Creoles and sociolinguistic complexity

Response to Ansaldo

Bibliographic Data

ID7900646
AuthorsMikael Parkvall (0000-0002-0840-1357, Stockholm University), Peter Bakker (0000-0002-2072-0430, Aarhus University, corresponding author), John H Mcwhorter (Columbia University)
Year2018
Volume66
Pages226-233
Publication date2018-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguage Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0388-0001 • E-ISSN: 1873-5746
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.langsci.2017.10.001
OpenAlexW2771040353
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited21

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 languages. Nothing in the sociolinguistic situation of current creole societies is exceptional vis-à-vis situations of other minority languages. Yet, creoles differ structurally from the other languages of the world. That finding is supported by all empirical studies that include data on creoles and non-creoles, despite exceptionalists being accused of being inspired by ideology. The “feature pool theory” (cf. Mufwene 2001), analyzing creoles as simply language hybrids like a great many other languages, does not predict the relative analyticity of creole languages, since several equally analytic creoles and pidgins have come about from contact between morphologically rich languages. Crucially, adherents of this theory, including Ansaldo, have not responded to criticisms along these lines. Sudden language contact, as in situations of pidginization and creole genesis, leads to loss of irregularities and morphological paradigms. We argue that Ansaldo's claims are based on an insufficient familiarity with the relevant literature, as well as frequent misquotations

Creole language · Creolization · English-based creole languages · Epistemology · Language assessment · Language contact · Linguistics · Modern language · Multilingualism · Nothing · Population · Sociology · Theoretical linguistics · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy