The sociolinguistic situation of two language islands in Ohio and Argentina

Abstract

Argentina and Ohio are homes of two distinct language islands (‘Sprachinseln’). This paper provides a basic overview of the history of these two heritage grammars, and comment on the current state of the speech commu- nities. Analyses suggest that Swiss German is now moribund (i.e. the community consists of the final generation of fluent speakers, as it was not passed on to the next generation). Similarly, numbers of fluent MSG speakers are decreasing. Yet, the degree of decay is different to that from Kidron, as there is a general cultural awareness within the speaker group to maintain parts of the language.

Proceedings of the 5th Annual Linguistics Conference at UGA: 1–11

Published April 15, 2020