DOCSLIB.ORG

On the Syllable Structure of English Pidgins and Creoles

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

ON THE SYLLABLE STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH PIDGINS AND CREOLES Andrei A. Avram B.A. (Bucharest - Romania) Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Linguistics and Modem English Language Lancaster University October 2004 ProQuest Number: 11003561 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003561 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT This thesis is an optimality-theoretic investigation of syllable restructuring in the Atlantic and Pacific English-lexicon pidgins and creoles, both in their earlier stages and in the modem varieties. The theoretical framework and the methodology are presented in chapter 2. The next three chapters examine the adjustments that occur in the English pidgins and creoles in two syllabic positions: the onset and the coda. Thus, chapter 3 looks into the strategies used to resolve illicit /s/-initial onset clusters. Chapter 4 investigates the fate of obstruent + sonorant onset clusters, to the exclusion of /s/-initial ones. The clusters at issue are of two types: obstruent + glide, and obstruent + liquid. Particular attention is paid to the treatment of obstruent + liquid onset clusters in the creoles of Surinam, a matter of some dispute in the literature. Syllable restructuring in coda position is discussed in chapter 5, in which reflexes of etyma with both complex and simple codas are analyzed. The last chapter places the findings in the wider context of their implications for phonological theory and for the study of language contacts, as well as of the relevance of optimality theory to the study of syllable restructuring in the English pidgins and creoles. The issues discussed include the role of markedness, the relation between constraints on syllable structure in the English pidgins and creoles and in their respective substrate languages, syllable restructuring in the Atlantic Dutch and French creoles, and a comparison of syllable restructuring in first and second language phonology, in loanword phonology, and in the English pidgins and creoles. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my supervisors, Francis Katamba, Professor of Linguistics, and Dr Mark Sebba, Reader in Linguistics, for their constant, meticulous and prompt feedback as well as for much needed encouragement. Their suggestions were always stimulating ands thought-provoking, and made me look for unexpected links between seemingly disparate phenomena. I would also like to thank my examiners, Professor Anna Siewierska (Lancaster University) and Professor Norval Smith (University of Amsterdam), for their comments. I am also grateful to Professor Alexandra Comilescu (University of Bucharest), my first teacher of linguistics, for her permanent support. For endless discussions on ideas presented in the thesis I thank Larisa Avram. A big thank you to my son Andrei, a real computer wizard and an exceptional proofreader. Last but not least, thank you Larisa and thank you Andrei for everything. