REPENSANDO O CONTATO LINGUÍSTICO NA GALIZA: CONTRIBUIÇÕES ECOLÓGICAS E COMPLEXAS
Rethinking Language Contact in Galicia: Contributions of Language Ecology and Complexity Theory

Author(s): Cecilia Farias de Souza
Subject(s): Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Other Language Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Galicia; Galician language; language contact; language ecology; complex systems
Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the relevance of more recent perspectives, such as the concept of language ecology (Mufwene 2001, 2008) and complexity theory, for the study of language contact in Galicia. While the prolonged contact between Galician and Castilian in this region is an undeniable reality, the hybrid forms that arise in the interactions between speakers of these languages are often marginalised - or even explicitly rejected. In order to question the traditional concepts in the field of multilingualism and language contact, I examine the notion of language rooted in the epistemological paradigm that emerged among European philosophers in the modern era, as well as the role played by the consolidation of national states in shaping this scenario. I then highlight the valuable contribution of approaches that assume that language is a complex, dynamic and self-adaptive system, emphasising the significance of local factors in the linguistic environment for the analysis of everyday human interactions. Finally, I explore the concept of hybridity as a means to understand the linguistic forms that emerge in interactions and stress the importance of re-evaluating multilingual realities from a non-essentialist perspective.

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