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3 - Language Standardization in a View ‘from Below’

from Part I - Revisiting Models and Theories of Language Standardization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2021

By
Stephan Elspaß
Edited by
Wendy Ayres-Bennett  and
John Bellamy
Wendy Ayres-Bennett
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
John Bellamy
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

Most accounts of histories of linguistic standardization have in common a focus on printed, formal or literary texts from writing elites. In recent historical sociolinguistic research, the question has arisen as to which texts ‘from below’ (i.e. informal and mostly handwritten texts, particularly from the lower ranks of society) contributed to the standardization processes of modern languages. Such texts have been handed down in Western languages since the beginning of the standardization era, but have been largely neglected or even ignored in conventional language historiographies. This chapter will set out with a critical review of traditional histories and current models of language standardization, in particular the four-step model by Haugen, which will be contrasted with an alternative model based on the ‘language history from below’ approach. It will then reflect on methodological aspects. One central question is that of adequate corpora (i.e. which texts and which text editions by which authors were and could be selected for the description of standardization processes). The last part of the chapter will present findings of case studies in recent research in (historical) sociolinguistics on standardization in a view ‘from below’.

Keywords

language history from belowprivate lettersstandardizationalternative language histories
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Language Standardization , pp. 93 - 114
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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