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1 2 The theoretical framework and methodology 3 2.1 The theoretical framework 3 2.1.1 Introduction 3 2.1.1 Classification of constraints 9 2.1.2.1 Markedness constraints 9 2.1.2.2 Correspondence constraints 10 2.2 Advantages of optimality theory 12 2.3 Optimality theory and the acquisition of first language phonology 13 2.4 Optimality theory and the acquisition of second language phonology 14 2.5 Optimality theory and variation in phonology 15 2.5.1 Free variation 16 2.5.2 Speech style 17 2.5.3 Co-phonologies 19 2.6 Optimality theory and sound change 20 2.7 Optimality theory and the phonology of pidgin and creole languages 21 2.8 Methodology 21 2.8.1 The varieties considered 21 2.8.2 The sources 21 2.8.3 The examples 22 3 The treatment of /s/-initial onset clusters 23 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 Early Atlantic English pidgins and creoles 24 3.2.1 Cameroon Pidgin English 24 3.2.2 Barbadian 27 3.2.3 Saint Kittitian 28 3.2.4 Trinidadian English Creole 29 3.2.5 Tobagonian 30 3.2.6 Sranan 31 3.2.7 Antiguan 34 3.2.8 Jamaican 35 3.2.9 Special case 1: Saramaccan 38 3.2.10 Special case 2: Ndyuka 48 3.3 Modem Atlantic English pidgins and creoles 56 3.3.1 Krio 56 3.3.2 Ghanaian Pidgin English 57 3.3.3 Nigerian Pidgin English 60 3.3.3.1 Introduction 60 3.3.3.2 Kano Nigerian Pidgin English 60 3.3.3.3 Nigerian Pidgin English 61 3.3.3.4 Yoruba Nigerian Pidgin English 62 3.3.3.5 Pidgin Proper 63 3.3.3.6 General Nigerian Pidgin English 64 3.3.3.7 Urban Port Harcourt Nigerian Pidgin English 65 3.3.3.8 Instead of conclusions 66 3.3.4 Cameroon Pidgin English 66 3.3.4.1 Introduction 66 3.3.4.2 Assimilated Pidgin English 66 3.3.4.3 Broad Pidgin English 67 3.3.4.4 Kamtok 69 3.3.4.5 Cameroonian 71 3.3.4.6 Instead of conclusions 72 3.3.5 Sranan 72 3.3.6 Antiguan 74 3.3.7 Jamaican 75 3.3.8 Gullah 78 3.4 Early Pacific English pidgins and creoles 79 3.4.1 Melanesian Pidgin English 79 3.4.2 Tok Pisin 80 3.4.3 Bislama 81 3.4.4 Solomon Islands Pidgin 83 3.4.5 Kriol 84 3.5 Modem Pacific English pidgins and creoles 85 3.5.1 Tok Pisin 85 3.5.2 Bislama 87 3.5.3 Solomon Islands Pidgin 88 3.5.4 Kriol 88 3.5.5 Naum Pidgin English 89 3.6 Conclusions 90 4 The treatment of obstruent + sonorant onset clusters 93 4.1 Introduction 93 4.2 Early Atlantic English pidgins and creoles 94 4.2.1 Introduction 94 4.2.2 Early Sranan 96 4.2.2.1 Herlein (1718) 97 4.2.2.2 Court records (1707-1777) 98 4.2.2.3 van Dyk (ca. 1765) 99 4.2.2.4 Fermin (1765) 101 4.2.2.5 Nepveu (1770) 101 4.2.2.6 Stedman (1777) 103 4.2.2.7 Schumann (1781) 104 4.2.2.8 Schumann (1783) 105 4.2.2.9 Schouten (1783) 107 4.2.2.10 Weygandt (1798) 108 4.2.2.11 Occurrence of obstruent + liquid onset clusters in early Sranan 109 4.2.2.12 Early Barbadian and early Saint Kittian 110 4.2.2.13 Portuguese words shared by Sranan and Saramaccan 112 4.2.2.14 Conclusions 112 4.2.3 Early Saramaccan (1778-1805) 114 4.2.3.1 Schumann (1778) 114 4.2.3.2 Riemer (1779) 116 4.2.3.3 Maroon letters (1789, 1790 and 1791) 119 4.2.3.4 Wietz (1805) 120 4.2.3.5 Occurrence of obstruent + liquid onset clusters in early Saramaccan 121 4.3.3.6 Conclusions 122 4.2.4 Early Aluku 124 4.2.5 Special case 1: Kwinti 129 4.2.6 Special case 2: Ndyuka 131 4.2.7 The distribution of obstruent + liquid onset clusters in the early stages of the creoles of Surinam 133 4.2.8 The substrate languages of the English creoles of Surinam 133 4.2.9 Obstruent + liquid onset clusters in the early stages of