Modelling Creole Genesis
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Tonjes Veenstra
Abstract
In this paper we address two current claims in creole studies: (i) adults in the creolization are the innovators; (ii) the grammatical properties of creoles are either the result of continuities from the superstrate language(s) or from the substrate language(s), i.e. discontinuities are assumed not to exist. On the basis of a careful examination of the structure and emergence of synthetic compounds in the Surinamese creoles, in particular Saramaccan, we conclude that we cannot leave out the contribution of nativizing part of the population in the creolization process, as well as that discontinuities, i.e. properties that diverge from all the languages present in the original contact situation, do exist. As such, the research reported on here can be viewed as supporting the cascade-approach of DeGraff (1999).
Abstract
In this paper we address two current claims in creole studies: (i) adults in the creolization are the innovators; (ii) the grammatical properties of creoles are either the result of continuities from the superstrate language(s) or from the substrate language(s), i.e. discontinuities are assumed not to exist. On the basis of a careful examination of the structure and emergence of synthetic compounds in the Surinamese creoles, in particular Saramaccan, we conclude that we cannot leave out the contribution of nativizing part of the population in the creolization process, as well as that discontinuities, i.e. properties that diverge from all the languages present in the original contact situation, do exist. As such, the research reported on here can be viewed as supporting the cascade-approach of DeGraff (1999).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Structure
- The phonetics of tone in Saramaccan 9
- Tracing the origin of modality in the creoles of Suriname 29
- Modelling Creole Genesis 61
- The restructuring of tense/aspect systems in creole formation 85
- Syntactic properties of negation in Chinook Jargon, with a comparison of two source languages 111
- Sri Lankan Malay morphosyntax 135
- Sri Lanka Malay 159
- The advantages of a blockage-based etymological dictionary for proven or putative relexified languages 183
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Part II: Variation
- A fresh look at habitual be in AAVE 203
- Oral narrative and tense in urban Bahamian Creole English 225
- Aspects of variation in educated Nigerian Pidgin 243
- A linguistic time-capsule 263
- The progressive in the spoken Papiamentu of Aruba 291
- Was Haitian ever more like French? 315
- The late transfer of serial verb constructions as stylistic variants in Saramaccan creole 337
- Index 373
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Structure
- The phonetics of tone in Saramaccan 9
- Tracing the origin of modality in the creoles of Suriname 29
- Modelling Creole Genesis 61
- The restructuring of tense/aspect systems in creole formation 85
- Syntactic properties of negation in Chinook Jargon, with a comparison of two source languages 111
- Sri Lankan Malay morphosyntax 135
- Sri Lanka Malay 159
- The advantages of a blockage-based etymological dictionary for proven or putative relexified languages 183
-
Part II: Variation
- A fresh look at habitual be in AAVE 203
- Oral narrative and tense in urban Bahamian Creole English 225
- Aspects of variation in educated Nigerian Pidgin 243
- A linguistic time-capsule 263
- The progressive in the spoken Papiamentu of Aruba 291
- Was Haitian ever more like French? 315
- The late transfer of serial verb constructions as stylistic variants in Saramaccan creole 337
- Index 373
