Reconciling Universalists and Substratists

Reconciling Universalists and Substratists PDF

Author: Franziska Buch

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2008-11-04

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13: 3640202295

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Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: 1,3, Humboldt-University of Berlin (Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Hauptseminar English-Related Pidgins and Creoles, language: English, abstract: By way of an introduction to the following paper, I would like to draw here on a quote taken from one of Salikoko Mufwene's essays: "...creolists generally agree on the nature of the sociohistorical contexts which have produced these languages, but they disagree essentially on the natures of the linguistic processes which resulted in them." (1986:129). This sentence quite neatly captures what the general pidgin/creole-debate is all about. The various approaches to pidginization and creolization and on how, i.e. by which underlying processes, the respective language systems supposedly came into being have this one thing in common: they all entail, respectively proceed from the assumption in the first place, that they have something decisive to say about the nature of language in general. Therefore the different positions are often defended most decidedly, trying, or so it seems, to lay claim to a final definition of language in one or the other light. As such, I like to describe this phenomenon as some kind of linguistic-philosophical debate. And this is what the subject of the following paper shall be about: What are the various approaches, how convincing are they, i.e., who has the best arguments or is able to disprove opposing views best? In this sense, the following will be a theoretical rather than practical, case-study paper. The discussion can be roughly described in terms of two major opposing viewpoints: the universalist one and a more cognitive-oriented, functional-pragmatic. The latter is called substratist for the most. The two camps tend to put either more weight on the structural or the sociohistorical aspect respectively. It is especially the nativization phase, known as creolization, which interests me most in this paper. [...]

From Deficit to Dialect

From Deficit to Dialect PDF

Author: Devyani Sharma

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-09-08

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0197696414

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The emergence of new English dialects in postcolonial regions has transformed the politics of English in the world and language ecologies in many regions. Why, how, and when did these dialects develop? Why do they have the accents and grammars that we hear? Are the grammars of these dialects completely different due to the influence of local languages, or similar due to natural tendencies in human cognition? In terms of social identity, do these new speakers behave like native speakers of British or American English, or like language learners? Focusing on two prominent cases; English in India and in Singapore; this book examines the social, historical, and cognitive forces that together created and continue to shape these dialects. Differences in the linguistic ecology of the two regions help us to identify the strongest mechanisms of dialect formation under long-term cultural contact. The multi-scale analysis of a range of bilinguals moves beyond a simplistic divide between 'deficit' and 'dialect' views of these speech communities, showing that change proceeds unevenly across the language system and the social group, with feedback loops between social history, language learning, language structure, and identity.

From Here to Denmark

From Here to Denmark PDF

Author: Rajat M. Nag

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-08-30

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0198893124

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"Here" is a hypothetical place where governance is poor, rule of law is not respected, and justice is often denied. Many, particularly the poor and the marginalised, suffer daily indignities, big and small, and live a life marked by fear and insecurity. "Denmark", on the other hand, is where good governance prevails and is reflected in predictable and accountable actions by others, including the State. The journey From Here to Denmark is essentially a quest of ensuring good governance. Improving governance needs good, strong institutions. Time, history, culture, leadership and yes, luck all have a role to play in this journey. But the experiences of several countries which have made this transition convincingly point to the overriding importance of human capital and an empowered citizenry who can actively participate in the affairs of their society in building strong institutions.

Phonology and Morphology of Creole Languages

Phonology and Morphology of Creole Languages PDF

Author: Ingo Plag

Publisher: ISSN

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13:

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Contents: Christian Uffmann, Markedness, faithfulness and creolization: The retention of the unmarked. - Albert Valdman/Iskra Iskrova, A new look at nazalization in Haitian Creole. - Emmanuel Nikiema/Parth Bhatt, Two types of R deletion in Haitian Creole. - Sabine Lappe/Ingo Plag, Rules versus analogy: Modeling variation in word-final epenthesis in Sranan. - Norval Smith, New evidence from the Past: To epenthesize or not to epenthesize, that is the question. - Emmanuel Schang, Syllabic structure and creolization in Saotomense. - Anne-Marie Brousseau, The accentual system of Haitian Creole: The role of transfer and markedness values. - David Sutcliffe, African American English suprasegmentals: A study of pitch patterns in the Black English of the United States. - Winford James, The role of tone and rhyme structure in the organisation of grammatical morphemes in Tobagonian. - Shelome Gooden, Prosodic contrast in Jamaican Creole reduplication. - Thomas Klein, Syllable structure and lexical markedness in creole morphophonology: Determiner allomorphy in Haitian and elsewhere. - Margot van den Berg, Early 18th century Sranan -man. - Patrick Steinkrüger, Morphological processes of word formation in Chabacano (Philippine Spanish Creole). - Nicholas Faraclas, The -pela suffix in Tok Pisin and the notion of >simplicityTonjes Veenstra, What verbal morphology can tell us about creole genesis: the case of French-related creoles. - Marlyse Baptista, Inflectional plural marking in pidgins and creoles: a comparative study. - Alain Kihm, Inflectional categories in creole languages.

Caribbean Language Issues, Old & New

Caribbean Language Issues, Old & New PDF

Author: Pauline Christie

Publisher: University of the West Indies Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9789766400156

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CaribbeanLanguage Issues Old and New was conceived as a tribute to ProfessorMervyn Alleyne-who is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in thefield of Caribbean language-on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. A wide variety of issues are dealt with: phonology, syntax, discourse, creole genesis, language problems in education, among others. Some authors re-visit topics on which Alleyne himself has written, building his insights in many cases, while others explore areas which had not been investigated previously. This work provides access to recent research by Caribbean scholars, and goes some way towards filling a gap, particularly in its usefulness to students of linguistics and teachers of English. At the same time, the uninitiated reader who decides to explore its pages will not be unrewarded, since the the style is simple and direct and the content, for the most part, not highly technical.

Surviving the Middle Passage

Surviving the Middle Passage PDF

Author: Pieter C. Muysken

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2014-12-12

Total Pages: 542

ISBN-13: 3110343975

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This book is about the close historical and linguistic relationship between the languages of Surinam and Benin, a relationship which can be viewed in terms of a Trans Atlantic Sprachbund or linguistic area. It consists of a detailed analysis of various possible substrate and adstrate effects in a number of components of the grammar, in the Surinam Creole languages, primarily from the Gbe languages of Benin but also from Kikongo.

The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics PDF

Author: Rajend Mesthrie

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-10-06

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1139500937

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The most comprehensive overview available, this Handbook is an essential guide to sociolinguistics today. Reflecting the breadth of research in the field, it surveys a range of topics and approaches in the study of language variation and use in society. As well as linguistic perspectives, the handbook includes insights from anthropology, social psychology, the study of discourse and power, conversation analysis, theories of style and styling, language contact and applied sociolinguistics. Language practices seem to have reached new levels since the communications revolution of the late twentieth century. At the same time face-to-face communication is still the main force of language identity, even if social and peer networks of the traditional face-to-face nature are facing stiff competition of the Facebook-to-Facebook sort. The most authoritative guide to the state of the field, this handbook shows that sociolinguistics provides us with the best tools for understanding our unfolding evolution as social beings.

Growing Up with Tok Pisin

Growing Up with Tok Pisin PDF

Author: Geoff P. Smith

Publisher: Battlebridge Publications

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13:

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Tok Pisin is the Pidgin English language that was introduced to Papua New Guinea in the late 19th century as a way for this linguistically complex society to communicate with a common language. This book provides the historical background for this language and a detailed account of the changes that are taking place in its pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar as it is increasingly adopted as the first language of young people throughout the country.

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