Languages in contact Socio-spatial diversity: Language varieties Vernacular, Standard, Lingua Franca, Pidgin, Creole.

Languages in contactSocio-spatial diversity:

Language varieties

Vernacular, Standard, Lingua Franca, Pidgin, Creole

Vernacular

Three defining characteristics:

Lack of codification and elaborationA language learned at homeFunctionally restricted

Standard

A Standard can be defined as the variety that has undergone some linguistic processing so that there is a set of widely accepted rules for it (eg for spelling) and that it can serve both official and everyday functions of a state

Formal Standard

A formal standard applies to the written language and to spoken situations that are the most formal. Its rules are set by ‘authorities’ (language academies, editors, dictionaries, etc)

Informal Standard

Applies to spoken language in everyday use. It is determined by speakers who make judgments as to whether a form is acceptable or not. It is characterized by multiple norms of acceptability, and defined by the absence of socially stigmatized forms.

A continuum of standardness

• V ISFS

How does a standard emerge?Sometimes a standard variety develops out of a local vernacular that has attained political, socioeconomic or cultural superiority over other vernaculars (English, French, Spanish)Sometimes a standard is created artificially with some political or social objective in mind (Katharevusa in Greece, Nynorsk in Norway)Countries with a colonial past may use the variety of the previous hegemony as a standard, alongside a standardized local code

How good is a standard?Linguistically, standards are not any better than vernaculars, which is proven by the fact that any vernacular can become a standardSocially, standards have more prestige, but that is an artificial not a natural differentiationStandards do have a positive impact as they enhance cross-regional communication, promote literacy etc.When the prestige of a standard, however, is influenced by racial, religious or class biases the results can be catastrophic

Lingua Franca

Any variety that serves as the tool of communication for people who speak varieties which are not mutually intelligible

Examples of lingua francas

Swahili in many African nations like Tanzania and ZaireRussian in the former USSREnglish in several tourist destinations, and in the scientific communityTok Pisin in Papua New Guinea

BilingualismIndividual bilingualism

two native languages in the mindFishman: “ a psycholinguistic phenomenon”

Societal bilingualismA society in which two languages are used but where relatively few individuals are bilingualFishman: “a sociolinguistic phenomenon”

Stable bilingualismpersistent bilingualism in a society over several generations

Language evolution:Language shiftDiglossia

BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM

(California Department of Education, Language Policy and Leadership Office)

•Enhanced academic and linguistic competence in two languages

•Development of skills in collaboration & cooperation

•Appreciation of other cultures and languages

•Cognitive advantages

•Increased job opportunities

•Expanded travel experiences

•Lower high school drop out rates

•Higher interest in attending colleges and universities

DiglossiaFerguson’s definition (1959): the side-by-side existence of historically & structurally related language varieties

the Low variety takes over the outdated High varietyFishman’s reformulation (1967): a diglossic situation can occur anywhere where two language varieties (even unrelated ones) are used in functionally distinct ways

the Low variety loses ground to the superposed High varietyproblematic as it creates an opposite situation to widespread bilingualism

Fishman’s reformulation

+ diglossia - diglossia

+ bilingualism

Everyone in a community knows both H and L, which are functionally differentiated

An unstable, transitional situation in which everyone in a community knows both H and L, but are shifting to H

- bilingualism

Speakers of H rule over speakers of L

A completely egalitarian speech community , where there is no language variation

Diglossic situationFour examples:

Situation 'high' variety 'low' varietyArabic Classic Arabic Various regional

colloquial varietiesSwiss German Standard German Swiss GermanHaitian Standard French Haiti CreoleGreek Katharévousa Dhimotiki

Diglossic situation: functions of H vs. LSituation H L

Sermon in church or mosque xInstructions to servants, waiters, worksmen, clerks xPersonal letter xSpeeches in parliament, political speeches xUniversity lecture xConversations with family, friends, colleagues xNews broadcasts xRadio 'soap opera' xNewspaper editorial, new story, caption on picture xCaption on political cartoon xPoetry xFolk literature x

Ferguson, Charles. 1972. Diglossia. In: Pier Paolo Giglioli (ed.). Language and Social Context. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 232-251. In: Ralph Fasold. 1985. The Sociolinguistics of Society. Oxford:

Blackwell, 35.

LANGUAGES IN INDONESIA: 300 languages and dialects are spoken in Indonesia, but Bahasa Indonesia is the official and most widely spoken tongue. Its common use has helped unify the 200 million citizens since Indonesia’s independence in 1949. Bahasa Indonesia is based on Malay, long the market language of coastal towns, and it contains elements of Chinese, Indian, Dutch, and English. Today, television programs, major newspapers, schools, and universities all use Bahasa Indonesia.

Do you speak English?

Bisa bicara Bahasa Inggris?

Example of L moving towards H & becoming national language:

Language choicecode switching

changing from one language to an other• situational switching

metaphorical switchingcode-mixing

speaking in one language but using pieces from another

style shiftingstandard English vs. afro-american vernacular

language borrowing

Example of code-switching in the Amazon

Tariana is spoken by about 100 people in the northwest Amazonia (Brazil). Other languages in the area is e.g. Tucano (almost a lingua franca), Baniwa and Arawak (the two latter related to Tariana). The area is known for its language group exogamy and institutionlized multilingualism. Language choice is motivated by power relationship and by status, and there are strict rules for code- switching. Code-mixing with Tucano is considered a “language violation”; using elements of Baniwa is funny while mixing different Tariana dialects implies that one “cannot speak Tariana properly. Overusing Portuguese is associated with an Indian who is trying to be better than his peers.

Aikhenvald (2003) Language in Society 32:1-21

Sociolinguistic classificationFerguson (1966) distinguished between five language types based on prestige (p) and vitality (v):

Vernacular • unstandardized native language of speech community (-p, +v)

Standard• native language of a speech community codified in dictionaries

and grammars (+p, +v)Classical

• language codified in dictionaries and grammars which is no longer spoken (+p, -v)

Pidgin• hybrid language with lexicon from one language and grammar

from another language (-p, -v)Creole

• language acquired by children of speakers of pidgin, or subsequently by speaker or Creole (-p, ±v)

Outcomes of Language ContactOutcomes of Language ContactLanguage Death: no native speakers

Language Shift: One language replaces another

Language Maintenance: A relatively stable bi-/ multilingual society

Pidgin: a rudimentary system of communication

Creole: creation of a new language based on pidgins or languages in contact

Lingua Franca

Global Languages

Endangered LanguagesEndangered LanguagesPrediction: half of the approximately 6,000 languages may become extinct within 100 years.

90 Alaskan indigenous2 being acquired by children.

90 Australia Aboriginal 20 being used by all age groups.

175 Native American20 being acquired by children.

Pidgins & Creoles Around the World

PIDGINS & CREOLESPIDGINS & CREOLES

••

PIDGINSPIDGINSPIDGINPIDGIN

•• arises in a (new) contact situation involving more arises in a (new) contact situation involving more than two linguistic groupsthan two linguistic groups

•• groups have no shared languagegroups have no shared language

•• groups groups need to communicate regularly, but for need to communicate regularly, but for limited purposes, such as tradelimited purposes, such as trade

•• is nobody's native languageis nobody's native language

•• vocabulary (typically) from one of the Langua-ges vocabulary (typically) from one of the Langua-ges (= Lexifier Language)(= Lexifier Language)

•• grammar is a kind of crosslanguage compromi-se grammar is a kind of crosslanguage compromi-se with influence from universals of L2 learningwith influence from universals of L2 learning

•• no elaborate morphological structuresno elaborate morphological structures

pidcreo 00

Lifecycles of PidginsJargon Phase: contains great individual variation

Stable Pidgin: contains both simple and complex sentences

Expanded Pidgin: complex grammar, and has a developed word formation component

Features of a Stable Pidgin

Lack of surface grammatical complexityLack of morphological complexitySemantic transparencyVocabulary reduction

CREOLESCREOLESCreoleCreole

•• arises in a (new) contact situation involving more arises in a (new) contact situation involving more than two linguistic groupsthan two linguistic groups

•• is the native language of is the native language of a speech communitya speech community

•• vocabulary (typically) from one of the Languages vocabulary (typically) from one of the Languages (= Lexifier Language)(= Lexifier Language)

•• grammar is a kind of crosslanguage compromise grammar is a kind of crosslanguage compromise with influence from universals of L2 learningwith influence from universals of L2 learning

•• some creoles are nativized pidginssome creoles are nativized pidgins

1. The Slave 1. The Slave TradeTrade

The forcible exile of over 12 million Africans to work the plantations of European colonists.

Profile of a Slave ShipName of ship: ZongLeft Sãn Tomé 6 September 1781Slaves on board 440White crew 17Arrived in Jamaica 27 November 1781Slaves deceased 60Crew deceased 7Slaves sick on arrival, likely to die greater than 60Price per slave in Jamaica 20-40 pounds

from The Memoirs of Granville-Sharp (text p. 284)

Two Locations

Fort Creole: developed at fortified posts along the west African coast, where European forces held slaves until the arrival of the next ship.

Guinea Coast Creole English

Plantation Creole: developed on plantations in the New World colonies under the dominance of different European languages.

Jamaican Creole Jamaica EnglishNegerhollands Virgin Islands DutchHaitian Creole Haiti FrenchPapiamento Netherlands Antilles SpanishAngolar Sãno Tomé Portuguese

2.2. TradeTradeNaga Pidgin

Contemporary pidgin spoken by peoples in mountain regions of north-east India.

Acts as lingua franca (29 languages)

Originated as a market language in Assam in the 19th century among the Naga people

Undergoing creolization among small groups like the Kacharis in the town of Dimapur, and among the children of interethnic marriages.

3.3.European settlementEuropean settlementmovement of European settlers to places where

the indigenous population had not been decimated or moved into reservationsa slave population did not form the labor force

Fanakalospoken in parts of South Africavocabulary from Zulu, and some from English & Afrikaans)stable pidgin, shows no signs of creolizing

4.4.WarWar

Korean Bamboo EnglishAmerican wars in Asia (Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand)marginal, unstable pidgin

5.5.Labor MigrationLabor Migration

within colonized countries, people from different ethnic groups may be drawn into a common work sphere without being forced

Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea (Pacific Islands)

pidcreo 00

An example of English Based Pidgins

Hawaiian Pidgin English

Hawaiian Pidgin English

The Foundations…Hawaiian Pidgins were necessitated by the contact between American merchants returning from China.At Hawaiian ports, some Chinese crew members stayed behind.The Hawaiian natives and the Chinese sailors couldn’t understand one another, thus the creation of a trade language was necessary.The new language was a mixture of both, and aided in the communication between two linguistically divided people.The language created has morphed into the unique Hawaiian Pidgin that it is today.The Hawaiian Pidgin English is English based, but consists of 7 diverse languages.

Hawaiian Pidgin English(see http://www.une.edu.au/langnet/hce.htm)

Today’s Usage…Hawaiian Pidgins are spoken by many people who live in Hawaii, but mostly by teenagers.Most people raised in Hawaii, regardless of race or social class can understand this Pidgin to an extent.With words from other languages making up the Pidgin, some believe it sounds like improper English.

'OL KING KAM

'Ol King KamHe one funny 'ol man

One funny 'ol man he wazHe like fo kau kau

At his bruddah's luauAn kanikapila awl night

Wit his kuz

Romance Based Pidgin Lingua Franca…A trade language used around the MediterraneanThe only remnants of the language are found in the nursery rhymes of children in Jerusalem.• used as a counting-out rhyme

Characteristics:• Have had a limited vocabulary• Have a sharply circumscribed grammar• Lack verb tenses and case endings

Motu Based PidginThe Foundations…

Hiri Motu is a language of Papua New Guinea.Piginization of Motu:

Influenced by English, Tok Pisin, and Polynesian languages.90% lexical similarity with Motu

Word order tends to be OSV while most pidgins are SVO

Motu Based Pidgin:Example of Hiri Motu Text:“Sapos yu kaikai planti pinat, bai yu kamap

strong olsem phantom. Fantom, yu pren tru bilong mi. Inap yu ken helpim mi nau? Fantom, em i go we?”

