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Description:
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The appearance of Uriel Weinreich's "Languages in Contact: Findings and
Problems" (1953) marked a milestone in the study of multilingualism and
language contact. Yet until now, few linguists have been aware that its main
themes were first laid out in Weinreich’s Columbia University doctoral
dissertation of 1951, "Research Problems in Bilingualism with Special
Reference to Switzerland". Based on the author's fieldwork, it contains a
detailed report on language contact in Switzerland in the first half of the 20th
century, especially along the French-German linguistic border and between
German and Romansh in the canton of Grisons (Graubünden). The present
edition reproduces Weinreich's original text in full, with only minor alterations
and corrections, as well as the author's fieldwork photographs and many of
his hand-drawn diagrams. A new foreword reviews Weinreich's life and
legacy, as well as developments in contact linguistics and the Swiss
linguistic situation over the past 60 years. With selected comments on
noteworthy points and references to more recent literature, this volume will be
of interest not only to those working on the languages of Switzerland, or
specialists in language contact, but all scholars today whose work builds on
the broad and lasting foundations laid over half a century ago by Uriel
Weinreich.
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