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- Volume 27, Issue, 2012
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages - Volume 27, Issue 2, 2012
Volume 27, Issue 2, 2012
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Grammatical variation in Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines)
Author(s): Miriam Meyerhoff and James A. Walkerpp.: 209–234 (26)More LessDespite the publication of Aceto & Williams (2003), the languages spoken in the Eastern Caribbean remain underdescribed. In this paper, we outline a project examining language use in Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines), based on fieldwork between 2003 and 2005, comprising over 100 hours of sociolinguistic interviews conducted and recorded by community-member researchers. We present quantitative analysis of three aspects of the grammatical system that exhibit variation: absence of the verb BE, verbal negation, and tense-aspect marking. We focus on three communities characterized by different sociodemographic histories. This paper fills a gap in our knowledge of the Eastern Caribbean and provides a descriptive sociolinguistic analysis as a starting point for future work. The findings contribute more generally to our understanding of (post-)colonial and contact varieties of English.
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Preverbal no-negation in Gullah
Author(s): Rudolph C. Troikepp.: 235–254 (20)More LessModern Sea Island Gullah is unusual among Atlantic English-based creoles in reportedly not having no as a preverbal negator, ẽ or ɛ̃ ‘ain’t’ being used instead, and doubts have been expressed about any earlier extensive use of no. However, important authentic evidence of its earlier use is provided by the 1838–39 journal of Fanny Kemble (1863) and by letters written during Northern occupation in the Civil War. Among literary writers, Simms (1839/1845) used no 22% of the time vs. 8% for ain’t, while no is near-categorical in Harris (1881), though rare in Jones (1888), and absent in Christensen (1892) and Gonzales (1922). Turner (1949) recorded preverbal no co-occurring with another signature creole marker, Subject me, suggesting code-switching to a basilectal grammar. Hancock (1987) also found no in Gullah. The dominant use of preverbal no in Texas Afro-Seminole (Hancock 2006) could reflect its earlier greater prevalence in the Sea Islands. The evidence raises the possibility that Gullah speakers’ practice of avoiding basilectal use with outside interlocutors (the ‘observer’s paradox’) may have obscured recognition of its modern survival.
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French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development: Educational language policy problems and solutions in Haiti
Author(s): Benjamin Hebblethwaitepp.: 255–302 (48)More LessThis article argues that Haiti’s French-dominant school system is an impediment to the nation’s development, whereas Haitian Creole-dominant education will lay the foundation for long-term development. In that Caribbean country, 95% of the population is monolingual in Haitian Creole while the portion that additionally speaks French does not exceed 5% with an additional 5–10% having some receptive competence (Valdman 1984: 78; Dejean 2006). Even though French is the language of the school system, as many as 80% of Haiti’s teachers control it inadequately and only a minority of students completes school (Dejean 2006). Economic, historical, sociolinguistic, and demographic factors are a part of the explanation for Haiti’s low educational achievement. Another important but often ignored factor is educational language policy. Data on educational language policy compared internationally show that the use of a second language in schools correlates with high illiteracy rates and poverty (Coulmas 1992). I reject arguments in favor of maintaining French-dominant education in Haiti (Lawless 1992; Youssef 2002; Francis 2005; Ferguson 2006, etc.) because the resources for it are woefully lacking. I argue that the progressive promotion of Haitian Creole throughout Haitian education will lead to improved learning, graduation, and Creole literacy, in addition to a more streamlined and coherent State, economy, and society (Efron 1954; De Regt 1984; DeGraff 2003; Dejean 2006). As Haiti rebuilds after the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, aid workers, government employees, and researchers who get involved in the recovery also unsuspectingly perpetuate French, English, and Spanish hegemony in development work (DeGraff 2010). The long history of suppressing Haitian Creole and promoting French in education and administration — and French, English, or Spanish in development work — form underlying obstacles in the nation’s struggle to produce an adequate class of educated citizens, to achieve universal literacy, and to make socioeconomic progress.
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Multi-verb constructions in Sri Lanka Malay
Author(s): Sebastian Nordhoffpp.: 303–343 (41)More LessThis paper investigates serial verbs and related constructions in Sri Lanka Malay and shows that at least four types have to be distinguished (Motion Verb Serialization, Vector Verb Serialization, Compound Verbs, Clause Chains). The constructions found are quite different from those found in Atlantic or Pacific Creoles. This is due to the different input languages: Two of the constructions can be traced to influence from the local languages Tamil and/or Sinhala; one is of Indonesian origin, and one is mixed. Sri Lanka Malay is thus not a simple combination of South Asian Grammar and Malay lexicon but also shows retentions of Malay grammar, as already demonstrated by Slomanson (2006). This recombination of features can only be explained with an account which acknowledges the possibility of grammatical contributions from all input languages, whether substrate, superstrate, or any other.
Volumes & issues
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Volume 39 (2024)
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Volume 38 (2023)
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Volume 37 (2022)
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Volume 36 (2021)
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Volume 35 (2020)
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Volume 34 (2019)
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Volume 33 (2018)
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Volume 32 (2017)
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Volume 31 (2016)
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Volume 30 (2015)
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Volume 29 (2014)
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Volume 28 (2013)
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Volume 27 (2012)
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Volume 26 (2011)
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Volume 25 (2010)
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Volume 24 (2009)
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Volume 23 (2008)
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Volume 22 (2007)
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Volume 21 (2006)
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Volume 20 (2005)
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Volume 19 (2004)
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Volume 18 (2003)
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Volume 17 (2002)
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Volume 16 (2001)
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Volume 15 (2000)
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Volume 14 (1999)
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Volume 13 (1998)
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Volume 12 (1997)
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Volume 11 (1996)
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Volume 10 (1995)
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Volume 9 (1994)
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Volume 8 (1993)
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Volume 7 (1992)
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Volume 6 (1991)
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Volume 5 (1990)
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Volume 4 (1989)
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Volume 3 (1988)
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Volume 2 (1987)
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Volume 1 (1986)
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