Andean linguistics has underestimated the role of states in the spreading of languages and dialectal fusion processes. This chapter deals with the spread of Quechua in the Inca and colonial eras. It first reconstructs the communicative functions performed by different varieties of this language in the Inca empire and brings to light the factors that determined the formation of koine varieties and their rapid diffusion. Mass migrations led by the Inca state have been the main factor in these processes of koineization. This chapter then shows how the colonial regime drastically intensified the centrifugal dynamics that have been exerted since the Inca era on the Andean communities, making the Spanish economic sphere (cities, mines, and haciendas) the focus of a new expansion and vernacularization of Quechua. Finally, it compares the historical-linguistic evolution of three Andean regions in colonial times (Ecuador, Central Peru and the Ayacucho region of Peru).

The many-faceted history of English in North-America has proved a challenge for accounts of the subsequent development of an old language in a new geographical setting. The complexity of the parameters involved has led researchers to engage in language theory and empirical work in various disciplinary traditions, among them dialectology, historical sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics. The recent electronic resources and interest in texts written by less educated authors have enabled researchers to ask new questions and re-visit old ones from a fresh perspective. This chapter focuses on the intriguing paths of development of varieties such Anglo-American Englishes, Canadian English, and African American English. It pays attention to processes of change and the role played by e.g. contact phenomena in the life cycles of the varieties. Linguistic conservatism and innovation create tension in the new sociodemographic environment of an emerging variety, promoting or discouraging unification or diversification tendencies. The linguistic features investigated across the varieties in the chapter comprise phonetic and phonological features, morphosyntax, grammar, and vocabulary.