Adstrat

In Linguistic, a adstrat is a Langue which influences some another without one of both not disappearing. It is about the one of the three possible reports/ratios of linguistic Interférence (two others being the Substrat and the Superstrat).

The most massive phenomenon of adstrat today is that of the English, which influences about all the languages of the world.

The contact between two languages does not guarantee that the interference occurs in the two directions. It is noted on the contrary that it occurs the strongest language preferentially, or most prestigious, towards weakest. These are the power struggles which explain historical phenomena of which the effects are still felt today. Thus, the French German adstrat is much more important than the German French adstrat. A few centuries ago (at the 17th century?), French was so present at the German court that certain linguists wrote dictionaries “German of the court - German of the people” which resembled dictionaries “French-German”. In the same way today, certain “modern” German dictionaries allegedly resemble dictionaries “English-German” (see Denglisch).

The adstrat produces evolutions of which much is rejected by the purists. Thus, in the areas close to a linguistic Border, one notes certain nonallowed interferences by the gun of the language. Thus it to hear turning considered incorrect “It is what for a X ” (meaning “Which type of X is this is not rare in French-speaking Switzerland? ”), in which one can see the influence of German “Was (STI das) für ein”, translated literally; similar case in Belgium with “What it is for a X ” (even direction), translation this time of Dutch “wat is dat voor een”: in this case also, the normative speech condemned turning.

Related articles

• linguistic Interference
• Superstratum
• Substrate