The sociocultural constraints on code switching in Lower Fungom and the implications on theories of convergence and divergence

Presented at the 4th Symposium on West African Languages, University of Napoli “L’Orientale”, September 21-23 2022. Author: Rachel A. Ojong Diba Abstract There exists a profound disdain for code switching, the alternating use of two or more codes in Lower Continue reading The sociocultural constraints on code switching in Lower Fungom and the implications on theories of convergence and divergence

Language contact or semiotic pools? A speaker-centered view of language differentiation in the Cameroonian Grassfields

Presented at the 4th Symposium on West African Languages, University of Napoli “L’Orientale”, September 21-23 2022. Authors: P. Di Carlo and J. Good. Abstract With more than seventy named languages, and many more locally-meaningful varieties, the Cameroonian Grassfields are known Continue reading Language contact or semiotic pools? A speaker-centered view of language differentiation in the Cameroonian Grassfields

Social separation and language change in the Cameroonian Grassfields

Presented at the 55th Conference of the Societas Linguistica Europaea (University of Bucharest) by P. Di Carlo, J. Good, and N. Tschonghongei Abstract The Cameroonian Grassfields have long been known for their linguistic diversity (Stallcup 1980). While the region’s hilly Continue reading Social separation and language change in the Cameroonian Grassfields

Using patterns of semantic convergence as evidence for sociolinguistic reconstruction

Presented at HiSON 2022 (University of Murcia, 2022) by Pierpaolo Di Carlo and Jeff Good. Abstract Societies characterized by high degrees of individual-level multilingualism pose difficult questions for historical reconstruction. On the one hand, such contexts will inevitably be associated Continue reading Using patterns of semantic convergence as evidence for sociolinguistic reconstruction