1887
Volume 37, Issue 3
  • ISSN 0172-8865
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9730
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Abstract

This paper presents the first in-depth account of the copula form found in Belizean Kriol, which appears to be a copular development not found in other Caribbean English Creoles. Based on approximately 500 tokens of from (2012), we argue that must appear in irrealis contexts. It is frequently used to mark a potential change of state, though this is not a conventional aspect of ’s meaning. We also show that while seems to be emphatic, this aspect of ’s meaning is best understood as derived via Gricean (1975) reasoning.

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2016-10-14
2024-10-11
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/content/journals/10.1075/eww.37.3.04sal
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Belizean Kriol; conversational implicature; copula; creole; emphatic; future; irrealis
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