Language contact & genealogical differentiation: The English Creoles & Pidgins of Africa & the Caribbean

Abstract

The Afro-Caribbean English-lexifier Creoles (AECs) arose barely four hundred years ago and today constitute one of the largest language families of the western hemisphere, with over 100 million speakers from Nigeria to Jamaica. AEC varieties like Nigerian Pidgin and Cameroon Pidgin today count among the largest languages of Africa and allow communication throughout much of the region. The AECs of Africa and the Caribbean have undergone a considerable degree of differentiation in the short span of their existence and today show a fascinating typological diversity in their grammars. In this talk, I provide an account of the role of language contact in the genealogical differentiation of the AECs. Based on first-hand field data, I carry out a comparative analysis of specific structural areas in individual AECs. The findings can help explain the adaptability and dynamism of these languages inspite of negative language ideologies vis-à-vis these languages and the absence of recognition and state support. They also allow us to understand better how recognised linguistic (sub-)families like Germanic and Romance might have developed before the onset of standardisation, normalisation and scolarisation.