Volume 30, 2018

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Open Access
The relationship between synchronic and diachronic linguistic processes: a discussion of language acquisition and language contact
(Calgary Working Papers in Linguistics, 2018-11-05) Hracs, Lindsay
The present study investigates the relationship between synchronic processes in Second Language Acquisition and diachronic processes in Language Contact. The focus is on examining laryngeal contrasts in the L2 acquisition of English stops by native speakers of Dutch, and the hypothesized Romance/Germanic contact situation which is argued to have resulted in the Dutch laryngeal system. Using van Coetsem's (1988) framework, the investigation reveals that there are indeed similarities. Furthermore, a re-examination of the acquisition data (originally presented in Simon, 2009, 2011) shows that a more detailed account must be made to claim that there is a relationship between synchronic and diachronic processes. Moreover, I argue that for the Uniformitarian Principle to hold true, theories must make the same predictions regarding both language acquisition and language contact data.