the creoles of Surinam: conclusions 135 4.3 Modem Atlantic English pidgins and creoles 136 4.3.1 Ghanaian Pidgin English 136 4.3.2 Yoruba Nigerian Pidgin English 138 4.3.3 Assimilated Cameroon Pidgin English 139 4.3.4 Modem Aluku 140 4.4 Early Pacific English pidgins and creoles 144 4.4.1 Introduction 144 4.4.2 Tok Pisin 146 4.4.3 Bislama 148 4.4.4 Solomon Islands Pidgin 150 4.4.5 Torres Strait Creole 152 4.4.6 Kriol 153 4.5 Modem Pacific English pidgins and creoles 154 4.5.1 Tok Pisin 154 4.5.2 Bislama 157 4.5.3 Solomon Islands Pidgin 158 4.5.4 Torres Strait Creole 159 4.5.5 Kriol 160 4.6 Conclusions 161 The treatment of codas 162 5.1 Introduction 162 5.2 Early Atlantic English creoles 163 5.2.1 Barbadian 163 5.2.2 Saint Kittitian 166 5.2.3 Guyanese 169 5.2.4 The creoles of Surinam 172 5.2.4.1 Sranan 172 5.2.4.2 Saramaccan 175 5.2.4.3 Special case 1: Ndyuka 180 5.2.4.4 Special case 2: Aluku 180 5.2.4.5 Conclusions 181 5.2.5 Jamaican 182 5.3 Modem Atlantic English pidgins and creoles 186 5.3.1 Ghanaian Pidgin English 186 5.3.1.1 Uneducated Ghanaian Pidgin English 186 5.3.1.2 Jargonized Ghanaian Pidgin English 187 5.3.2 Nigerian Pidgin English 188 5.3.2.1 Pidgin Proper 188 5.3.2.2 Yoruba Nigerian Pidgin English 190 5.4 Early Pacific English pidgins and creoles 195 5.4.1 Tok Pisin 195 5.4.2 Bislama 197 5.4.3 Solomon Islands Pidgin 200 5.5 Conclusions 203 Conclusions 205 6.1 Introduction 205 6.2 Markedness 205 6.3 The phonological status of the “intrusive” vowel 208 6.3.1 Previous analyses 209 6.3.1.1 Ghanaian Pidgin English 209 6.3.1.2 Nigerian Pidgin English 209 6.3.1.3 Tok Pisin 209 6.3.2 Lexical or phonetic 210 6.3.3 Empirical evidence 211 6.3.3.1 Tone assignment in West African Pidgin English 211 6.3.3.2 Tone assignment in Ghanaian Pidgin English 212 6.3.3.3 Phonetic reduplication in Tok Pisin 212 6.3.3.4 Morphological reduplication in Bislama 213 6.3.3.5 Fossilized forms in Tok Pisin 214 6.3.3.6 Stress shift in Tok Pisin 215 6.3.3.7 Anglicized variants in Ghanaian Pidgin English 215 6.3.3.8 Anglicized variants in Tok Pisin 216 6.3.3.9 Inter-generational variation in Tok Pisin 216 6.3.3.10 Intra-speaker variation in Tok Pisin 217 6.3.3.11 Speech tempo in Tok Pisin 217 6.4 The role of the substrate languages 218 6.4.1 Paragoge in Gbe, Kikongo, Yoruba, Akan, and Sranan 218 6.4.2 Epenthesis and paragoge in Akan and Ghanaian Pidgin English 220 6.4.3 Onsets and codas in Yoruba and Yoruba Nigerian Pidgin English 221 6.4.4 Obstruent + liquid onset clusters in Tolai and Tok Pisin 223 6.5 Syllable restructuring in Atlantic Dutch and French creoles 224 6.6 Acquisition of first language phonology 227 6.6.1 Complex onsets 227 6.6.2 Complex codas 229 6.6.3 Simple codas 230 6.7 Acquisition of second language phonology 231 6.7.1 Complex onsets 232 6.7.2 Complex codas 233 6.7.3 Simple codas 233 6.8 Loanword phonology 233 6.8.1 Complex onsets 234 6.8.2 Complex codas 237 6.8.3 Simple codas 237 6.9 Evidence from pidgin and creole phonology and theories of pidginization and creolization 239 6.10 Optimality theory and syllable restructuring in English pidgins and creoles 240 References 242 1 Introduction The present thesis investigates a number of aspects of syllable structure in the English pidgins and creoles.
Recommended publications
  • Trini Talk Or the Queen's English?

