Contato linguístico no Suriname

Abstract

Suriname is known among linguists for the large number of creole languages spoken in the country. Amongst them is Saramaccan, a tonal language with an English/Portuguese/Kikongo lexical base and a mixed West African (Kwa) grammatical structure. However, Suriname presents an even more complex linguistic picture, featuring various language contact processes, and involving typologically highly diverse languages: (a) the partly convergent development within the Arawakan and Cariban languages, including the creation of 16th century Carib Coastal Pidgin and later the Tiriyo-Ndyuka pidgin; (b) the emergence of the creole language Sranan as a variable multi-ethnic contact language; (c) the transformation of Asian contract labour diaspora languages (Suriname Hindustani, Javanese, and Chinese), partly under the influence of Sranan, and partly through autonomous changes; (d) the transformation of Suriname Dutch from a metropolitan standard language to a local interethnic urban variety. Contact processes (b) and (c) are currently being studied for the first time within the “Traces of Contact” project of the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands). This talk will provide an overview of the complex linguistic situation in Suriname, present preliminary results of ongoing research in Suriname and discuss some theoretical implications for the study of language contact.