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langsrichting

Langsrichting is a Dutch term used in linguistics to denote the direction of linguistic influence or language change in contact situations. The concept describes which language acts as the donor and which as the recipient, or whether influence flows in both directions. It is applied to lexical, phonological, syntactic, and semantic domains, and is often used to model how languages influence one another over time.

Operationally, langsrichting is assessed through comparative analysis of corpora, historical records, and sociolinguistic surveys. Researchers examine

Several factors shape langsrichting. These include the relative prestige of the languages, the size and dominance

Applications of langsrichting appear in historical linguistics, language-contact studies, and translation studies, where the direction of

See also language contact, lexical borrowing, calque, lexical diffusion.

rates
of
loanwords
and
calques,
phonological
adaptations,
and
the
adoption
of
syntactic
patterns
to
determine
the
dominant
direction
of
influence
in
a
given
contact
setting.
It
can
be
unidirectional,
where
one
language
predominantly
influences
the
other,
or
bidirectional,
where
influence
occurs
in
both
directions.
of
speaker
communities,
the
duration
and
intensity
of
contact,
language
policy
and
education,
and
media
exposure.
External
influences
such
as
migration,
globalization,
and
technology
also
play
a
role
in
directing
language
change.
influence
helps
explain
patterns
of
borrowing
and
syntactic
diffusion.
In
practice,
the
label
and
its
measurement
vary
across
studies,
and
some
scholars
prefer
terminology
such
as
language
transfer
or
direction
of
influence.