Translation:

“If you eat plenty of peanuts, you will come up strong like the phantom. Phantom, you are a true friend of mine. Are you able to help me now? Where did he go?”

(famous comic strip in Papua New Guinea)

What’s the difference?

PidginsIs NOT a mother tongueForm of communication between two mutually unintelligible languages

CreolesIS a mother tongueLarger vocabularyGreater linguistic range, capable of being spoken quicker

Crucial Difference: Pidgins have no native speakers, while Creoles do!!!

PIDGINS & CREOLESPIDGINS & CREOLESare all alike and characterized by:are all alike and characterized by:

•• a lack of morphology ?a lack of morphology ?

•• a lack of 'exotic' sounds ?a lack of 'exotic' sounds ?

•• a lack of complex C-cluster ?a lack of complex C-cluster ?

•• SVO word order ?SVO word order ?

•• in Creoles only: particles in Creoles only: particles indicating tense, mood, and indicating tense, mood, and aspect (TMA) ?aspect (TMA) ?

pidcreo 00

pp tt tsts ttšš kk kkww qq qqww ??

p'p' t't' ttłłtsts''

ttšš''

k'k' kkww'' q'q' qqww''

bb dd ggłł ss šš xx xxww XX XXww

mm nn (N)(N)rr ll

ww yyChinook Jargon consonant phonemesChinook Jargon consonant phonemes


Tok Pisin pronounsTok Pisin pronouns


SingulaSingularr

DualDual TrialTrial PluralPlural

11stst ex.ex. mimi mitupelamitupela mitripelamitripela mipelamipela

11stst in.in.

yumitupeyumitupelala

yumitripeyumitripelala

yumipelyumipelaa

22ndnd yuyu yutupelayutupela yutripelayutripela yupelayupela

33rdrd emem tupelatupela tripelatripela olol


inflectional morphology ?inflectional morphology ?

•• KitiibaKitiiba tense suffixes tense suffixes

•• Tok PisinTok Pisin transitive transitive suffixsuffix

•• Hiri MotuHiri Motu causative causative affixaffix

•• Chinese Pidgin RussianChinese Pidgin Russianreflexive reflexive suffix suffix imperfective imperfective s.s.

•• SrananSranan negative negative prefix prefix

•• Berbice Dutch CreoleBerbice Dutch Creole three aspect three aspect s.s.


SVO-word-order ?SVO-word-order ?

•• Caribeean CreolesCaribeean CreolesSVOSVO

•• Indic Ocean CreolesIndic Ocean CreolesSVOSVO

•• Hiri MotuHiri Motu SOVSOV OSVOSVSVOSVO

•• Pidgin DelawarePidgin Delaware SOVSOVSVOSVO

•• Chinese Pidgin RussianChinese Pidgin Russian SOV SOV

•• NagameseNagamese SOVSOV

•• Pidgin YimasPidgin Yimas SOV OSV SOV OSV

PIDGINS & CREOLESPIDGINS & CREOLESplacement of the negative element(s)

•• Papiamentu: Papiamentu: mi mi nono ta bini ta bini 'I nega. future come' / 'I'm not coming' 'I nega. future come' / 'I'm not coming'

•• Fr.Guiana Creole: Fr.Guiana Creole: mo mo papa te travaille te travaille 'I neg. tense work' / 'I hadn't worked''I neg. tense work' / 'I hadn't worked'

•• Berbice Dutch Creole: Berbice Dutch Creole: ek suk mu lasan eni ek suk mu lasan eni kaka 'I want go leave 3pl neg.' / 'I didn't want to leave 'I want go leave 3pl neg.' / 'I didn't want to leave them'them'

•• Chinook Jargon: Chinook Jargon: halohalo nika kumtux nika kumtux 'neg. I understand' / 'I don't understand''neg. I understand' / 'I don't understand'

•• Pidgin Delaware: Pidgin Delaware: MattaMatta ne kamuta ne kamuta 'neg. I steal' / 'neg. I steal' / 'I didn't steal it''I didn't steal it'

