Mikael Parkvall
Biographic Data
| ID | 207208 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mikael Parkvall |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mikael |
| FAMILY NAME | Parkvall |
| SIGNATURE | PARKVALL M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stockholm University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0840-1357 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 15 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
From formulaic collective address to plural pronoun
This paper examines a little-known composite second-person plural pronoun that has received no systematic attention in the historical-linguistic literature to date: among(st)-you . Drawing on a broad range of textual sources, we first map the geographical distribution of this pronoun across the anglophone world. The feature is shown to cluster in the Caribbean and in the Chesapeake-Delmarva region in the U.S., with peripheral, semi-grammaticalize…
Mij dodte, mij loppe, in mijn lande”
A 1681 letter written by Jørgen Iversen (1638–1682), the first governor of Danish St. Thomas, unearthed from the Danish National Archives, contains a quote in incipient Virgin Islands Dutch Creole (VIDC). The quote, Mij dodte, mij loppe, in mijn lande , lit. ‘I die/dead, I go, in my country’ (free translation: ‘If/when I die, I will go back to my own country’), predates other early VIDC sources by over half a century. This finding shows that a Du…
Skepi Creole Dutch
This paper presents new Skepi Creole Dutch data from the late-18th century, found in the work of the German scholar Ernst Karl Rodschied. The creole data include pronominal and verbal paradigms, a short 60-word excerpt from a private letter, and around two dozen names for local flora. After briefly introducing Rodschied, we present the data and compare them to the existing Skepi corpus
Why Haitian is a creole, Michif an intertwiner, and Irish English neither
Returning a maverick creole to the fold
Berbice Dutch was a creole language spoken in the Republic of Guyana in South America, a country first under Dutch, and later under British colonial rule. Owing mainly to Silvia Kouwenberg ( A grammar of Berbice Dutch Creole , De Gruyter Mouton, 1994), we were blessed with a detailed synchronic documentation of Berbice Dutch before its demise. However, the formation of the language remains clouded in mystery: its grammar and (basic) lexicon displ…
Occam’s Razor and the origins of Chabacano
Preview this article: Occam's Razor and the origins of Chabacano, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.22014.jac-1.gif
The Lesser Antillean Origins of Guianese
This paper investigates the origins of Guianese French Creole. Whereas the existing literature assumes Guianese was formed in situ , we argue the creole is in fact genetically related to Lesser Antillean French Creole. We support our hypothesis by means of a range of comparative linguistic data. Furthermore, a historical framework is provided that accounts for linguistic transfer from the Lesser Antilles to French Guiana in the second half of the…
How Gbe is Guianese French Creole
Palenquero origins
Palenquero is a Spanish-lexified creole spoken in Columbia. We argue that existing hypotheses regarding its birth are problematic in several regards. This article addresses the inconsistencies in these hypotheses and provides an alternative, more coherent account. More precisely, we take issue with the following three claims: (a) Palenquero is the result of a two-language encounter; (b) it has its roots in a West African Afro-Portuguese proto-var…
Skepi Dutch Creole
In this article we present newly found lexical and grammatical data pertaining to Skepi, the Dutch-lexified creole which is now extinct but was once widespread in the Essequibo area of what is today the Republic of Guyana. The source of this new material are the linguistic notes contained in the diary of Reverend Thomas B. Youd, a missionary in service of the Church Missionary Society, who was active in the area from 1833 to 1842
Chavacano (Philippine Creole Spanish)
This article argues that the three existing varieties of Chavacano are descendents of one and the same proto-variety. While their direct relatedness used to be agreed upon, it has recently been questioned to differing extents by Lipski (e.g. 1992 , 2010 , 2013 ) and Fernández (e.g. 2006 , 2011 ). There is a large gap in Chavacano research insofar as systematic attempts at verifying or falsifying the alleged kinship between the varieties are missi…
Motivation in pidgin and creole genesis
Almost all creolists see creole formation as a case of (failed) second language acquisition. I argue that there are good reasons to distinguish between second language acquisition and pidginisation/creolisation, and that little is gained by equating the two. While learners have an extant language as their target, pidginisers typically aim to communicate (in any which way) rather than to acquire a specific language. In this sense, pidginisation re…
Dr. Crevaux’s Wayana-Carib Pidgin Of The Guyanas
