Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in writing
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Bettina Migge
Abstract
In research on Creoles, historical written texts have in recent decades been fruitfully employed to shed light on the diachronic development of these languages and the nature of Creole genesis. They have so far been much less frequently used to derive social information about these communities and to improve our understanding of the sociolinguistics and stylistic structure of these languages. This paper surveys linguistic research on early written texts in the anglophone Caribbean and takes a critical look at the theories and methods employed to study these texts. It emphases the sociolinguistic value of the texts and provides some exemplary analyses of early Creole documents.
Abstract
In research on Creoles, historical written texts have in recent decades been fruitfully employed to shed light on the diachronic development of these languages and the nature of Creole genesis. They have so far been much less frequently used to derive social information about these communities and to improve our understanding of the sociolinguistics and stylistic structure of these languages. This paper surveys linguistic research on early written texts in the anglophone Caribbean and takes a critical look at the theories and methods employed to study these texts. It emphases the sociolinguistic value of the texts and provides some exemplary analyses of early Creole documents.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Linguistic evaluation of earlier texts 1
- Non-standard language in earlier English 15
- Assessing non-standard writing in lexicography 43
- Northern English in Writing 61
- Southern English in writing 81
- The distinctiveness of Scots 99
- Irish English in early modern drama 121
- ‘ [H]ushed and lulled full chimes for pushed and pulled ’ 139
- Dialect literature and English in the USA 163
- Written sources for Canadian English 197
- Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in writing 223
- Earliest St Helenian English in writing 245
- An abundant harvest to the philologer’? 263
- A peculiar language’ 295
- Describing and complaining 349
- Feature index 365
- Name index 367
- Subject index 371
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Linguistic evaluation of earlier texts 1
- Non-standard language in earlier English 15
- Assessing non-standard writing in lexicography 43
- Northern English in Writing 61
- Southern English in writing 81
- The distinctiveness of Scots 99
- Irish English in early modern drama 121
- ‘ [H]ushed and lulled full chimes for pushed and pulled ’ 139
- Dialect literature and English in the USA 163
- Written sources for Canadian English 197
- Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in writing 223
- Earliest St Helenian English in writing 245
- An abundant harvest to the philologer’? 263
- A peculiar language’ 295
- Describing and complaining 349
- Feature index 365
- Name index 367
- Subject index 371
