Preface ...................................................... viii
Acknowledgements .............................................. xii
Prologue: Social correlates of linguistic structures ........... xv
1 Sociolinguistic typology and the speed of change ............. 1
2 Complexification, simplification, and two types of contact .. 15
3 Isolation and complexification .............................. 62
4 Mechanisms of complexification .............................. 91
5 Contact and isolation in phonology ......................... 116
6 Mature phenomena and societies of intimates ................ 146
Epilogue: On the future of linguistic complexity .............. 185
Bibliography .................................................. 190
Index ......................................................... 225
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