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The interplay of inherent tendencies and language contact on French object clitics

An example of variation in a French Guianese contact setting

Abstract

Standard and non-standard variations relating to object clitics in the French spoken in French Guiana (in contact with Guianese Creole) may be explained by three combined factors: linguistic and typological tendencies and contactinduced transfer. This paper determines the exact role each of these may play. It shows that the pronominal system is a particularly non-stable domain specific to Romance languages and that clitic variation is due to an inherent tendency within French to the reduction of paradigms. When this tendency encounters the reduced pronominal paradigm of French Guianese Creole, it creates a snowball effect that reinforces the inherent tendency. The present-day language contact situation produces a higher frequency of variation; it increases the productivity of variation and spread of innovative forms.

Abstract

Standard and non-standard variations relating to object clitics in the French spoken in French Guiana (in contact with Guianese Creole) may be explained by three combined factors: linguistic and typological tendencies and contactinduced transfer. This paper determines the exact role each of these may play. It shows that the pronominal system is a particularly non-stable domain specific to Romance languages and that clitic variation is due to an inherent tendency within French to the reduction of paradigms. When this tendency encounters the reduced pronominal paradigm of French Guianese Creole, it creates a snowball effect that reinforces the inherent tendency. The present-day language contact situation produces a higher frequency of variation; it increases the productivity of variation and spread of innovative forms.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Variation and change in contact settings 1
  5. PART I. Types and outcomes of variation in multilingual settings
  6. Syntactic variation and change 23
  7. Advancing the change? 53
  8. Morphosyntactic contact-induced language change among young speakers of Estonian Russian 77
  9. Intermingling speech groups 107
  10. PART II. The role of ongoing variation in contact-induced change
  11. The interplay of inherent tendencies and language contact on French object clitics 137
  12. Contact-induced change and internal evolution 165
  13. The interplay of language-internal variation and contact influence in language change 199
  14. Change and variation in a trilingual setting 229
  15. Afterword 253
  16. Index 261
The Interplay of Variation and Change in Contact Settings
This chapter is in the book The Interplay of Variation and Change in Contact Settings
https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.12.06isa

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Variation and change in contact settings 1
  5. PART I. Types and outcomes of variation in multilingual settings
  6. Syntactic variation and change 23
  7. Advancing the change? 53
  8. Morphosyntactic contact-induced language change among young speakers of Estonian Russian 77
  9. Intermingling speech groups 107
  10. PART II. The role of ongoing variation in contact-induced change
  11. The interplay of inherent tendencies and language contact on French object clitics 137
  12. Contact-induced change and internal evolution 165
  13. The interplay of language-internal variation and contact influence in language change 199
  14. Change and variation in a trilingual setting 229
  15. Afterword 253
  16. Index 261
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