    Trini Talk Or the Queen's English?

    Copyright by Sarojani S. Mohammed 2008 The Dissertation Committee for Sarojani S. Mohammed Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Trini Talk or the Queen’s English? Navigating Language Varieties in the Post-Colonial, High Stakes Climate of “Standard Five” Classrooms in Trinidad Committee: Diane L. Schallert, Co-Supervisor Barbara G. Dodd, Co-Supervisor Lars Hinrichs Zena T. Moore Marilla D. Svinicki Brandon K. Vaughn Trini Talk or the Queen’s English? Navigating Language Varieties in the Post-Colonial, High Stakes Climate of “Standard Five” Classrooms in Trinidad by Sarojani S. Mohammed, S.B. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December, 2008 Dedication To the newest source of inspiration in my life, my nephew, Henrik Åge Lundgård. Acknowledgements In many ways, this document represents the love and support of the village that raised me. I regret that I cannot express my gratitude to every person who has helped me along the way, but I appreciate this opportunity to acknowledge in print those who have devoted inordinate amounts of time and effort to ensure the completion of this degree, and this project in particular. To my parents, who knew that I could do this even before it was a dream of mine, I thank you for your love and patience, help and advice, and especially for your encouragement and support over the past 27 years. To my brother and sister, thanks for making me who I am, and loving me as I am.
  • The Creole Origins Hypothesis

    The Creole Origins Hypothesis

    OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Tue Jan 20 2015, NEWGEN Chapter 2 The Creole Origins Hypothesis JOHN R. RICKFORD 2.1 Introduction In a rarely cited introduction1 to a reprint of his two classic creolist articles (Stewart 1967, 1968), Stewart (1970) noted that a “disagreement” had surfaced among participants at a Conference on Social Dialects and Language Learning held in Bloomington, Indiana, in summer 1964:2 Beryl L. Bailey and the author took the position that American Negro dialects prob- ably derived from a creolized form of English, once spoken on American plantations by Negro slaves and seemingly related to creolized forms of English which are still spoken by Negroes in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. Bailey and the author held the opinion that, although most American Negro dialects have now merged enough with white speech to preclude their still being considered truly creole dialects, the apparent survival of some creole features in many of them was a likely explanation of their more unique (vis-à-vis white speech) structural characteristics. … [But] some of the participants had already come to a quite different set of conclusions.… In their view, there never was any pidgin or creole stage through which the English spoken by early American Negro slaves might have passed. Instead, the acquisition of colonial English by Negro slaves on the early North American plantations was believed to have been both rapid and successful, so that within one or two generations American Negro speech evidenced the same inventory of structural features as white speech. (1970, 352; emphasis added) This is probably the earliest documented evidence we have of a creolist/Anglicist con- troversy among linguists about the origins of African American Vernacular English (AAVE),3 with their respective positions summarized in the italicized parts of Stewart’s quotation.
  • F1670f971852070d152bd696607

    F1670f971852070d152bd696607

    International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication Vol. 1, 2012 English in Ghana: Growth, Tensions, and Trends Adika Gordon University of Ghana https://doi.org/10.12681/ijltic.17 Copyright © 2012 To cite this article: Adika, G. (2012). English in Ghana: Growth, Tensions, and Trends. International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication, 1, 151-166. doi:https://doi.org/10.12681/ijltic.17 http://epublishing.ekt.gr | e-Publisher: EKT | Downloaded at 01/11/2020 19:10:06 | IJLTIC 2012 1 (1), 151-166 English in Ghana: Growth, Tensions, and Trends Gordon Senanu Kwame Adika, University of Ghana Abstract his paper provides snapshots of the growth of English in Ghana by reviewing T the debates that have characterised its usage, recapitulating the distinctive features of Ghanaian English (GhaE), and examining current directions of its growth. From its fi rst implantation in Ghana, then the Gold Coast, in the early part of the 16th century to date, English in Ghana, like in other West African countries has shown formidable resilience as the language of formal education, and a medium for cross-ethnic communication in a predominantly multilingual environment. The tensions attendant upon which language to use as a medium of instruction at the lower levels of education appear to be yielding to the logic of complementarities and bilingualism within the local language ecology. English in Ghana, as an outer circle phenomenon, has been travelling the delicate expansionist path of innovation, adaptation, and maintenance of standards over the years. The distinctive Ghanaian linguistic and cultural colouration continues to permeate the English language on all levels, including vocabulary, idiomatic usage, and pronunciation.
  • Cygwin User's Guide

