Dissertation

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Forwarded from Linguist-List,

Author: Lise Bouchard

Dissertation Title: La dynamique du contact quichua-espagnol dans la
communaute de Peguche (Equateur) [The Dynamics of Quichua-Spanish Contact
in the Community of Peguche, Ecuador]

Institution: Universite du Quebec a Montreal
Program: Ph.D. in Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2002

Dissertation Abstract:

This dissertation is part of the research into the domain of language
contact. Its aim is to reveal the social and linguistic constraints that
govern the bilingual speech of the inhabitants of the Quichua community of
Peguche, in northern Ecuador.

The study (1) describes the sociolinguistic situation of the community,
the Quichua and Spanish phonology, the Quichua morphosyntax, the
typological differences between the two languages; (2) analyzes examples
of contact consequences; (3) examines the nature and frequency of the
manifestations of bilingualism in the speech of Peguche speakers in order
to verify whether these are similar to the ones of speakers of linguistic
communities with a similar sociolinguistic profile in other parts of the
world and (4)  attempts to determine if the manifestations of bilingualism
encountered in Quichua/Spanish discourse are similar to those found for
Finnish/English, a typologically similar pair of languages
(agglutinative/analytic).

The data were collected in three ways: a Quichua language questionnaire on
the sociolinguistic situation administered to 28 persons of the community,
the recording of a linguistic corpus of ten hours of spontaneous and
directed speech, and ethnographic observation.

The sociolinguistic investigation revealed a situation of generalized
bilingualism. It was also found that most of the speakers mix the two
languages when they speak. The use of Quichua is still privileged into the
community, but it diminishes among the youngsters. The corpus analysis
showed that as in the case of Finnish/English, a typologically similar
pair of languages, borrowing is the most frequent manifestation of
bilingualism in the speech of Peguche inhabitants.

Finally, it was found that among linguistic minorities, indigenous
communities set apart from immigrant communities. Some particular
psychosocial factors related to their character of indigenity can have a
favorable influence on their ethnolinguistic vitality. Consequently, the
members of indigenous groups will adopt more easily a linguistic behavior
distinct from the majority group. This will favor the use of some
particular manifestations of bilingualism in their speech.

It was thus concluded that social factors play an important role in the
emergence of manifestations of bilingualism into the speech. They should
be considered along with the linguistic factors in order to attain a
better understanding of the phenomenon.