Questioning of the elite dominance theory

[JoatSimeon at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/11/00 9:24:02 PM Mountain Standard Time,
Tristan at MAIL.SCM-RPG.COM.AU writes:

<< The main question is how much of invaded population would the Invaders
have to make up to impose their language onto the invaded people's >>

-- it's a little more complext than mere gross numbers of newcomers vs.
established population, although that is important.

There are subtle social factors involved as well.

To dominate and replace a previous language, the new language has to be in a
majority _in the households and immediate communities_ of the intruders.

If they're a very thin layer of overlords, this is of course unlikely.  Eg.,
the Gothic and Frankish barbarian overlords of various post-Roman provinces.

Furthermore, the social structure of the population bearing the intrusive
language has to have a social mechanism for assimilating outsiders _as
individuals_.

Mallory points out (in IN SEARCH OF THE INDO-EUROPEANS) that Brahui-speakers
assimilate Pathan-speakers in Afghanistan, rather than vice-versa, despite
the numerical and even military superiority of the Pathans.

This is because the Brahui chieftainship structure allows Pathans to enter as
junior members and work their way up -- at the price of cultural assimilation.

The more egalitarian and clan-centered Pathan social milieu finds accepting
and assimilating outsiders much less easy.

The proto-IE speakers wouldn't have to be in large numbers vs. a vs. the
populations they linguistically "converted"; what they would have to be is
dominant _locally_.

Thus their numbers would continue to grow _at the expense of the speakers of
the indigenous language_ by a sort of "one-way assimilation".  Even if it was
quite slow, over centuries it would be also quite certain.

The locals might be assimilated into IE-speaker households and communities in
a number of ways:  as war-captives, as young people seeking patrons, as women
moving to the patrilocal IE-speakers' homes, etc.

I'd say that in a preliterate milieu, the minimal requirement for language
replacement is that the intrusive community come in complete family groups
(children learn language from their mothers, after all), that they come in
-some- numbers, so they're not a drop of ink in a bucket of milk, and that
they have social mechanisms for assimilating the local population _as
individuals_.