North American Icelandic : the life of a language / Birna Arnbjornsdottir.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Icelandic language--North America--History.

Icelandic language.

Icelandic language--North Dakota--History.

Icelandic language--Manitoba--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (174 p.)

Place of Publication:

Winnipeg, Manitoba : University of Manitoba Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

North American Icelandic evolved mainly in Icelandic settlements in Manitoba and North Dakota and is the only version of Icelandic that is not spoken in Iceland. But North American Icelandic is a dying language with few left who speak it.North American Icelandic is the only book about the nature and development of this variety of Icelandic. It details the social and linguistic constraints of one specific feature of North American Icelandic phonology undergoing change, namely Flámæli, which is the merger of two sets of front vowels. Although Flámæli was once a part of traditional Icelandic, it was considered too confusing and was systematically eradicated from the language. But in North America, Flámæli use spread unchecked, allowing the rare opportunity of viewing the evolution of a dialect from its birth to its impending demise.

Contents:

Front Matter

Table of Contents

Introduction

Historical Background

The Life Cycle of North American Icelandic

The North American Icelandic Lexicon

Collecting the Data

The Grammar of North American Icelandic

Perceived Vowel Mergers: Identification of the Variables

The Spread of Flamli in North American Icelandic

Bibliography

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9786613090973

9781283090971

128309097X

9780887553493

0887553494

OCLC:

243613859