Understanding Dialectal Variation in Contact Scenarios Through Dialectometry: Insights from Inner Asia Minor Greek
This study investigates the interplay between linguistic and extralinguistic factors in language contact scenarios, focusing on <i>inner Asia Minor Greek</i> (iAMGr), a dialect cluster influenced by Turkish and isolated from other Greek-speaking regions. Using dialectometric techniques,...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Languages |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/10/1/13 |
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| Summary: | This study investigates the interplay between linguistic and extralinguistic factors in language contact scenarios, focusing on <i>inner Asia Minor Greek</i> (iAMGr), a dialect cluster influenced by Turkish and isolated from other Greek-speaking regions. Using dialectometric techniques, we quantified the dialect distances—encompassing both grammatical and lexical features, many of which reflect foreign interference—between nineteen iAMGr varieties. A regression analysis was then employed to evaluate the impact of geographic, demographic, and other macro-social factors on these distances. The results reveal distinct patterns. The grammatical features show a substantial divergence between communities, linked to structural borrowing and primarily influenced by the dominant group’s population size and degree of contact (low- vs. high-contact variety types). In contrast, lexical features exhibit greater convergence, primarily influenced by geography, linked to the susceptibility of lexical borrowing to casual contact. Unlike previous dialectometric studies that report a strong correlation between geographic and dialect distances, our findings suggest that geography’s influence varies by linguistic level, being more pronounced in lexical distances. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that certain dialect-specific factors previously identified in qualitative studies on iAMGr are statistically insignificant. The study concludes that, while geography remains relevant, macro-social factors often play a more critical role in language contact settings, particularly in shaping grammatical distances. These findings provide new insights into the determinants of dialect distances in such contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 2226-471X |