Papiamentu

What? A creole based on Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch, with influences from West African and Amerindian languagesWhere? The ABC islands of the Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao)Who? 329K total speakers, 20K who speak it as a second language

Language Characteristics: Lexicon

About 60% of the lexicon comes from Spanish and Portuguese (noted as Ib.)• Ex: ‘No lubida!’ ‘Mi ta sinti bo falta’

About 25% comes from Dutch (noted as Du.)• Ex: ‘(Masha) danki,’ ‘Hende (Hòmber/Muhe)’

The remaining 15% comes from West African languages, Arawakan languages, and others • Often in creoles, the superstratum language supplies

the lexicon, where the substratum supplies the structure (and such lexical items as toponyms)

Language Characteristics: Phonology

Some examples: Emphatic nasalization of vowels before [ŋ]Lack of word-final voiced obstruentsUse of tone to distinguish “identical” wordsAllowance of CC coda clusters, complex onset clusters

Phonemic inventory similar to that of a typical Romance language, with obvious Germanic influences

Ex: [n (with allophones ŋ ñ) h x e ə è o ò y ø]

Language Characteristics: Grammar

Language Bioprogramme HypothesisGeneral creole characteristics:

No case system (accusative case as a catch-all)• ‘mi’ (from Sp. ‘mi’ or Port. ‘mim’), ‘bo’ (from Port ‘vos’):

‘mi ta invitá bo’ (“I am inviting you”)Lack of verb conjugation

• Mi bai, bo bai, e bai, nos bai, boso bai, nan bai Tense, aspect, and mode specified with separate words, rather than coded into words

• Mi ta skirbi, Mi ta skirbiendo, Mi a skirbi, Mi tabata skirbiendo, Mi lo skirbi

Word order generally Subject-Verb-Object

History: A Brief OverviewEarliest inhabitants of the islands were the Caiquetio Indians who had come over from northern coast of present-day Venezuela and spoke a language of the Arawak family1499: Spaniards discover the islands, dub them las islas inútiles1527: Spain colonizes the islandsIndians either die from exposure to new diseases, are hunted down for cannibalism under decree from the church, or are shipped to Hispaniola as workersHowever, Indians die too quickly to be effective workers, giving rise to the need for African slaves

History: A Brief OverviewBecause of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the Spanish could not explore in Africa, so they had to get slaves through the Portuguese intermediariesThe islands functioned as a way-station when ships would stop, but were generally left sparsely populated (except for the notable population of Portuguese-speaking Sephardic Jews) and scantily defendedAfter the founding of the West Indies Company (1621), the Dutch were dedicated to establishing themselves militarily and commercially in the New World. They landed on Curaçao in 1634, and the other two islands within two years, ending Spanish domination there.

History: A Brief Overview

With the Dutch as such a long-lasting influence over the islands (all are still possessions of the Netherlands), one might expect Papiamentu to have developed into a Dutch-based creole, rather than Iberian with a certain amount of Dutch influence. However, the Dutch were never interested in the linguistic aspect of domination and slavery, and Spanish remained a lingua franca of the area. Also, the Catholic church took pains to reach out to the local population in their own language, Papiamentu, helping to solidify it in the state they found it: predominantly Iberian-based.

History: A Dispute

There continues to be a good deal of argument as to whether Papiamentu is a Spanish-based creole with some Portuguese influence or a Portuguese-based creole relexified by Spanish. This argument calls into question when Papiamentu was formed.

If it is a Portuguese creole, it would have had to have been formed by the African slaves still in Africa or in transit to the New World. Papiamentu does show similarites to Cape Verdean Creole, lending support to this hypothesis. During the entirety of the slave trade, Cape Verde saw approximately 100,000 slaves pass through its ports.

History: A Dispute

If it is a Spanish creole, it would have had to have been formed on the islands themselves through direct contact with the Spaniards, of which there was little, since they were frequently absentee landlords. However, there was constant contact with Spanish missionaries and Spanish-speaking settlements on the northern coast of South America.

