Home Linguistics & Semiotics Substrate features in the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Substrate features in the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles

Haitian Creole, Saramaccan and Papiamentu
  • Claire Lefebvre
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate a subset of the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles, Haitian Creole, Saramaccan and Papiamentu – all three created around the same time and sharing the same core substrate languages, but having different lexifier/superstrate languages – and to compare these properties with those of verbs in their contributing languages, that is, their substrate languages, on one hand, and their superstrate languages, on the other. The three-way comparison undertaken in this paper shows in a clear way that first, the properties of verbs in the three creoles often contrast with those of the corresponding verbs in their respective superstrate languages; second, these properties parallel those of the corresponding verbs in their substrate languages; and third, in spite of the fact that the three creoles under investigation have different lexifier languages, the properties of the substrate verbs manifest themselves in the three creoles.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate a subset of the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles, Haitian Creole, Saramaccan and Papiamentu – all three created around the same time and sharing the same core substrate languages, but having different lexifier/superstrate languages – and to compare these properties with those of verbs in their contributing languages, that is, their substrate languages, on one hand, and their superstrate languages, on the other. The three-way comparison undertaken in this paper shows in a clear way that first, the properties of verbs in the three creoles often contrast with those of the corresponding verbs in their respective superstrate languages; second, these properties parallel those of the corresponding verbs in their substrate languages; and third, in spite of the fact that the three creoles under investigation have different lexifier languages, the properties of the substrate verbs manifest themselves in the three creoles.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface ix
  4. Introduction
  5. The problem of the typological classification of creoles 3
  6. Creoles spoken in Africa and in the Caribbean
  7. Èdó influence on Santome 37
  8. A Wolof trace in the verbal system of the Portuguese Creole of Santiago Island (Cape Verde) 61
  9. Substrate influences in Kriyol 81
  10. One substrate, two creoles 105
  11. Substrate features in the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles 127
  12. Assessing the nature and role of substrate influence in the formation and development of the creoles of Suriname 155
  13. African substratal influence on the counterfactual in Belizean Creole 181
  14. Substrate features in Nicaraguan, Providence and San Andrés Creole Englishes 201
  15. Palenque(ro) 225
  16. Creoles spoken in Asia
  17. Convergence-to-substratum and the passives in Singapore English 253
  18. Tone in Singlish 271
  19. The Cantonese substrate in China Coast Pidgin 289
  20. Substrate influences in Mindanao Chabacano 303
  21. Negation in Ternate Chabacano 325
  22. Aspect and directionality in Kupang Malay serial verb constructions 337
  23. Sri Lanka Malay and its Lankan adstrates 367
  24. Dravidian features in the Sri Lankan Malay verb 383
  25. Creoles spoken in the Pacific
  26. Papuan Malay of New Guinea 413
  27. The influence of Arandic languages on Central Australian Aboriginal English 437
  28. Roper River Aboriginal language features in Australian Kriol 461
  29. Substrate influences on New South Wales Pidgin 489
  30. Limits of the substrate 513
  31. Substrate reinforcement and the retention of Pan-Pacific Pidgin features in modern contact varieties 531
  32. The copula in Hawai‘i Creole English and substrate reinforcement 557
  33. “On traduit la langue en français” 575
  34. Conclusion
  35. Creoles and language typology 599
  36. Index of authors 613
  37. Index of languages and language families 619
  38. Index of subjects 623
Downloaded on 16.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/tsl.95.09lef/html
Scroll to top button