    Cygwin User's Guide

    Cygwin User’s Guide Cygwin User’s Guide ii Copyright © Cygwin authors Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this documentation provided the copyright notice and this per- mission notice are preserved on all copies. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this documentation under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this documentation into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation. Cygwin User’s Guide iii Contents 1 Cygwin Overview 1 1.1 What is it? . .1 1.2 Quick Start Guide for those more experienced with Windows . .1 1.3 Quick Start Guide for those more experienced with UNIX . .1 1.4 Are the Cygwin tools free software? . .2 1.5 A brief history of the Cygwin project . .2 1.6 Highlights of Cygwin Functionality . .3 1.6.1 Introduction . .3 1.6.2 Permissions and Security . .3 1.6.3 File Access . .3 1.6.4 Text Mode vs. Binary Mode . .4 1.6.5 ANSI C Library . .4 1.6.6 Process Creation . .5 1.6.6.1 Problems with process creation . .5 1.6.7 Signals . .6 1.6.8 Sockets . .6 1.6.9 Select . .7 1.7 What’s new and what changed in Cygwin . .7 1.7.1 What’s new and what changed in 3.2 .
  • Biblioteksentralen Som Utviklingsaktør På Toten Med Lærer- Bakgrunn Og

    Biblioteksentralen Som Utviklingsaktør På Toten Med Lærer- Bakgrunn Og

    Bibliotekaren Tidsskrift for Bibliotekarforbundet Biblioteksentralen som utviklingsaktør på Toten Oppgjørenes time Med lærer- bakgrunn og bibliotekar framtid BFs økonomi under Skadd på jobb god kontroll - hva gjør jeg? 8 2004 Innhold: Bibliotekaren ISSN 0804-4147 Lederen har ordet side 3 ISSN 1503-836X (online) Forbundsstyrets junimøte side 4 Bibliotekaren er Bibliotekarforbundets BF mot forskriftsendring nå side 7 tidsskrift og utkommer hver måned. Ansvarlig redaktør Oppgjørenes timer Erling Bergan - Det er to bibliotekarer i Norge som sitter midt i begivenhetenes sentrum når det gjelder både sentrale forhandlinger og megling. Det er oss to fra Bibliotekaforbundet - rådgiver Thor Bjarne Stadshaug og meg. Vi sitter der 8 Redaksjonens adresse det skjer og har innpass i det som foregår, sier forbundsleder Monica Deil- Runnen 4, 6800 FØRDE dok i dette intervjuet etter at årets sentrale tariffoppgjør er unnagjort Tlf.: 57 82 07 65 Mobil: 91 31 80 01 Faks: 85 03 16 64 Lokale forhandlinger i KS-sektoren side 11 Epost: [email protected] Med lærerbakgrunn og bibliotekarframtid Stoff Etter 22 år som lærer i grunnskolen gjorde Anne Elisabeth Waage opp Vi mottar stoff i alle former. Tekster status: Hun fant ikke mange lærerkollegaer som var over 50. Skolehver- foretrekker vi som fi ler i RiktTekstFor- dagen ble simpelthen for stri i lengden. Anne Elisabeth valgte å skifte 12 mat (rtf). Usignerte artikler står for fil. Hun studerer nå bibliotekfag i Bergen. redaktørens regning. Fornøyd i staten? side 15 Abonnement Kr. 290,- pr. år betales til BFs girokonto Bibliotekvaktens søketips: 6039.05.64093. Merk innbetalingen Detektor – et katalogisert utgangspunkt side 16 «Abonnement». Alle henvendelser om abonnement rettes til BFs sekretariat i Lakkegata 21, 0187 Oslo, tlf.
  • Automating Your Sync Testing

