Download or read book Stability and Divergence in Language Contact written by Kurt Braunmüller and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2014-11-15 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Convergence, i.e. the increase of inter-systemic similarities, is usually considered the default development in language contact situations. This volume focuses on the other logical possibilities of diachronic development, namely stability and divergence – two well-attested, but under-researched phenomena. The contributions investigate the sociolinguistic and structural factors and mechanisms that lead to or at least reinforce both types of non-convergence, despite of language contact. The contributions cover a wide range of language contact situations, including standard and non-standard varieties.