Evaluating Dialect Loss through Priming of Code-Switching. The Case of Pskov Dialects of Russian

Abstract

This study investigates the phenomenon of priming in code-switching between two Western Russian dialects and standard Russian. The investigation focuses on the phonetic and grammatical characteristics present in dialogues between speakers of standard Russian and Western Russian dialects, in order to highlight the relationship between priming and dialect erosion. Usage-based linguistic literature argues that grammar is shaped by so-called ‘linguistic experience’. By analyzing data from corpora of two western dialects, it is shown that priming can be an indicator of the preservation of dialectal features. Two sets of data are generated from the reference corpora: first, the overall distribution of the features examined; second, the distribution of the same features limited to priming contexts. The data show that, among speakers of Western Russian dialects, younger subjects with a complete secondary education are more influenced by the priming effect, while older subjects with an incomplete secondary education tend to preserve dialectal variants even in priming contexts. The results suggest that the analysis of priming in code-switching can be used to assess the degree of preservation or decline of dialects at different stages and in different social groups of dialect speakers.