    Automating Your Sync Testing

    APPLICATION NOTE By automating system verification and conformance testing to ITU-T synchronization standards, you’ll save on time and resources, and avoid potential test execution errors. This application note describes how you can use the Paragon-X’s Script Recorder to easily record Tcl, PERL and Python commands that can be integrated into your own test scripts for fast and efficient automated testing. AUTOMATING YOUR SYNC TESTING calnexsol.com Easily automate synchronization testing using the Paragon-X Fast and easy automation by Supports the key test languages Pre-prepared G.8262 Conformance recording GUI key presses Tcl, PERL and Python Scripts reduces test execution errors <Tcl> <PERL> <python> If you perform System Verification language you want to record i.e. Tcl, PERL SyncE CONFORMANCE TEST and Conformance Testing to ITU-T or Python, then select Start. synchronization standards on a regular Calnex provides Conformance Test Scripts basis, you’ll know that manual operation to ITU-T G.8262 for SyncE conformance of these tests can be time consuming, testing using the Paragon-X. These tedious and prone to operator error — as test scripts can also be easily tailored well as tying up much needed resources. and edited to meet your exact test Automation is the answer but very often requirements. This provides an easy means a lack of time and resource means it of getting your test automation up and remains on the ‘To do’ list. Now, with running and providing a repeatable means Calnex’s new Script Recorder feature, you of proving performance, primarily for ITU-T can get your automation up and running standards conformance.
  • Building Performance Measurement Tools for the MINIX 3 Operating System

    Building Performance Measurement Tools for the MINIX 3 Operating System

    Building Performance Measurement Tools for the MINIX 3 Operating System Rogier Meurs August 2006 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Measuring Performance 1 1.2 MINIX 3 2 2 STATISTICAL PROFILING 3 2.1 Introduction 3 2.2 In Search of a Timer 3 2.2.1 i8259 Timers 3 2.2.2 CMOS Real-Time Clock 3 2.3 High-level Description 4 2.4 Work Done in User-Space 5 2.4.1 The SPROFILE System Call 5 2.5 Work Done in Kernel-Space 5 2.5.1 The SPROF Kernel Call 5 2.5.2 Profiling using the CMOS Timer Interrupt 6 2.6 Work Done at the Application Level 7 2.6.1 Control Tool: profile 7 2.6.2 Analyzing Tool: sprofalyze.pl 7 2.7 What Can and What Cannot be Profiled 8 2.8 Profiling Results 8 2.8.1 High Scoring IPC Functions 8 2.8.2 Interrupt Delay 9 2.8.3 Profiling Runs on Simulator and Other CPU Models 12 2.9 Side-effect of Using the CMOS Clock 12 3 CALL PROFILING 13 3.1 Introduction 13 3.1.1 Compiler-supported Call Profiling 13 3.1.2 Call Paths, Call and Cycle Attribution 13 3.2 High-level Description 14 3.3 Work Done in User-Space 15 3.3.1 The CPROFILE System Call 15 3.4 Work Done in Kernel-Space 16 3.4.1 The PROFBUF and CPROF Kernel Calls 16 3.5 Work Done in Libraries 17 3.5.1 Profiling Using Library Functions 17 3.5.2 The Procentry Library Function 17 3.5.3 The Procexit Library Function 20 3.5.4 The Call Path String 22 3.5.5 Testing Overhead Elimination 23 3.6 Profiling Kernel-Space/User-Space Processes 24 3.6.1 Differences in Announcing and Table Sizes 24 3.6.2 Kernel-Space Issue: Reentrancy 26 3.6.3 Kernel-Space Issue: The Call Path 26 3.7 Work Done at the Application
  • Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in Writing

    Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in Writing

    Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in writing Bettina Migge & Susanne Mühleisen University College Dublin/University of Bayreuth In research on Creoles, historical written texts have in recent decades been fruitfully employed to shed light on the diachronic development of these languages and the nature of Creole genesis. They have so far been much less frequently used to derive social information about these communities and to improve our understanding of the sociolinguistics and stylistic structure of these languages. This paper surveys linguistic research on early written texts in the anglophone Caribbean and takes a critical look at the theories and methods employed to study these texts. It emphases the sociolinguistic value of the texts and provides some exemplary analyses of early Creole documents. 1. Introduction Research on Caribbean English-lexicon Creoles has made use of early textual docu- ments collected by missionaries (cf. for instance, Oldendorp 1996 [1767–1768], 2000 [1777]; cf. also Mühlhäusler 2001), planters (e.g. Leslie 1740; Lewis 1834; Long 1970 [1774]), travellers (e.g. Nugent 1907 [1802]; Sloane 1707) or fictional accounts by writ- ers (e.g. Scott 1833). Historical written texts continue to be an important source for shedding light on earlier stages of creolization (e.g. Arends 1995a, 1995b; Arends & Perl 1995; Baker & Bruyn 1999), the diachronic development of Creoles as well as on structural features and variation within a particular variety. The size of text cor- pora varies greatly within the Caribbean: while there is a very substantial collection of earlier texts on Sranan Tongo, Saamaka and Negerhollands (cf. Arends 2002: 50). Textual documentation of other early Caribbean Englishes and Creoles is less prolific and consists of diverse text types – from short quotations of speech contained within travel accounts of outsiders to whole texts written in Creole by insiders.
  • 12 English Dialect Input to the Caribbean

    12 English Dialect Input to the Caribbean

    12 English dialect input to the Caribbean 1 Introduction There is no doubt that in the settlement of the Caribbean area by English speakers and in the rise of varieties of English there, the question of regional British input is of central importance (Rickford 1986; Harris 1986). But equally the two other sources of specific features in anglophone varieties there, early creolisation and independent developments, have been given continued attention by scholars. Opinions are still divided on the relative weight to be accorded to these sources. The purpose of the present chapter is not to offer a description of forms of English in the Caribbean – as this would lie outside the competence of the present author, see Holm (1994) for a resum´ e–b´ ut rather to present the arguments for regional British English input as the historical source of salient features of Caribbean formsofEnglish and consider these arguments in the light of recent research into both English in this region and historical varieties in the British Isles. This is done while explicitly acknowledging the role of West African input to forms of English in this region. This case has been argued eloquently and well, since at least Alleyne (1980) whose views are shared by many creolists, e.g. John Rickford. But the aim of the present volume, and specifically of the present chapter, is to consider overseas varieties of English in the light of possible continuity of input formsofEnglish from the British Isles. This concern does not seek to downplay West African input and general processes of creolisation, which of course need to be specified in detail,1 butrather tries to put the case for English input and so complement other views already available in the field.
  • Making Sense of "Bad English"

    Making Sense of "Bad English"

    MAKING SENSE OF “BAD ENGLISH” Why is it that some ways of using English are considered “good” and others are considered “bad”? Why are certain forms of language termed elegant, eloquent, or refined, whereas others are deemed uneducated, coarse, or inappropriate? Making Sense of “Bad English” is an accessible introduction to attitudes and ideologies towards the use of English in different settings around the world. Outlining how perceptions about what constitutes “good” and “bad” English have been shaped, this book shows how these principles are based on social factors rather than linguistic issues and highlights some of the real-life consequences of these perceptions. Features include: • an overview of attitudes towards English and how they came about, as well as real-life consequences and benefits of using “bad” English; • explicit links between different English language systems, including child’s English, English as a lingua franca, African American English, Singlish, and New Delhi English; • examples taken from classic names in the field of sociolinguistics, including Labov, Trudgill, Baugh, and Lambert, as well as rising stars and more recent cutting-edge research; • links to relevant social parallels, including cultural outputs such as holiday myths, to help readers engage in a new way with the notion of Standard English; • supporting online material for students which features worksheets, links to audio and news files, further examples and discussion questions, and background on key issues from the book. Making Sense of “Bad English” provides an engaging and thought-provoking overview of this topic and is essential reading for any student studying sociolinguistics within a global setting.
  • MIAMI UNIVERSITY the Graduate School Certification for Approving

