Introduction

The relationship between many language communities has grown both common and difficult in a world marked by growing globalization, migration, and intercultural exchange. This interaction usually has notable linguistic effects and creates the area of contact linguistics-a subfield of linguistics investigating what happens when speakers of many different languages interact. Contact linguistics aims to explain how languages affect one another, how new forms of speech arise, and how language use in multilingual settings is shaped by social, political, and cultural processes.

Language contact has been studied for quite some time; it has been noted that no language evolves in total isolation. Historically, empires, trade routes, colonization, and diaspora shifts have all helped to blend languages and civilizations.  Such interactions produce a range of linguistic results from basic lexical borrowing to the development of completely new language systems like pidgins and creoles. Taking into account not only linguistic but also identity-related aspects of communication, bilingual and multilingual societies in modern environments often experience phenomena such as code-switching and language convergence.

An extensive variety of categories and procedures are included in the field of contact linguistics. Borrowing-the adoption of words or structures from one language into another, code-switching-the alternating use of two or more languages within a conversation or sentence, interference-structural influence from one language on another, pidginization-the creation of simplified languages for communication between groups that do not have a common language, and creolization-the development of pidgins into fully-fledged native languages are some of the most linguistic phenomena that are studied the most frequently. Furthermore, important sociolinguistic processes that frequently follow language contact-especially in situations of political or economic domination-include language shift, language preservation, and language death.

Methodology

For the purpose of providing a full understanding of the topic, the article takes a descriptive and theoretical approach to the examination of language interaction. More specifically, it integrates both qualitative and theoretical viewpoints. The primary methodology consists of doing a comprehensive evaluation and examination of both basic and contemporary literature. This review and analysis draw from a wide variety of scholarly publications that are associated with language contact and multilingualism. By encompassing pertinent studies drawn from Western and Russian educational traditions, this body of literature offers a well-rounded view on the most important challenges that are now being faced in the subject.

The article presents a synthesis of significant theoretical models and empirical data from well-established experts in the field. The purpose of the study is to investigate the many language phenomena that develop in contact settings. Code-switching, linguistic convergence, lexical borrowing, language shift, pidginization, and creolization are some of the main phenomena that are investigated in this study. When speakers of several linguistic systems engage with one another, these occurrences are extremely important for understanding how languages influence one another. This is especially true in the context               of globalization, migration, and social integration.

Literature review

Contact linguistics has arisen as a distinct area within linguistics very recently, near the conclusion of the 20th century. The advancement of contact linguistics and bilingualism is grounded on the contributions of researchers in the scholars of western countries, such as H. Schuchardt, W. Weinreich, E. Haugen, C. A. Ferguson, W. Labov, S. Poplack, C. Myers-Scotton, P. Muysken among others.

In addition to this, For the purpose of gaining a better knowledge of contact linguistics, Russian academics have made crucial contributions, L. V. Shcherba, L. V. Vygotsky, T. V. Nikitina, N. S. Anikina can be great example on this sphere. Research focused on language contact, language mixing, and bilingualism has evolved concurrently and forms a substantial component of the shared theoretical framework.

In the field of contact linguistics, Hugo Schuchardt was one of the pioneers who conducted systematic research on creoles and pidgins. This work is ground-breaking for the field of contact linguistics, particularly with regard to the comprehension of language diversity and interference in early contact context conditions (Schuchardt, 1885). The esteemed German linguist G. Paul asserts in the early 20th century that to examine the origins of language contact and mixing, one must explore the consciousness of bilingual speakers, whose speech reflects the influence of the interaction between two languages, subsequently impacting the language of the broader community (Paul, 1920).

In the latter half of the 20th century, research on language contact phenomena such as bilingualism, multilingualism, interference, convergence, and borrowing was prominent. One of the most significant contributions to the field of contact linguistics is Weinreich’s book.  He presented fundamental ideas such as interference and established the study of cross-linguistic effect as a distinct academic discipline (Weinreich, 1953). U. Weinreich then suggested making a distinction between microscopic and macroscopic methods of studying language contact, stating that in the former, bilingual speakers’ speech patterns are compared to those of monolingual speakers, whereas in the latter, the language impacted by contact is compared to a section of that language that is adjacent to it in terms of spatial and temporal features that are not impacted by language contact (Weinreich, 1972; 32). He identifies three categories:

1. the community’s language may be entirely supplanted by the new language;
2. a language shift will occur within the community; both the community’s language and the new language may be utilized in speech depending on the context, with each language potentially possessing distinct functional capabilities and a variety of communicative domains;
3. the integration of the two languages will transpire during their interaction, resulting in the amalgamation of language systems and the formation of a new language that diverges from its constituent elements (Weinreich, 1972; 28).

