Historical and linguistic evidence in favour of the relexification theory in the formation of creoles

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2883556
AutoresJan Voorhoeve (Leiden University, autor de correspondencia)
Año1973
Volumen2
Número1
Páginas133-145
Fecha de publicación1973-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguage in Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0047-4045 • E-ISSN: 1469-8013
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0047404500000099
OpenAlexW2053239752
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas22
Referencias citadas13

Three different Creoles spoken in Surinam are examined for their Creole origins. Saramaccan (SM) and Sranan (SN) are compared on basic vocabulary and other linguistic features and analyzed in conjunction with historical evidence. It is suggested that SN and SM speakers came to Surinam plantations with a basic knowledge of Portuguese-Creole. SN completely relexified in the direction of English, whereas SM only partly relexified toward English. Evidence suggests that Ndjuka (ND) is not a product of relexification, but developed from an eighteenth-century English pidgin. It is concluded that both 'normal' genetic developments and relexification may have similar results and that comparative evidence alone is not a sufficient basis for historical conclusions (comparative linguistics, creoles, relexification

Comparative linguistics · Creole language · Historical linguistics · Linguistics · Philology · Pidgin · Portuguese · Sociology · Vocabulary · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · History · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation