Contact Languages

Question 1

The study of contact languages - (new?)

Answer 1

Relatively new field – most research 1950s onwards.

• traditionally were inappropriate subjects 4 ling study bc viewed as “DEFECTIVE” versions of Euro langs - REFLECTED in pidgin/creole names “Broken English, Bastard Portugese”

Question 2

3 types of contact languages

Answer 2

Pidgin, Creole, Mixed Languages.

Thomason - all 3 mixed languages, latter BILINGUAL mixed languages
“pidgins and creoles go together naturally, in contradistinction to bilingual mixed languages”

Pidgins & Creoles - SHIFT-induced INTERFERENCE

Mixed langs - BORROWING in a BILINGUAL CONTEXT

Question 3

Crucial difference between pidgins/creoles and mixed langs

Answer 3

Pidgins & creoles evolve in situations where few or no members of the new speech community are bilingual/multilingual

mixed languages = EXTENSIVE BILINGUALISM

Question 4

What are Pidgins?

Answer 4

• arise in situations where speakers of diff langs, who dont know eachothers langs, are required to communicate - TRADE, LABOUR
• no group (bc lack of trust/contact,etc) has opportunity to learn native lang of other group

NO-ONE’S NATIVE LANGUAGE - restricted to a specific domain of use

• usually a superordinate lang w/ number of subordinate groups.

CHARACTERISED BY:

1. v restricted functional load
2. v reduced morph/syntax
3. tolerance of considerable phonological variation

Question 5

How do pidgins get constructed?

Answer 5

Usually less powerful groups begin using words from superordinate lang (superstrate) - CLEAR LEXICAL SOURCE

Interference - meaning, form + use of words influenced by sub langs

SUPERSTRATES cooperate with the other groups to create a language that serves their needs. (dont speak own lang normally)

• simplification
  
  • drop inflections
  • reducing # of words
  • extending meanings, etc

PROCESS OF NEGOTIATION - pidgin grammars = CROSS-LANG COMPROMISE

“As people try to communicate with each other, they will make guesses about what their interlocutors will understand. When they guess wrong, that particular word or construction will not be repeated often, but right guesses are likely to become part of the emerging pidgin.”

Question 6

Pidgin vs creole

Answer 6

MANY, if not MOST langs called pidgins = actually Creoles (tok pisin = talk pidgin)

Creoles = NEW, FULL LANGS (may have pidgin beginnings)

• functional load = important to consider when classifying between pidgin + creole

Question 7

How do creoles arise? (from pidgins)

Answer 7

Only in special circumstances:

• GENERATION of CHILDREN DENIED access to DOM lang AND denied access to parent’s NATIVE lang
• kids use pidgin as only means of communication = takes on FULL FUNCTIONAL LOAD

Question 8

What is decreolisation?

Answer 8

LATER STAGE - creole in contact with LEXIFIER language

• POST-CREOLE CONTINUUM arises, speakers may command full creole, full lexifier, or registers in between
• OVER TIME, creole lang may become closer to lexifier lang and cease to exist as seperate code

Question 9

How do creoles arise (non-pidgins)?

Answer 9

PARTIAL RESTRUCTURING - never pidgins

• langs previously thought to be decreolised creoles
• ACTUALLY continuous language shift - new gens of slaves brought in - imperfect learning of superstrate over generations

AFRIKAANS

Question 10

Abrupt creolization?

Answer 10

• emerge abpruptly w/in one/ MAX 2 gens
• same negotiation process as pidgins, but immediately takes full functional Load

PITCAIRNESE
Pitcairnese - Following theMutiny on the Bounty, the British mutineers stopped atTahitiand took 18 Polynesians, mostly women, to remote Pitcairn Island and settled there. Initially, the Tahitians spoke little English, and theBountycrewmen knew even less Tahitian. Isolated from the rest of the world, they had to communicate with each other, and, over time, they formed a unique new language that blended a simplified English with Tahitian words and speech patterns.

Question 11

Bilingual mixed languages - (split languages) (hybrid languages)

Answer 11

• arise in bilingual contexts
• NOT linked to need for communication between groups
• function: “in-group” language
• can be learnt as mother tongues or in early adulthood
  EG. MICHIF - Cree mothers + french fathers
  EG MEDIA LENGUA - spanish/quechua ecuador

… we can say that they are spoken by ethnic groups who were originally bilingual but, for some reason, wanted to distinguish themselves collectively from both groups whose languages they speak.

Question 12

Properties of Bilingual Mixed langs

Answer 12

Typically combine elements of both langs
- grammar from one lang
- lexicon from the other
(but exceptions - michif)

MEDIA LENGUA - grammar quechua, lexicon spanish

Question 13

Which factors determine which language provides the grammatical system and which the vocabulary in bilingual mixed languages??

Answer 13

Function: SECRET LANGUAGE
- grammatical system of local lang and vocab of non-local lang
Why? doesn’t raise suspicion - sounds like local lang but people dont understand bc vocab foreign

Function - MARKER of NEW ETHNIC IDENTITY

• grammatical system of lang of mother/better known lang
• other lang provides lexicon

Question 14

MICHIF

Answer 14

CREE + FRENCH
Linguistic structure – different components can be described as predominantly Cree or predominantly French
nouns - 94% french
verbs - 88-99% cree, etc etc

although elements of Cree origin tend to follow Cree phonological and grammatical structure and elements of French origin tend to follow French phonological and grammatical structure, there are also some differences

e.g. in phonology – there are NASAL VOWELS in MICHIF elements FROM CREE , which are NOT FOUND IN CREE

• easily recognisable French and Cree elements
• also elements from not either
• so, NEW !