Open AccessAnalyzing interspeaker variation in Maay
Author(s) -
Mary Paster
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
loquens
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 2386-2637
DOI - 10.3989/loquens.2019.063
Subject(s) - variation (astronomy) , linguistics , plural , grammar , computer science , noun , contrast (vision) , spoken language , vowel length , vowel , artificial intelligence , philosophy , physics , astrophysics
This paper advocates an approach to interspeaker linguistic variation that aligns with the ‘I-language’ view (Chomsky, 1986). On this view, the object of study in linguistics is mental grammar; language is understood as being internal to the individual, in contrast to the ‘E-language’ approach, where language is external to
individual speakers. This paper considers a case study from Maay (a Cushitic language spoken in southern Somalia) in which interspeaker variation in a refugee community defies analysis in E-language terms. An I-language approach allows for a straightforward analysis of the observed variation, specifically in the domains of plural noun formation and vowel length alternations.