Languages in contact Socio-spatial diversity: Language varieties

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

Vernacular Three defining characteristics:
Lack of codification and elaboration A language learned at home Functionally 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 IS FS

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 standard Socially, standards have more prestige, but that is an artificial not a natural differentiation Standards 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 Zaire Russian in the former USSR English in several tourist destinations, and in the scientific community Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea

Bilingualism Individual bilingualism two native languages in the mind
Fishman: “ a psycholinguistic phenomenon” Societal bilingualism A society in which two languages are used but where relatively few individuals are bilingual Fishman: “a sociolinguistic phenomenon” Stable bilingualism persistent bilingualism in a society over several generations Language evolution: Language shift Diglossia

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

Diglossia Ferguson’s definition (1959): the side-by-side existence of historically & structurally related language varieties the Low variety takes over the outdated High variety Fishman’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 variety problematic 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 situation Four examples:

Diglossic situation: functions of H vs. L
Ferguson, Charles Diglossia. In: Pier Paolo Giglioli (ed.). Language and Social Context. Harmondsworth: Penguin, In: Ralph Fasold The Sociolinguistics of Society. Oxford: Blackwell, 35.

Example of L moving towards H & becoming national language:
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 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. Example of L moving towards H & becoming national language: Do you speak English? Bisa bicara Bahasa Inggris?

Language choice metaphorical switching code switching code-mixing
changing from one language to an other situational switching metaphorical switching code-mixing speaking in one language but using pieces from another style shifting standard 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 classification
Ferguson (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 Contact
Language 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 Languages Prediction: half of the approximately 6,000 languages may become extinct within 100 years. 90 Alaskan indigenous 2 being acquired by children. 90 Australia Aboriginal 20 being used by all age groups. 175 Native American 20 being acquired by children.

Pidgins & Creoles Around the World

PIDGINS & CREOLES •

PIDGINS PIDGIN • arises in a (new) contact situation involving more than two linguistic groups • groups have no shared language • groups need to communicate regularly, but for limited purposes, such as trade • is nobody's native language • vocabulary (typically) from one of the Langua-ges (= Lexifier Language) • grammar is a kind of crosslanguage compromi-se with influence from universals of L2 learning • no elaborate morphological structures

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Lifecycles of Pidgins Jargon Phase: contains great individual variation Stable Pidgin: contains both simple and complex sentences Expanded Pidgin: complex grammar, and has a developed word formation component 1. Jargon phase has great individual variation. Have a simple sound system. One or two word sentences and very little lexicon. They are used for communication, usually solely for trade. 2. A stable pidgin has both simple and complex sentences; but more importantly, there are social norms and a consensus concerning linguistic correctness. 3. Expanded pidgin It is also used in all domains of everyday life. 4. Each, the jargon phase, the stable pidgin, and expanded pidgin are characterized in terms of structural properties and functional characteristics.

Features of a Stable Pidgin
Lack of surface grammatical complexity Lack of morphological complexity Semantic transparency Vocabulary reduction Once pidgins stabilize, they have gone through pidginisation: the process of simplication that reduces irregularities in a language. This is the natural consequence of contact between people who speak different languages or different varieties of the same language. 1 Semantic transparency- speakers make use of compounds where the meanings are signaled from morphemes are used. Ex) where-of what place why-what for 2. Vocabulary reduction small stack of lexical items. Example Translation Standard Fijian Pidgin Fijian CASE, BOX, basket Kato Kato fishing basket noke Coconut leaf basket su Woven leaf tray I lalakai - Kato covers multiply domains with one word

CREOLES Creole • arises in a (new) contact situation involving more than two linguistic groups • is the native language of a speech community • vocabulary (typically) from one of the Languages (= Lexifier Language) • grammar is a kind of crosslanguage compromise with influence from universals of L2 learning • some creoles are nativized pidgins

1. The Slave Trade seventeenth century: European settlers establish colonies in the new world, simultaneously with the early capitalism slavery developed  The Sale Triangle: Europe-Africa-`New World` first triangle leg: -ships set off from ports in Europe ( e.g. Liverpool, Bristol,Amsterdam) for the west coast of Africa. -numerous slave factories along the Gulf of Guinea ( ``slave coast ``) second triangle leg: -inhuman and harsh journey from Africa towards the West Indies or the other New World colonies third triangle leg: -return to Europe with New World products such as sugar and tea. The forcible exile of over 12 million Africans to work the plantations of European colonists.