Interference is exemplified by borrowing and calques. Borrowings refer to words, phrases, and morphemes that have integrated into the lexical structure of a language.  Borrowed units are modified to conform to the standards of the recipient language, experiencing specific alterations until they are ultimately absorbed at three levels: phonetic, grammatical, and semantic. Borrowings typically arise from the need to address a        lexical gap in the language or to introduce a synonym that presents an established topic from a novel perspective. Weinreich designates this necessity as the sensation of lexical deficit (Weinreich, 1972; 43). Nonetheless, vocabulary can be appropriated without necessitating the closure of a lexical void. He emphasizes the need of differentiating the circumstances where a gap connected to the absence of a term in the receiving language is filled by using a word from the donor language-in this case, lexical borrowing. On the other hand, calquing is the possibility whereby the gap is filled         using already used words in the recipient language. In the context of genetically and culturally linked languages, it should be underlined that the semantic forms of borrowings comprise the extension of the meaning of a term that already exists in the language, impacted by a word from another language. 

The concept of borrowing is encompassed within interference they may           be equated, or borrowing may be regarded as a consequence of the interference process. Conversely, scholars differentiate between these two phenomena by asserting that borrowing involves the introduction of an element foreign to the language system, which subsequently undergoes assimilation. In contrast, interference results in a deviation from the language’s norms, leading to alterations in its structural elements due to            the influence of another language system (Haugen, 1972; 62). In contrast, interference refers to the alteration of the structure or elements of the receiving language due to the influence of a foreign element. In interference, one language’s system influences the connections and relationships within another language, without the assimilation of the foreign element.

In discussing the theoretical basis of language contact and code-switching, it is crucial to consider the linked phenomena, specifically interference, borrowing, and bilingualism.  Interference is defined as “the interaction of language systems within the framework of bilingualism” (Gumperz & Levinson, 1996) and “deviations from the normative standards of the second language influenced by the native language in the written and spoken discourse of a bilingual” (Merriam-Webster). Scholars defined code-switching differently, such as Weinreich characterises interference as “instances of deviation from the norms of a language that manifest in the speech of bilingual individuals due to their familiarity with two or more languages” (Haugen, 1972; 62).

It is important to acknowledge that the early research in the field of contact linguistics and bilingualism is distinguished by the understanding of interference as a process of deviation from the norm of the mother tongue during the acquisition of a second language, and, as a result, in bilingualism of various varieties. The theoretical foundation for research on code-switching and code-mixing is derived from the primary propositions that scholars developed in early works on bilingualism. In this context, we will draw comparisons between the terms and phenomena discussed in the theory of contact linguistics and the concepts of bilingualism described in foundational works on the study of multilingualism issues.

Conclusion

The study of contact linguistics, in conclusion, offers a comprehensive framework for comprehending the intricate dynamics that emerge as a result of the interaction of languages, particularly in societies that are multicultural and multilingual. As a result of the contact between languages, a broad variety of linguistic phenomena are produced. These phenomena include borrowing, code-switching, pidginization, and creolization. Globalization, migration, and intercultural interchange are all factors that contribute to this phenomenon.  These phenomena are produced not only by linguistic elements, but also by sociopolitical and cultural variables that influence the way languages evolve in contact settings. The development of these phenomena is shaped not only by linguistic causes alone.

This research into language contact, on the other hand, is not just concerned with linguistic structures; it also digs into the more profound social ramifications, such as the influence that language contact has on group identities, the integration of society, and the preservation or destruction of languages. Western theories are supplemented by the research conducted by scientists from a variety of linguistic traditions, including Russian experts such as Shcherba and Vygotsky. This results in a more comprehensive comprehension of the worldwide patterns of language interaction.

 Not only does contact linguistics shed light on the linguistic repercussions of language contact, but it also sheds light on the ways in which these interactions are intertwined with the social, political, and historical settings in which they take place.  The field of contact linguistics provides vital insights into the dynamic nature of language and the role it plays in defining human experience and social identity in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected. These insights are gained via the examination of the numerous links that exist across languages.