    MIAMI UNIVERSITY the Graduate School Certification for Approving

    MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certification for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Stephen Hess Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy ____________________________________ Director (Dr. Venelin Ganev) ____________________________________ Reader (Dr. Gulnaz Sharafutdinova) ____________________________________ Reader (Dr. Adeed Dawisha) ____________________________________ Graduate School Representative (Dr. Stanley Toops) ABSTRACT AUTHORITARIAN LANDSCAPES: STATE DECENTRALIZATION, POPULAR MOBILIZATION, AND THE INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES OF RESILIENCE IN NONDEMOCRACIES by Stephen Hess Beginning with the insight that highly-centralized state structures have historically provided a unifying target and fulcrum for the mobilization of contentious nationwide social movements, this dissertation investigates the hypothesis that decentralized state structures in authoritarian regimes impede the development of forms of popular contention sustained and coordinated on a national scale. As defined in this work, in a decentralized state, local officials assume greater discretionary control over public expenditures, authority over the implementation of government policies, and latitude in managing outbreaks of social unrest within their jurisdictions. As a result, they become the direct targets of most protests aimed at the state and the primary mediators of actions directed at third-party, non-state actors. A decentralized state therefore presents not one but a multitude of loci for protests, diminishing claimants‘ ability to use the central state as a unifying target and fulcrum for organizing national contentious movements. For this reason, decentralized autocracies are expected to face more fragmented popular oppositions and exhibit higher levels of durability than their more centralized counterparts. To examine this claim, I conduct four comparative case studies, organized into pairs of autocracies that share a common regime type but vary in terms of state decentralization.
  • The Relationship of Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria: Evidence from Copula Constructions in Ice-Nigeria

    The Relationship of Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria: Evidence from Copula Constructions in Ice-Nigeria

    journal of language contact 13 (2020) 351-388 brill.com/jlc The Relationship of Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria: Evidence from Copula Constructions in Ice-Nigeria Ogechi Florence Agbo Ph.D student, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany [email protected] Ingo Plag Professor of English Language and Linguistics Faculty of Arts and Humani- ties, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany [email protected] Abstract Deuber (2006) investigated variation in spoken Nigerian Pidgin data by educated speakers and found no evidence for a continuum of lects between Nigerian Pidgin and English. Many speakers, however, speak both languages, and both are in close contact with each other, which keeps the question of the nature of their relationship on the agenda. This paper investigates 67 conversations in Nigerian English by educated speakers as they occur in the International Corpus of English, Nigeria (ice-Nigeria, Wunder et al., 2010), using the variability in copula usage as a test bed. Implicational scaling, network analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis reveal that the use of vari- ants is not randomly distributed over speakers. Particular clusters of speakers use par- ticular constellations of variants. A qualitative investigation reveals this complex situ- ation as a continuum of style, with code-switching as one of the stylistic devices, motivated by such social factors as formality, setting, participants and interpersonal relationships. Keywords Nigerian Pidgin – Nigerian English – code-switching – style-shifting – implicational scaling – network analysis – cluster analysis © Ogechi Agbo and Ingo Plag, 2020 | doi:10.1163/19552629-bja10023 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the prevailing cc-by-nc License at the time of Downloaded from Brill.com09/29/2021 10:21:27AM publication.