Multilingualism as an Object of Sociolinguistic Description

In the earlier study “Code-Switching and Optimal Grammar of Bilingual Language Use” in 2011, we present a unified account language use multilingual communities using key insight OPTIMIZATION to capture variations between communities. This paper explores extensions implications our optimality-theoretic model grammars. We provide evidence indicating that vast array empirical facts bilingual (code-switching) are constrained by operation five universal socio-cognitive constraints grammars, community grammars differ from each other terms how they prioritize these constraints. show propose (i) accounts for bi-dialectal as well indigenous transplanted communities; (ii) replicates reverse patterns socio-grammatical differences observed relative ranking two (POWER SOLIDARITY), linked with different indexical potentials accruing “a profit distinction”; (iii) presents complete dominance hierarchy constraint rankings, satisfying, ultimately, desideratum an optimality-inspired framework assumptions, i.e., universal; (potential) conflict other; violable; sociolinguistic grammar consists interactions between, optimal satisfaction of,