This book presents a study of contact-induced linguistic change in Estonia, this term being used to cover phenomena others have distinguished by labels such as borrowing, code switching and interference, but which are here dealt within the unified framework offered by the code-copying model. The work is therefore of interest for two quite distinct reasons. First, it reports on a particularly interesting sociolinguistic situation, one which has seen recent dramatic changes and which therefore offers a unique opportunity to explore the consequences of such changes on patterns of language use. Second, for those not familiar with the code-copying model, it provides a good illustration of how this model works, demonstrating its descriptive and explanatory potential through this specific case study.

The book is composed of six chapters. The first offers a broad survey of previous approaches to the phenomena to be studied, comparing macro- and micro-sociolinguistic approaches and making some pertinent criticisms of trends in earlier analyses of code-switching, such as the tendency to focus on structural aspects and neglect sociolinguistic ones, and the tendency to evaluate code-switched discourse by reference to monolingual norms.

Chapter 2 describes the linguistic situation in Estonia, tracing the historical development of the Russian-speaking community. In 1989 the country contained two separate, polarized communities: around 30% of the population was Russian, but few of these bothered to learn Estonian since Russian was a prestige language. Since the fall of the USSR and the country's new language laws, Estonian has become the sole official language, the Russians who have remained in Estonia have learned Estonian, and there is much more interaction between the two communities. The remainder of the book, apart from a short concluding chapter, describes the code-copying model and applies it to a selection of types of language change observed in Estonia. Chapter 3 sets out the framework used and compares it to traditional distinctions. Pointing out problems with the definition of concepts like borrowing, interference, mixing, and target language, Verschik explains how these are captured within the code-copying framework, in which, for instance, the distinction between borrowing and code switching can be captured in terms of what is called habitualization. Rather than postulating constraints on what can or cannot be borrowed/switched/copied, Verschik concludes that “everything can be copied, although not everything is copied in a particular contact situation” (p.100), and goes on to identify factors which affect the relative probability that certain elements will be copied; these include attractiveness, salience and semantic specificity. These are illustrated in chapter 4 in case studies of the copying patterns seen in relation to three categories: compound nouns, analytic verbs, and discourse-pragmatic words. Finally, chapter 5 presents some interesting cases of particular patterns of bilingual communication, generally used deliberately for specific purposes: jocular relexification, such as the conscious mixture of languages for humorous purposes, “market discourse” used in business interactions by interlocutors not fully proficient in Estonian, and graphic copying, where one language is written using the writing system of the other.