Current Status of PapiamentuAs it now stands, Papiamentu is in no danger of extinction. It is used in all domains, public and private. It is taught in primary schools, but Spanish, a more prestigious language, and Dutch, the official language, are used for later education. Although Papiamentu does not have a social stigma attached to it, most people on the islands are multilingual for commercial purposes. It is used in TV (including news broadcasting), radio, newspapers, and books, having a long literary tradition.Orthography in use is a point of contention between Aruba and the other two islands, as Aruba uses a more etymological orthography, whereas Curaçao and Bonaire use one more phonemic.

Tok Pisin

Tok Pisin

Papua New Guinea

Independence

1975

Melanesian Pidgin

Tok Pisin Papua New Guinea

Bislama Vanuatu

Pijin Solomon Islands

Tok Pisin

Superstrate language:English

Substrate language:Austronesian and Papuan languages

Creolisation

In urban centers, the children of mixed couples

learn Tok Pisin as their first language.

Thus, Tok Pisin is changing from an ‘extended

pidgin’ to a creole language.

Tok Pisin VocabularyThe bulk of the vocabulary comes from English (i.e. the superstrate language).

In addition, Tok Pisin includes words from various Austronesian and Papuan languages (e.g. Tolai, Malay).

Finally, Tok Pisin includes some words of German origin (e.g. gumi, beten, raus)

Tok Pisin – Word Formation

mausgras = moustache

gras = gras/hair/fur

gras bilong hed = hair‘grass belong head’

gras belong fes = beard‘grass belong face

gras antap long ai = eyebrow ‘grass on top of long eye’

Tok Pisin - Vocabulary

spak (‘spark’) = drunk

nogut (‘no good’) = bad

baimbai (‘by and by’) = soon

sekan (‘shake hands’) = to make peace

kilim (‘kill him’) = to kill /hit /beat

pisin (‘pigeon’) = bird / pidgin

gras (‘grass’) = gras /hair /fur

Tok Pisin - VocabularyTolai

lapun oldkumul bird of paradisepalai lizard

Malay

binatang insectlombo chillisayor vegetable leaf

Tok Pisin - Vocabulary

German

gumi rubberbeten prayraus get outbros chest

Plural marker

(2) SG PLyu yu-pela bik haus bik-pela haus

(1) nil nil ‘spines’needle needle

(3) SG PLman ol man

-pela ‘fellow’

ol ‘all’

Pronouns

yu you SG

yutupela you two DUAL

yutripela you three TRIAL

yupela you all PL

em he / she / it SUBJhim / her / it OBJ

Causative/transitive marker(1) Em i rit ‘He is reading.’

Em i ritim buk ‘He’s reading a book.’

make him > makimboil him > tellim

(2) Wara i boil pinis ‘The water has boiled.’

Meri i boilim wara pinis ‘The woman has boiled

the water.’

(3) Bai mi rait. ‘I’ll write.’

Bai i raitim pas. ‘I’ll write a letter.’

Word Order

(1) mi kukim rais.I cook rice‘I cooked the rice.’

Complex Sentences(1) Mi no save. Ol I wokim dispela haus.

I don’t know (that) they work in this house.

(2) Mi no save olsem ol i wokim dispela haus.

‘I didn’t know that they built this house.’

African American English

The origin of AAE

1. Pidgin/creole

2. Second language of a particular variety of English spoken in the South.

The African Substratum HypothesisSince the first slaves spoke a variety of

African languages and since they had only

little contact with their white masters, they

used a simplified version of English with

elements of their native language as a lingua

france. AAE developed from this early

pidgin/creole language.

African American English

Until the beginning

of the 20th century,

90% of all African

American lived in

the South, mainly in

rural areas.

African American EnglishToday, more than 60% of all African Americans live in the non-South, mainly in urban centers.

LSA resolution

The variety known as "Ebonics," "African American Vernacular English" (AAVE), and "Vernacular Black English" and by other names is systematic and rule-governed like all natural speech varieties. In fact, all human linguistic systems--spoken, signed, and written -- are fundamentally regular. … Characterizations of Ebonics as "slang," "mutant," "lazy," "defective," "ungrammatical," or "broken English" are incorrect and demeaning.