In this paper, we look at the notes gathered by the French medical doctor and explorer Jules Crevaux on the language he calls "Roucouyenne" and which is today known as Wayana or Oayana, a Cariban language spoken by between 500 and 900 people in Suriname French Guiana, and Brazil. We give some background information about Jules Crevaux and his notes on the Wayana Pidgin (which he believed to be Wayana proper). Then we give some information about W…
Français tirailleur
Français-Tirailleur is the conventional name for the French-lexicon pidgin used in France’s African army during the 19th and 20th centuries. Tirailleur literally translates as ‘rifleman’ or ‘sharpshooter’, but in time, and in practice, it came to refer specifically to indigenous colonial soldiers. The literature on the variety is anything but vast, but some publications are partly or entirely devoted it, almost invariably drawing on one and the s…
The genesis of Chavacano revisited and solved
Creoles and sociolinguistic complexity
In an earlier article in this journal, Umberto Ansaldo states that creoles are sociolinguistically the most complex of languages, equalled only by the situation in South India. In our article we show that this claim is not supported by facts about global multilingualism, creole societies, creole language structures and theories of language contact. The vast majority of the world’s population is multilingual: the average human speaks almost two la…
Português Vernáculo Brasileiro E a Hipótese Da Semi-Crioulização
Este trabalho discute a classificação do português vernáculo brasileiro como semi-crioulo e questiona parte da literatura sobre os semi-crioulos em geral. Apresentam-se algumas das diferenças entre o português brasileiro e as línguas crioulas e faz-se uma revisão das línguas classificadas como semicrioulos, propondo novas delimitações para este conceito
Does multilingualism affect the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease
It has been suggested that the cognitive requirements associated with bi- and multilingual processing provide a form of mental exercise that, through increases in cognitive reserve and brain fitness, may delay the symptoms of cognitive failure associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. We collected data on a country-by-country basis that might shed light on this suggestion. Using the best available evidence we could find, th…
Modeling the Evolution of Creoles
Various theories have been proposed regarding the origin of creole languages. Describing a process where only the end result is documented involves several methodological difficulties. In this paper we try to address some of the issues by using a novel mathematical model together with detailed empirical data on the origin and structure of Mauritian Creole. Our main focus is on whether Mauritian Creole may have originated only from a mutual desire…
Papiamentu as one of the most complex languages in the world
Preview this article: Papiamentu as one of the most complex languages in the world: A reply to Kouwenberg, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.27.1.05par-1.gif
Creoles are typologically distinct from non-creoles
In creolist circles, there has been a a long-standing debate whether creoles differ structurally from non-creole languages and thus would form a special class of languages with specific typological properties. This debate about the typological status of creole languages has severely suffered from a lack of systematic empirical study. This paper presents for the first time a number of large-scale empirical investigations of the status of creole la…
How European is Esperanto
The typological similarities between Esperanto and other languages have long been a matter of debate. Assuming that foreign-language structures are more easily acquired when they resemble those of the learner’s native tongue, any candidate for a global lingua franca obviously ought to be as typologically neutral as possible. One common criticism of Esperanto is that it is ‘too European,’ and thus less accessible to speakers of non-European langua…
Out of Africa
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Creolistics and the quest for creoleness
Preview this article: Creolistics and the quest for creoleness: A reply to Claire Lefebvre, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.16.1.07par-1.gif
The Creolist Archives
Preview this article: The Creolist Archives, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.14.2.07par-1.gif
Out of Africa
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
How Gbe is Guianese French Creole
How European is Esperanto
The typological similarities between Esperanto and other languages have long been a matter of debate. Assuming that foreign-language structures are more easily acquired when they resemble those of the learner’s native tongue, any candidate for a global lingua franca obviously ought to be as typologically neutral as possible. One common criticism of Esperanto is that it is ‘too European,’ and thus less accessible to speakers of non-European langua…
The genesis of Chavacano revisited and solved
Creoles and sociolinguistic complexity
