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Expanding the Transmission/Diffusion Dichotomy: Evidence from Canada
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2026
Abstract
We present analyses of linguistic features undergoing change in South Eastern Ontario, Canada: stative possession, deontic modality, intensifiers, and quotatives. The largest urban center of the country (Toronto) and three towns outside the city are analyzed from the comparative sociolinguistic perspective. Parallel frequency and constraints are found in changes with a time depth of 200 years or more, corroborating the parallel transmission of complex systems over time and space. However, changes that began more recently show marked differences across communities. While the youngest generations in the small towns have appropriated the incoming forms, the accompanying suite of functional constraints found in the urban center is absent. This confirms that diffusing changes do not perfectly replicate the model system. There is, however, notable divergence within patterns of diffusion. The expanding changes exhibit varying configurations, depending on the community, its founders, and the stage of development of the change. The results suggest that increasingly complex contact situations will continue to expand the possible outcomes of diffusion.
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- Copyright © 2014 Linguistic Society of America
Footnotes
*
The first author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for Standard Research Grant #410 070 048 ‘Directions of change in Canadian English’. The second author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Masters) (2008-2009) and Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral) (2009-2012). The SE Ontario project was made possible by the help and generosity of many friends and friends of friends. The initial impetus came from Cori Hansen, who has family roots in Burnt River and who conducted all of the Burnt River interviews as well as many of those in Lakefield and Belleville. The Belleville Historical Society was also instrumental in our research, and we thank them for their interest and support. We extend our appreciation to Bev and Gerry Boyce for facilitating the fieldwork in Belleville, to Christine Berger for helping us make connections in Lakefield, and to Sandy Boyle, Jon Dennis, Ryan McIssac, and Judy Preece for their superb interviewing skills. The extensive data extraction and coding for the four studies was completed by a skilled team of research assistants, including Cori Hansen, Ryan McIssac, Bridget Jankowski, Dylan Uscher, and Michael Ritter. An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at NWAV 37 in Houston, Texas, November 6-9, 2008. We thank our audience for their responses and questions. This article underwent considerable revision subsequent. We are indebted to our astute Language referees, to associate editor Shana Poplack, and to the wise counsel of Harald Baayen on statistical matters.
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