LSA resolutionAs affirmed in the LSA Statement of Language Rights (June l996), there are individual and group benefits to maintaining vernacular speech varieties and there are scientific and human advantages to linguistic diversity. For those living in the United States there are also benefits in acquiring Standard English and resources should be made available to all who aspire the mastery of Standard English. The Oakland School Board's commitment to helping students master Standard English is commendable.

Agreement - AAE

(1) He need to get a book from the shelf.She want us to pass the papers to the front.

Genitive - AAE

(1) The dog tail was wagging.The man hat was old.

Copula deletion - AAE

(1) That my Ø bike.The coffee Ø cold.He Ø all right.

Habitual ‚be‘ - AAE

(1) Do they be playing all day?Yeah, the boys do be messin’ around a lot.I see her when I be on my way to school.The coffee be cold.

(2) a. The coffee cold.b. The coffee be cold.

(3) *The coffee be cold right now.

Perfective ‚done‘ - AAE

(1) She done did it.They done used all the good ones.They done go.

Negative inversion - AAE

(1) Can’t nobody beat’em.(2) Don’t nobody say nothin’ to dem peoples!(3) Wasn’t nobody in there but em an’ him.(4) Ain’t no white cop gonna put his hands on

me.

Double negation - AAE

(2) I didn’t have no lunch.He don’t never go nowhere.

PIDGIN/CREOLE GENESIS PIDGIN/CREOLE GENESIS THEORIESTHEORIES Lexical items are easy to trace: one main lexifier Lexical items are easy to trace: one main lexifier

language, with small sets of words from one or language, with small sets of words from one or more other languagesmore other languages..

•• Saramaccan:Saramaccan: ~ 50% ~ 50% EnglishEnglish = LL= LL~~ 35% Portuguese35% Portuguese~~ 15% Kikongo/Ewe/Fon/Twi15% Kikongo/Ewe/Fon/Twi

•• Chinook Jargon:Chinook Jargon: Lower Chinook Lower Chinook languagelanguage = LL= LLNootkaNootkaSalishan languagesSalishan languagesFrenchFrenchEnglishEnglish

PIDGIN/CREOLE GENESIS PIDGIN/CREOLE GENESIS THEORIESTHEORIES

All the controversy All the controversy centers on the route(s) centers on the route(s)

through which the through which the languages' grammars languages' grammars

emerged.emerged.


MONOGENESIS HYPOTHESISMONOGENESIS HYPOTHESIS

In its strong form, this hypothesis states that all In its strong form, this hypothesis states that all pidgins and Creoles are descen-dants of the original pidgins and Creoles are descen-dants of the original lingua francalingua franca of the Mediterranean, albeit with of the Mediterranean, albeit with relexificationrelexification - lexical replacement - for all pidgins - lexical replacement - for all pidgins and Creoles that do not have Italian lexicon, i.e. and Creoles that do not have Italian lexicon, i.e. almost all known modern pidgins and Creoles. almost all known modern pidgins and Creoles.


ABRUPT CREATIONABRUPT CREATION

•• a pidgin arising in a new multilingual contact a pidgin arising in a new multilingual contact situation for use in situation for use in limitedlimited domains domains

•• a creole arising in a new multilingual contact a creole arising in a new multilingual contact situation for use in situation for use in allall domains. domains.


Bickerton's Language Bioprogram Hypothesis Bickerton's Language Bioprogram Hypothesis

•• plantation Creoles: plantation Creoles:

•• adults use a "macaronic" prepidgin adults use a "macaronic" prepidgin

•• their children, growing up with only the unstable their children, growing up with only the unstable prepidgin as input for their langua-ge-learning prepidgin as input for their langua-ge-learning task, construct a grammar de-rived from task, construct a grammar de-rived from grammatical structures that are literally grammatical structures that are literally genetically programmed in every newborn human genetically programmed in every newborn human infant's brain. infant's brain.


