Preverbal a -marking in Palenquero Creole

Testing theories of grammaticalization, convergence, and inheritance

Bibliographic Data

ID20344909
AuthorsHiram L Smith (0000-0001-7870-2940, Bucknell University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume39
Issue4
Pages565-607
Publication date2022-08-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiachronica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0176-4225 • E-ISSN: 1569-9714
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/dia.20072.smi
OpenAlexW4220677649
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited59

Formally similar grammatical features in a creole and its genetic or areal relatives may indicate substrate transfer, lexifier influence, or grammaticalization. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates the origin(s) of the preverbal past marker a in Palenquero Creole (Colombia). Results from distributional analysis and tests for significance indicate that several diachronically-related meanings are a -marked at rates approaching obligatory, suggesting advanced grammaticalization. Comparative results for Peninsular haber + PP suggest that past marking has grammaticalized much further in half the time in Palenquero Creole than in its lexifier, Spanish. Why? I argue, against traditional accounts about the origins of a , that, given the contact history of Palenquero speakers, most likely a pre-existing Kikongo prefixal form merged with an already grammaticalizing haber , thus propelling grammaticalization in the creole. The synchronic patterning shows adherence to typological patterns observed for perfectives in line with well-known constraints on competition and selection in contact languages, such as their grammatical congruence or particular social ecologies

Creole language · Grammaticalization · Linguistics · History · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy · Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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