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The origin and development of possibility in the creoles of Suriname

  • Bettina Migge and Donald Winford
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Gradual Creolization
This chapter is in the book Gradual Creolization

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the origin and development of the expression of possibility in the creoles of Suriname. We first describe the systems of possibility in Sranan and three Maroon creoles (Ndyuka, Pamaka, and Saamaka), drawing on data elicited from informants, conversational data, as well as the published literature. We examine several modal elements, namely sa, kan, man, poy, whose distribution differs across the different varieties and also over time. Our analysis reveals that the system of possibility in Sranan is organized quite differently from that of the Maroon creoles. To explain these facts, we trace the development of this area of grammar by drawing on historical data from the early Sranan and Saamaka texts, and by exploring possible influence from the Gbe substrate languages as well as Dutch. We argue that the overall structure of this subsystem in the Maroon creoles was broadly modelled on Gbe while the rather different system found in Sranan Tongo is due primarily to influence from Dutch, and to internal developments.

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the origin and development of the expression of possibility in the creoles of Suriname. We first describe the systems of possibility in Sranan and three Maroon creoles (Ndyuka, Pamaka, and Saamaka), drawing on data elicited from informants, conversational data, as well as the published literature. We examine several modal elements, namely sa, kan, man, poy, whose distribution differs across the different varieties and also over time. Our analysis reveals that the system of possibility in Sranan is organized quite differently from that of the Maroon creoles. To explain these facts, we trace the development of this area of grammar by drawing on historical data from the early Sranan and Saamaka texts, and by exploring possible influence from the Gbe substrate languages as well as Dutch. We argue that the overall structure of this subsystem in the Maroon creoles was broadly modelled on Gbe while the rather different system found in Sranan Tongo is due primarily to influence from Dutch, and to internal developments.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Maps ix
  4. Introductory words
  5. One more cup of coffee: On Gradual Creolization 3
  6. Jacques Arends' model of gradual creolization 13
  7. Part 1. Linguistic analysis
  8. Productive bimorphemic structures and the concept of gradual creolization 27
  9. Gradual vs. abrupt creolization and recent changes in Daman Creole Portuguese 55
  10. Gradual restructuring in Ecuadorian Quechua 77
  11. A note on the process of lexical diffusion in the development of creoles: The case of double-object verbs 101
  12. Change in the possessive system of French Caribbean Creole languages 113
  13. The origin and development of possibility in the creoles of Suriname 129
  14. The Saramaccan lexicon: Verbs 155
  15. Development of a creole lexicon 173
  16. Gradualism in the transfer of tone spread rules in Saramaccan 189
  17. In search of a submerged phonology: The case of early Cape Dutch Pidgin 219
  18. Part 2. Sociohistorical reconstruction
  19. Bilingualism and creolization in Solomon Islands 245
  20. Lingua Franca in West Africa? An evaluation of the sociohistorical and metalinguistic evidence 257
  21. The formation of the Portuguese-based Creoles: Gradual or abrupt? 279
  22. English-speaking in early Surinam? 305
  23. The demographic context of creolization in early English Jamaica, 1655-1700 327
  24. The founder principle and Anguilla's homestead society 349
  25. Demographic factors in the formation of French Guianese Creole 373
  26. Index 389
https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.34.12mig

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Maps ix
  4. Introductory words
  5. One more cup of coffee: On Gradual Creolization 3
  6. Jacques Arends' model of gradual creolization 13
  7. Part 1. Linguistic analysis
  8. Productive bimorphemic structures and the concept of gradual creolization 27
  9. Gradual vs. abrupt creolization and recent changes in Daman Creole Portuguese 55
  10. Gradual restructuring in Ecuadorian Quechua 77
  11. A note on the process of lexical diffusion in the development of creoles: The case of double-object verbs 101
  12. Change in the possessive system of French Caribbean Creole languages 113
  13. The origin and development of possibility in the creoles of Suriname 129
  14. The Saramaccan lexicon: Verbs 155
  15. Development of a creole lexicon 173
  16. Gradualism in the transfer of tone spread rules in Saramaccan 189
  17. In search of a submerged phonology: The case of early Cape Dutch Pidgin 219
  18. Part 2. Sociohistorical reconstruction
  19. Bilingualism and creolization in Solomon Islands 245
  20. Lingua Franca in West Africa? An evaluation of the sociohistorical and metalinguistic evidence 257
  21. The formation of the Portuguese-based Creoles: Gradual or abrupt? 279
  22. English-speaking in early Surinam? 305
  23. The demographic context of creolization in early English Jamaica, 1655-1700 327
  24. The founder principle and Anguilla's homestead society 349
  25. Demographic factors in the formation of French Guianese Creole 373
  26. Index 389
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