Contact and semantic shift in extreme language endangerment: Ahtna riverine directionals in a cardinal world

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John Benjamins Publishing Company

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Abstract

This paper examines the effects of contact with English on the directional system of Ahtna, an endangered Athabascan language of Alaska. The Ahtna directionals reference direction and location in the geographic landscape, but contact with the dominant English system is causing changes in lexicon and possibly the replacement of the entire semantic basis of directional reckoning in Ahtna.

Description

This paper examines the effects of contact with English on the directional system of Ahtna, an endangered Athabascan language of Alaska. The Ahtna directionals reference direction and location in the geographic landscape, but contact with the dominant English system is causing changes in lexicon and possibly the replacement of the entire semantic basis of directional reckoning in Ahtna.

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Berez-Kroeker, Andrea L. 2016. Contact and semantic shift in extreme language endangerment: Ahtna riverine directionals in a cardinal world. In Andrea L. Berez-Kroeker, Diane M. Hintz, & Carmen Jany (eds.), Language Contact and Change in the Americas: Studies in Honor of Marianne Mithun, 107-138. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

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33 pages

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