Profile of a Slave Ship from The Memoirs of Granville-Sharp
Name of ship: Zong Left Sãn Tomé 6 September 1781 Slaves on board 440 White crew 17 Arrived in Jamaica 27 November 1781 Slaves deceased 60 Crew deceased 7 Slaves sick on arrival, likely to die greater than 60 Price per slave in Jamaica pounds from The Memoirs of Granville-Sharp (text p. 284) Plantation economy: use of imported labour on a massive scale under the control of small numbers of Europeans. 1600s through about 1850.

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 English Negerhollands Virgin Islands Dutch Haitian Creole Haiti French Papiamento Netherlands Antilles Spanish Angolar Sãno Tomé Portuguese Plantation economy: use of imported labour on a massive scale under the control of small numbers of Europeans. 1600s through about 1850.

2. Trade Naga 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. European settlement movement of European settlers to places where
the indigenous population had not been decimated or moved into reservations a slave population did not form the labor force Fanakalo spoken in parts of South Africa vocabulary from Zulu, and some from English & Afrikaans) stable pidgin, shows no signs of creolizing

4. War Korean Bamboo English
American wars in Asia (Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand) marginal, unstable pidgin

5. Labor 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)

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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 Kam He one funny 'ol man One funny 'ol man he waz He like fo kau kau At his bruddah's luau An kanikapila awl night Wit his kuz Hawaiian Pidgin English is used in everyday conversation. It is commonly heard over in radio and television.

Romance Based Pidgin Lingua Franca…
A trade language used around the Mediterranean The 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 Mother of all pidgins seemingly in use since the Middle Ages and surviving until the nineteenth century, when it disappeared with hardly a trace, probably under the onslaught of the triumphant French language Sadly the The language was never written. No poetry, no folktales, no translation of the Bible, just a way to sell the merchandise you had to offer, or haggle for a better price on its purchase

Motu Based Pidgin The 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 SVO is thought to be the most common because it is the easiest to process. 2.Languages in which subjects precede objects and subject being separated from its object- so the confusion between subject and object

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) SVO is thought to be the most common because it is the easiest process- languages in which subjects precede objects

What’s the difference? Pidgins Creoles Is NOT a mother tongue
Form of communication between two mutually unintelligible languages Creoles IS a mother tongue Larger vocabulary Greater linguistic range, capable of being spoken quicker First generation of an extended pidgin-speaking community that adopts it as its first language are Creole speakers. This Creole is still a pidgin for its predecessors. Crucial Difference: Pidgins have no native speakers, while Creoles do!!!

are all alike and characterized by:
PIDGINS & CREOLES are all alike and characterized by: • a lack of morphology ? • a lack of 'exotic' sounds ? • a lack of complex C-cluster ? • SVO word order ? • in Creoles only: particles indicating tense, mood, and aspect (TMA) ?

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Chinook Jargon consonant phonemes
PIDGINS & CREOLES p t ts tš k kw q qw ? p' t' tł ts' tš' k' kw' q' qw' b d g ł s š x xw X Xw m n (N) r l w y Chinook Jargon consonant phonemes

PIDGINS & CREOLES Singular Dual Trial Plural 1st ex. mi mitupela
mitripela mipela 1st in. yumitupela yumitripela yumipela 2nd yu yutupela yutripela yupela 3rd em tupela tripela ol Tok Pisin pronouns

inflectional morphology ?
PIDGINS & CREOLES inflectional morphology ? • Kitiiba tense suffixes • Tok Pisin transitive suffix • Hiri Motu causative affix • Chinese Pidgin Russian reflexive suffix imperfective s. • Sranan negative prefix • Berbice Dutch Creole three aspect s.

