected by the Danish invasions
(CamEncyl Eng Lang p 32).>>

In a message dated 4/17/99 7:26:13 PM, [Ed Selleslagh] replied:
<<That may be right, but how do you explain the same, and simultaneous,
phenomenon in Dutch, a closely (geographically and linguistically) related
language, which underwent only a very minor influence from the Viking
invasions?>>

Did the Norse or Danes settle in Frisia (or the correct location for Dutch to
be effected?)  I'm only aware of raids, at least at the times of Charlesmagne
and say Knut.  The difference might be important, since the Danes did clearly
settle in northern England.  Perhaps that explains it.

I was really doing no more than citing Crystal and he does say it is only a
theory.  But it would seem that you'd need a more permanent or constant level
of interaction to need to "streamline" a language in this way.

<<The rest of Low-German equally lost a major part of its
inflection, in contrast with High-German...>>

I don't know what explanations have been offered for this.  I don't know that
the bilingual accomodation Crystal offers applies to this situation.  Though
there were a lot of Danes to the north and Wends to the east that could have
supplied the same kind of need for loss of complex inflections.

<<BTW, I don't know the answer.>>

Same here.

Regards,
Steve Long