In an earlier article in this journal, Umberto Ansaldo states that creoles are sociolinguistically the most complex of languages, equalled only by the situation in South India. In our article we show that this claim is not supported by facts about global multilingualism, creole societies, creole language structures and theories of language contact. The vast majority of the world’s population is multilingual: the average human speaks almost two la…
Português Vernáculo Brasileiro E a Hipótese Da Semi-Crioulização
Este trabalho discute a classificação do português vernáculo brasileiro como semi-crioulo e questiona parte da literatura sobre os semi-crioulos em geral. Apresentam-se algumas das diferenças entre o português brasileiro e as línguas crioulas e faz-se uma revisão das línguas classificadas como semicrioulos, propondo novas delimitações para este conceito
The Creolist Archives
Preview this article: The Creolist Archives, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.14.2.07par-1.gif
Creolistics and the quest for creoleness
Preview this article: Creolistics and the quest for creoleness: A reply to Claire Lefebvre, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.16.1.07par-1.gif
Out of Africa
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
How European is Esperanto
The typological similarities between Esperanto and other languages have long been a matter of debate. Assuming that foreign-language structures are more easily acquired when they resemble those of the learner’s native tongue, any candidate for a global lingua franca obviously ought to be as typologically neutral as possible. One common criticism of Esperanto is that it is ‘too European,’ and thus less accessible to speakers of non-European langua…
Creoles are typologically distinct from non-creoles
In creolist circles, there has been a a long-standing debate whether creoles differ structurally from non-creole languages and thus would form a special class of languages with specific typological properties. This debate about the typological status of creole languages has severely suffered from a lack of systematic empirical study. This paper presents for the first time a number of large-scale empirical investigations of the status of creole la…
Papiamentu as one of the most complex languages in the world
Preview this article: Papiamentu as one of the most complex languages in the world: A reply to Kouwenberg, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.27.1.05par-1.gif
Modeling the Evolution of Creoles
Various theories have been proposed regarding the origin of creole languages. Describing a process where only the end result is documented involves several methodological difficulties. In this paper we try to address some of the issues by using a novel mathematical model together with detailed empirical data on the origin and structure of Mauritian Creole. Our main focus is on whether Mauritian Creole may have originated only from a mutual desire…
Does multilingualism affect the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease
It has been suggested that the cognitive requirements associated with bi- and multilingual processing provide a form of mental exercise that, through increases in cognitive reserve and brain fitness, may delay the symptoms of cognitive failure associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. We collected data on a country-by-country basis that might shed light on this suggestion. Using the best available evidence we could find, th…
Português Vernáculo Brasileiro E a Hipótese Da Semi-Crioulização
Este trabalho discute a classificação do português vernáculo brasileiro como semi-crioulo e questiona parte da literatura sobre os semi-crioulos em geral. Apresentam-se algumas das diferenças entre o português brasileiro e as línguas crioulas e faz-se uma revisão das línguas classificadas como semicrioulos, propondo novas delimitações para este conceito
Dr. Crevaux’s Wayana-Carib Pidgin Of The Guyanas
In this paper, we look at the notes gathered by the French medical doctor and explorer Jules Crevaux on the language he calls "Roucouyenne" and which is today known as Wayana or Oayana, a Cariban language spoken by between 500 and 900 people in Suriname French Guiana, and Brazil. We give some background information about Jules Crevaux and his notes on the Wayana Pidgin (which he believed to be Wayana proper). Then we give some information about W…
Français tirailleur
Français-Tirailleur is the conventional name for the French-lexicon pidgin used in France’s African army during the 19th and 20th centuries. Tirailleur literally translates as ‘rifleman’ or ‘sharpshooter’, but in time, and in practice, it came to refer specifically to indigenous colonial soldiers. The literature on the variety is anything but vast, but some publications are partly or entirely devoted it, almost invariably drawing on one and the s…
The genesis of Chavacano revisited and solved
Creoles and sociolinguistic complexity
