[Lingtyp] The purpose of convergence and divergence?

[Alex Francois]

Dear Ian,

The question of convergence and divergence in languages is fascinating
indeed — all the more so when the same set of languages shows both
tendencies at the same time.
I observed this sort of configuration in different areas of Island
Melanesia. One was northern Vanuatu (Torres & Banks islands):

   - François, Alexandre. 2011. Social ecology and language history in the
   northern Vanuatu linkage: A tale of divergence and convergence
   <http://alex.francois.online.fr/AFpub_articles_e.htm#26>. *Journal of
   Historical Linguistics* 1 (2). 175-246. [doi:10.1075/jhl.1.2.03fra]

the other one was the island of Vanikoro (Solomon Islands):

   - François, Alexandre. 2009. The languages of Vanikoro: Three lexicons
   and one grammar <http://alex.francois.online.fr/AFpub_articles_e.htm#19>.
   In Bethwyn Evans (ed). *Discovering history through language: Papers in
   honour of Malcolm Ross*. Pacific Linguistics 605. Canberra: Australian
   National University. 103-126.

Both case studies were dealing with languages that share the same ancestor
(Proto-Oceanic), but have gone through intense processes of diversification
over centuries, to the point of losing mutual intelligibility even between
close neighbours.  That divergence has been quite extreme: e.g. the 17
Torres-Banks languages of north Vanuatu (<10,000 speakers in total) show
higher rates of lexical divergence in basic vocabulary than all of
Germanic, or all of Slavic, or all of Romance, in a similar time frame
 (see F2011:203
<https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2011_JHL1-2_Social-ecology_Vanuatu.pdf#page=29>
).

But along with those processes of divergence, the same languages evidently
undergo a constant process of mutual convergence, as they keep mutually
(re)aligning their grammatical and lexical structures.
_________

The motivations I identified for the two processes — at least in that part
of the world — were similar to some suggestions you make in your question
(and some suggestions by other contributors in this thread).

Convergence arises when multilingual speakers spontaneously align their
semantic structures and phraseological strategies, essentially to
facilitate cognitive processing and communication success. Cf. F2011 (p.225)
<https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2011_JHL1-2_Social-ecology_Vanuatu.pdf#page=29>
:

“These processes of structural convergence are ultimately rooted in
> cognitive pressures in multilingual situations. Structural convergence
> arises when multilingual speakers in contact give in to a “trend towards
> word-for-word translatable codes” (Gumperz & Wilson 1971: 165). Achieving
> cross-linguistic structural isomorphism makes it cognitively easier for
> speakers to learn and speak other language varieties. Also, by limiting the
> risk of semantic loss in translation, such parallelism increases the
> chances for successful communication events.”


That process is well-known in cases of contact between genetically diverse
languages:  thus Gumperz & Wilson were describing a famous case of
contact-induced alignment between Dravidian and Indo-Aryan varieties in
India.  But the same sort of convergence processes can also be shown to be
at play among related languages, through isomorphism of grammatical
structures, phraseological strategies, patterns of lexification. (Thus in
another 2022 paper
<https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/zfs-2021-2041/html#j_zfs-2021-2041_s_023>,
I described a process of "relexification through semantic realignment"
which is best explained, I think, by areal pressures towards convergence.)
_________
While this contact-induced convergence affects structures (grammatical
structures, semantic structures in the lexicon), divergence is mostly
visible in word forms (grammar & lexicon). In Island Melanesia, this took
different forms:

   - divergent phonological systems
   (different phonotactic structures and phonological constraints;
   vowel inventories ranging from 5 to 14; consonant inventories featuring
   local innovations like [ʔ] or [ᵑg͡bʷ] or [g͡ʟ]);
   - divergence due to sound change
   - e.g. Hiw [wug͡ʟə], Mwotlap [ʊj], Dorig [ββʊr] 'full' are cognate (<
   POc *puRa
   <https://marama.huma-num.fr/data/AlexFrancois_R-in-Southern-Oceanic_OL50-1_2011-published.pdf#page=47>),

   but rendered unrecognisable by regular sound change
   - divergence due to widespread lexical replacement
   (a form replaced by a non-cognate variant).

We thus end up with a situation where language structures are shared across
large social networks, whereas linguistic forms differ widely from village
to village.

> *Same about divergence - if a group that split away from a bigger group
changes their lect in a divergent manner, then what benefit does it bring?
Does it solidate their group identity? Does it help to identify an in-group
member?*
The extreme divergence we see cannot merely be explained by geographical
isolation, because the languages of north Vanuatu (or those of Vanikoro)
have always remained in contact, with a tradition of encouraging linguistic
exogamy, and (egalitarian) multilingualism even within a single family.
This constant social contact should have preserved the original linguistic
unity, yet what we see, paradoxically, is a strong signal of linguistic
divergence.

My understanding is that linguistic divergence here results from a
spontaneous process of selection, driven by a social ideology that promotes
the strengthening of local identities through contrasts in their linguistic
(and cultural) profiles. The processes of divergence serve an emblematic
function, that of indexing distinct communities anchored in space.  (While
the stratified societies of Europe tend to index social groups through
sociolects and stylistic registers, the egalitarian societies of Melanesia
invest in the diatopic dimension, i.e. the distribution of lects in
geography.)

The selection process itself is, I believe, subconscious; but indirectly,
through an "Invisible hand" mechanism (Keller 1989), it serves a purpose of
social differentiation of which speakers are fully aware.  This is why the
linguistic variants that are selected for emblematic purposes are the ones
that are the most salient to speakers' attention:  phonetic shibboleths and
phonological patterns;  sound change;  lexical replacement, through the
selection of non-cognate synonyms.
The end result of these competing forces is that word forms tend to diverge
from place to place, whereas semantic structures are inaccessible enough to
speakers' awareness that they are left free to converge across much larger
areas.

best,
Alex
------------------------------

Alex François
LaTTiCe <http://www.lattice.cnrs.fr/en/alexandre-francois/> — CNRS–
<http://www.cnrs.fr/index.html>ENS
<https://www.ens.fr/laboratoire/lattice-langues-textes-traitements-informatiques-et-cognition-umr-8094>
–Sorbonne nouvelle
<http://www.univ-paris3.fr/lattice-langues-textes-traitements-informatiques-cognition-umr-8094-3458.kjsp>
Australian National University
<https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/francois-a>
Personal homepage <http://alex.francois.online.fr/>
_________________________________________

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ian Joo <ian_joo at nucba.ac.jp>
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2023 at 20:33
Subject: [Lingtyp] The purpose of convergence and divergence?
To: <LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG> <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>


Dear Typologists,

I would appreciate it if you could point to me the literature discussing
the purpose of linguistic convergence and divergence.
Do they happen simply because they happen - or do they serve any purpose?
Do they bring any benefit?
For example if my lect changes based on to what my neighbors are speaking,
it's an interesting phenomenon, but what good does it do? Does it make me
more suitable as a neighbor? Does it make it more easier for me to learn
their (dominant) lect? Does it facilitate code-switching?
Same about divergence - if a group that split away from a bigger group
changes their lect in a divergent manner, then what benefit does it bring?
Does it solidate their group identity? Does it help to identify an in-group
member?
These questions have been stuck in my head for quite a long time now and I
would be grateful if you could provide me previous insights on such
questions.

>From the Netherlands,
Ian
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