Modeling language ideologies for the dynamics of languages in contact

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantitative framework that embeds language ideologies into models of languages in contact, allowing individual preferences to counterbalance prestige and enable coexistence of varieties. Using a mean-field two-variety model with four subpopulations and a fixed-preference parameter $\alpha$, the authors derive fixed points and show that coexistence can be stable for certain $\alpha$ and prestige values $s_1>s_2>0.5$. They further extend the model to two coupled communities with interconnection $\gamma$, revealing regime transitions among coexistence, extinction, and dominance as coupling varies, and provide analytical phase boundaries alongside an agent-based validation on networks. Finite-size simulations demonstrate that coexistence is metastable in finite populations, with survival times scaling exponentially with network size, thereby linking sociolinguistic ideologies to observable population dynamics and informing language preservation policies.

Abstract

In multilingual societies, it is common to encounter different language varieties. Various approaches have been proposed to discuss different mechanisms of language shift. However, current models exploring language shift in languages in contact often overlook the influence of language ideologies. Language ideologies play a crucial role in understanding language usage within a cultural community, encompassing shared beliefs, assumptions, and feelings towards specific language forms. These ideologies shed light on the social perceptions of different language varieties expressed as language attitudes. In this study, we introduce an approach that incorporates language ideologies into a model for contact varieties by considering speaker preferences as a parameter. Our findings highlight the significance of preference in language shift, which can even outweigh the influence of language prestige associated, for example, with a standard variety. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of the degree of interaction between individuals holding opposing preferences on the language shift process. Quite expectedly, our results indicate that when communities with different preferences mix, the coexistence of language varieties becomes less likely. However, variations in the degree of interaction between individuals with contrary preferences notably lead to non-trivial transitions from states of coexistence of varieties to the extinction of a given variety, followed by a return to coexistence, ultimately culminating in the dominance of the previously extinct variety. By studying finite-size effects, we observe that the duration of coexistence states increases exponentially with network size. Ultimately, our work constitutes a quantitative approach to the study of language ideologies in sociolinguistics.

Figures (15)

• Figure 1: Schematic illustration of the model with fixed preferences. The society consists of a large number of speakers who engage in communication with all the other members. Speakers have a fixed internal preference (denoted by their shape, square or triangle) and may speak any of the two varieties (denoted by their color, orange or blue). As their preference is fixed but their spoken variety may change, transitions only occur between population groups with the same preference, i.e., $x_1 \leftrightarrow y_1$ and $x_2 \leftrightarrow y_2$. These population groups may have different sizes, determined by the preference parameter $\alpha = x_1+y_1 = 1-x_2-y_2$. The polygon idea is inspired by Ref. polygonparable.
• Figure 2: Phase portrait for different configurations of the model with preference $\alpha = 0.27$. In red we plot the location of the stable fixed point. a) For $s_1 = 0.7$, $s_2 = 0.68$ we show a situation of the death for the standard variety since the stable fixed point is located at $X^* = 0$. b) For $s_1 = 0.8$, $s_2 = 0.55$, conversely, we depict the death for the vernacular variety because the stable fixed point implies $X^* = 1$. Both situations c) with $s_1 = 0.8$, $s_2 = 0.6$ and d) with $s_1 = 1$, $s_2 = 0.85$ show coexistence of both varieties.
• Figure 3: Phase space for the model with fixed preferences after an analytical analysis, for a) $\alpha < 0.5$ and b) $\alpha > 0.5$, in which the different behaviors of Eqs. \ref{['eq:dctl']} and \ref{['eq:ectl']} may be appreciated. The different values of $X$ at the stable fixed point in each parameter configuration, $X^*_\mathrm{st}$, forms 3 phases consisting of dominance of the standard variety (D), its extinction (E), and coexistence of standard and vernacular varieties (C).
• Figure 4: Phase space for three different reference values of $\alpha$. We plot the value of $X$ in the stable fixed point following the colour scale in the right for a) $\alpha = 0.25$, b) $\alpha = 0.5$ and c) $\alpha = 0.75$. This value and the fixed point to which it corresponds change depending on the values of $s_1$, $s_2$ and $\alpha$. In dashed lines we plot the transition line from one fixed point to another (see Table \ref{['tab:fixedpoints']}), which delimits the region of coexistence of speakers of the two varieties.
• Figure 5: Area in the parameter space of the stable steady states which imply coexistence, dominance or extinction of one of the two respective varieties, for each value of $\alpha$. The maximum of the coexistence curve is located before $\alpha = 0.5$, as the speakers' preference for the vernacular variety counteracts the different prestige of the varieties. The total area of the parameter space is normalized to 1, as indicated in Eqs. \ref{['eq:coexpropbf05']} and \ref{['eq:coexpropaf05']}.