Lefebvre's Relexification HypothesisLefebvre's Relexification Hypothesis

•• 'creoles are created by adults who develop a new 'creoles are created by adults who develop a new lexicon by combining the phonetic shapes of one lexicon by combining the phonetic shapes of one language with the semantic and syntactic language with the semantic and syntactic information of another lang.information of another lang.= 'the central process in creolization'= 'the central process in creolization'

•• compare syntactic structures of Haitian Creole, a compare syntactic structures of Haitian Creole, a French-lexicon Caribbean creole, with syntactic French-lexicon Caribbean creole, with syntactic structures of Fon, that was spoken by a structures of Fon, that was spoken by a significant proportion of the slaves during the significant proportion of the slaves during the

Creole's formative period.Creole's formative period.

PIDGIN/CREOLE GENESIS THEORIESPIDGIN/CREOLE GENESIS THEORIES

Pidgin genesis and Creole genesis are akin to L2 Pidgin genesis and Creole genesis are akin to L2 acquisition and thus to processes of acquisition and thus to processes of

shift-induced interferenceshift-induced interference

The resulting pidgin or creole grammar,The resulting pidgin or creole grammar,is a crosslanguage compromise among the is a crosslanguage compromise among the

languages of the pidgin/creole creators.languages of the pidgin/creole creators.

The idea is that people's 'right' guesses about what The idea is that people's 'right' guesses about what the others will understand become part of the the others will understand become part of the

emerging contact language.emerging contact language.The structures they settle on will be those best The structures they settle on will be those best understood by all the other people – primarily understood by all the other people – primarily

unmarked structures, but also marked structures unmarked structures, but also marked structures that are common in most or all of the languages in that are common in most or all of the languages in

contact.contact.


Chaudenson'sChaudenson'sgradual creole-genesis hypothesis:gradual creole-genesis hypothesis:

•• slaves worked & lived with French speakers and slaves worked & lived with French speakers and therefore learned French imperfectly.therefore learned French imperfectly.

•• newly arrived slaves no longer had much contact newly arrived slaves no longer had much contact with their French-speaking masters; they with their French-speaking masters; they therefore learned French from the first group of therefore learned French from the first group of slaves.slaves.

•• Subsequent waves of slaves learned increasingly Subsequent waves of slaves learned increasingly divergent varieties of French, until at last the divergent varieties of French, until at last the general language of the slaves was a creolegeneral language of the slaves was a creole

How does a pidgin language develop grammatical expressions?

What drives the process of creolisation?

The Bioprogram Hypothesis

The human species comes equipped… with the capacity to reconstitute language itself - should the normal generation-to-generation transmission of input data be inserted or distorted by extralinguistic forces.

(Muysken & Bickerton 1988)

Grammaticalization

Source Target: AUX

go (motion) gonna

will (intention) will

have (possession) have

Grammaticalization

Source Target: P

during (verb) during

in front of (PP) in front of

a-gone (PRE-verb) ago

Grammaticalization

Source Target: CONJ

by cause (PP) because

DEM while SUB while

given given

Grammaticalization

Source Target: PRO/ART

some body (NP) somebody

one (numeral) the one

one (numeral) a

Grammaticalization

Source Target: Bound

NOUN -ly

NOUN -hood

did -ed

Grammaticalization

Grammaticalization is cross-linguistically

so pervasive that some linguists

suggested that all grammatical

expressions are eventually derived from a

lexical source.

Grammaticalization

Grammaticalization is of central signifiance for

the theory of language:

Challenges rigid division between lexicon and

grammar.

Challenges the assumption that grammatical

categories have clear-cut boundaries.

Suggests that grammar is dynamic and

emergent.

pidcreo 00

pidcreo 00

Bibliography

1. Aitchinson, Jean. Language Change: Progress or Decay?. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

2. Romaine, Suzanne. Pidgin & Creole Languages. NY: Longman , INC., 1988.

3. Singh, Ishtla. Pidgins and Creoles: An Introduction. NY: Oxford University Press Inc., 2000.

4. En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin5. www.ethnologue.com6. www.msu.edu/~colem104/paper1.htm

Languages in contact Socio-spatial diversity: Language varieties Vernacular, Standard, Lingua Franca, Pidgin, Creole.

Documents

standard variety

creole slide

state slide

catastrophic slide

intelligible slide

restricted slide

informal standard

language shift diglossia