Indigenous peoples and the emergence of the Caribbean Creoles
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Marta Viada Bellido de Luna
Abstract
Contrary to most of the dominant discourses on Caribbean history, a close and critical re-examination and re-analysis of historical, archaeological, genetic, and other evidence suggests that the indigenous peoples of the insular Caribbean and their descendants were in the right places, at the right times, in sufficient numbers, and in positions of sufficient power and prestige to have had a significant impact not only on the lexicon, but also on the grammatical structures of the Caribbean Creoles. By acknowledging that throughout the colonial history of the Caribbean, Indigenous and other marginalized peoples had their own demographic, social, economic, political, and cultural agendas, and that they were often successful in implementing these agendas, it becomes apparent that the multiplex matrix from which the Caribbean Creoles emerged must be further complicated and elaborated to include Indigenous influences on creole grammatical structures.
Abstract
Contrary to most of the dominant discourses on Caribbean history, a close and critical re-examination and re-analysis of historical, archaeological, genetic, and other evidence suggests that the indigenous peoples of the insular Caribbean and their descendants were in the right places, at the right times, in sufficient numbers, and in positions of sufficient power and prestige to have had a significant impact not only on the lexicon, but also on the grammatical structures of the Caribbean Creoles. By acknowledging that throughout the colonial history of the Caribbean, Indigenous and other marginalized peoples had their own demographic, social, economic, political, and cultural agendas, and that they were often successful in implementing these agendas, it becomes apparent that the multiplex matrix from which the Caribbean Creoles emerged must be further complicated and elaborated to include Indigenous influences on creole grammatical structures.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Abbreviations xi
- Marginalized peoples, racialized slavery and the emergence of the Atlantic Creoles 1
- African agency in the emergence of the Atlantic Creoles 41
- Women and colonial era creolization 55
- Indigenous peoples and the emergence of the Caribbean Creoles 81
- Linguistic evidence for the influence of indigenous Caribbean grammars on the grammars of the Atlantic Creoles 111
- Sociétés de cohabitation and the similarities between the English lexifier Creoles of the Atlantic and the Pacific 149
- Influences of Houma ancestral languages on Houma French 185
- Marginalized peoples and Creole Genesis 215
- References 225
- Index 239
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Abbreviations xi
- Marginalized peoples, racialized slavery and the emergence of the Atlantic Creoles 1
- African agency in the emergence of the Atlantic Creoles 41
- Women and colonial era creolization 55
- Indigenous peoples and the emergence of the Caribbean Creoles 81
- Linguistic evidence for the influence of indigenous Caribbean grammars on the grammars of the Atlantic Creoles 111
- Sociétés de cohabitation and the similarities between the English lexifier Creoles of the Atlantic and the Pacific 149
- Influences of Houma ancestral languages on Houma French 185
- Marginalized peoples and Creole Genesis 215
- References 225
- Index 239