PIDGINS & CREOLES SVO-word-order ? • Caribeean Creoles SVO
• Indic Ocean Creoles SVO • Hiri Motu SOV OSV SVO • Pidgin Delaware SOV SVO • Chinese Pidgin Russian SOV • Nagamese SOV • Pidgin Yimas SOV OSV

PIDGINS & CREOLES placement of the negative element(s)
• Papiamentu: mi no ta bini 'I nega. future come' / 'I'm not coming' • Fr.Guiana Creole: mo pa te travaille 'I neg. tense work' / 'I hadn't worked' • Berbice Dutch Creole: ek suk mu lasan eni ka 'I want go leave 3pl neg.' / 'I didn't want to leave them' • Chinook Jargon: halo nika kumtux 'neg. I understand' / 'I don't understand' • Pidgin Delaware: Matta ne kamuta 'neg. I steal' / 'I didn't steal it'

Papiamentu What? A creole based on Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch, with influences from West African and Amerindian languages Where? 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 obstruents Use of tone to distinguish “identical” words Allowance 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 Hypothesis General 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 Overview
Earliest 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 family 1499: Spaniards discover the islands, dub them las islas inútiles 1527: Spain colonizes the islands Indians either die from exposure to new diseases, are hunted down for cannibalism under decree from the church, or are shipped to Hispaniola as workers However, Indians die too quickly to be effective workers, giving rise to the need for African slaves

Because of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), the Spanish could not explore in Africa, so they had to get slaves through the Portuguese intermediaries The 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 defended After 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.

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 Papiamentu
As 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

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 Vocabulary The 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
gras = gras/hair/fur mausgras = moustache 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 - Vocabulary Tolai lapun old kumul bird of paradise
palai lizard Malay binatang insect lombo chilli sayor vegetable leaf

Tok Pisin - Vocabulary German gumi rubber beten pray raus get out
bros chest

Plural marker (1) nil nil ‘spines’ needle needle (2) SG PL yu yu-pela
bik haus bik-pela haus -pela ‘fellow’ (3) SG PL man ol man ol ‘all’

Pronouns em he / she / it SUBJ him / her / it OBJ yu you SG
yutupela you two DUAL yutripela you three TRIAL yupela you all PL

Causative/transitive marker
(1) Em i rit ‘He is reading.’ Em i ritim buk ‘He’s reading a book.’ (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.’ make him > makim boil him > tellim

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 Hypothesis
Since 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.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, 90% of all African American lived in the South, mainly in rural areas.

Today, 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 resolution As 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 THEORIES
Lexical items are easy to trace: one main lexifier language, with small sets of words from one or more other languages. • Saramaccan: ~ 50% English = LL ~ 35% Portuguese ~ 15% Kikongo/Ewe/Fon/Twi • Chinook Jargon: Lower Chinook language = LL Nootka Salishan languages French English

All the controversy centers on the route(s) through which the languages' grammars emerged.

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

ABRUPT CREATION • a pidgin arising in a new multilingual contact situation for use in limited domains • a creole arising in a new multilingual contact situation for use in all domains.

Bickerton's Language Bioprogram Hypothesis • plantation Creoles: • adults use a "macaronic" prepidgin • their children, growing up with only the unstable prepidgin as input for their langua-ge-learning task, construct a grammar de-rived from grammatical structures that are literally genetically programmed in every newborn human infant's brain.

Lefebvre's Relexification Hypothesis • 'creoles are created by adults who develop a new lexicon by combining the phonetic shapes of one language with the semantic and syntactic information of another lang. = 'the central process in creolization' • compare syntactic structures of Haitian Creole, a French-lexicon Caribbean creole, with syntactic structures of Fon, that was spoken by a significant proportion of the slaves during the Creole's formative period.

Pidgin genesis and Creole genesis are akin to L2 acquisition and thus to processes of shift-induced interference The idea is that people's 'right' guesses about what the others will understand become part of the emerging contact language. The structures they settle on will be those best understood by all the other people – primarily unmarked structures, but also marked structures that are common in most or all of the languages in contact. The resulting pidgin or creole grammar, is a crosslanguage compromise among the languages of the pidgin/creole creators.

Chaudenson's gradual creole-genesis hypothesis: • slaves worked & lived with French speakers and therefore learned French imperfectly. • newly arrived slaves no longer had much contact with their French-speaking masters; they therefore learned French from the first group of slaves. • Subsequent waves of slaves learned increasingly divergent varieties of French, until at last the general 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.

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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_Pidgin 5. 6.

Languages in contact Socio-spatial diversity: Language varieties

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