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Abstract:

This chapter argues that the origins of Standard Average European (SAE) are intimately related to Eastern influenced Biblical Latin and Germanic influenced Carolingian Latin. Both medieval varieties of Latin combine contact patterns with the presence of grammatical complexity in high prestige textual traditions. The impact of Classical Latin came with the later elaboration of the European vernacular languages into national standard languages with a whole repertoire of linguistic expressions belonging to the Communicative Distance. The quest for clarity, normative traditions and institutional prestige, e.g. the Academies, motivate and protect that legacy. Thus, Classical Latin features even spread to the periphery of SAE at a later stage. Overall, it is shown that the areal language contact is only partially due to migrations, but is rather textually motivated.