In an earlier article in this journal, Umberto Ansaldo states that creoles are sociolinguistically the most complex of languages, equalled only by the situation in South India. In our article we show that this claim is not supported by facts about global multilingualism, creole societies, creole language structures and theories of language contact. The vast majority of the world’s population is multilingual: the average human speaks almost two la…
Motivation in pidgin and creole genesis
Almost all creolists see creole formation as a case of (failed) second language acquisition. I argue that there are good reasons to distinguish between second language acquisition and pidginisation/creolisation, and that little is gained by equating the two. While learners have an extant language as their target, pidginisers typically aim to communicate (in any which way) rather than to acquire a specific language. In this sense, pidginisation re…
Palenquero origins
Palenquero is a Spanish-lexified creole spoken in Columbia. We argue that existing hypotheses regarding its birth are problematic in several regards. This article addresses the inconsistencies in these hypotheses and provides an alternative, more coherent account. More precisely, we take issue with the following three claims: (a) Palenquero is the result of a two-language encounter; (b) it has its roots in a West African Afro-Portuguese proto-var…
Skepi Dutch Creole
In this article we present newly found lexical and grammatical data pertaining to Skepi, the Dutch-lexified creole which is now extinct but was once widespread in the Essequibo area of what is today the Republic of Guyana. The source of this new material are the linguistic notes contained in the diary of Reverend Thomas B. Youd, a missionary in service of the Church Missionary Society, who was active in the area from 1833 to 1842
Chavacano (Philippine Creole Spanish)
This article argues that the three existing varieties of Chavacano are descendents of one and the same proto-variety. While their direct relatedness used to be agreed upon, it has recently been questioned to differing extents by Lipski (e.g. 1992 , 2010 , 2013 ) and Fernández (e.g. 2006 , 2011 ). There is a large gap in Chavacano research insofar as systematic attempts at verifying or falsifying the alleged kinship between the varieties are missi…
How Gbe is Guianese French Creole
Occam’s Razor and the origins of Chabacano
Preview this article: Occam's Razor and the origins of Chabacano, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/jpcl.22014.jac-1.gif
The Lesser Antillean Origins of Guianese
This paper investigates the origins of Guianese French Creole. Whereas the existing literature assumes Guianese was formed in situ , we argue the creole is in fact genetically related to Lesser Antillean French Creole. We support our hypothesis by means of a range of comparative linguistic data. Furthermore, a historical framework is provided that accounts for linguistic transfer from the Lesser Antilles to French Guiana in the second half of the…
Why Haitian is a creole, Michif an intertwiner, and Irish English neither
Returning a maverick creole to the fold
Berbice Dutch was a creole language spoken in the Republic of Guyana in South America, a country first under Dutch, and later under British colonial rule. Owing mainly to Silvia Kouwenberg ( A grammar of Berbice Dutch Creole , De Gruyter Mouton, 1994), we were blessed with a detailed synchronic documentation of Berbice Dutch before its demise. However, the formation of the language remains clouded in mystery: its grammar and (basic) lexicon displ…
Skepi Creole Dutch
This paper presents new Skepi Creole Dutch data from the late-18th century, found in the work of the German scholar Ernst Karl Rodschied. The creole data include pronominal and verbal paradigms, a short 60-word excerpt from a private letter, and around two dozen names for local flora. After briefly introducing Rodschied, we present the data and compare them to the existing Skepi corpus
Mij dodte, mij loppe, in mijn lande”
A 1681 letter written by Jørgen Iversen (1638–1682), the first governor of Danish St. Thomas, unearthed from the Danish National Archives, contains a quote in incipient Virgin Islands Dutch Creole (VIDC). The quote, Mij dodte, mij loppe, in mijn lande , lit. ‘I die/dead, I go, in my country’ (free translation: ‘If/when I die, I will go back to my own country’), predates other early VIDC sources by over half a century. This finding shows that a Du…
From formulaic collective address to plural pronoun
This paper examines a little-known composite second-person plural pronoun that has received no systematic attention in the historical-linguistic literature to date: among(st)-you . Drawing on a broad range of textual sources, we first map the geographical distribution of this pronoun across the anglophone world. The feature is shown to cluster in the Caribbean and in the Chesapeake-Delmarva region in the U.S., with peripheral, semi-grammaticalize…
Philosophy (19 works) · Linguistics (17 works) · History (16 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (15 works) · Creole language (14 works) · History (12 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (5 works)