The influence of West African languages on two Surinamese creoles

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Donald Winford and his colleague Bettina Migge will conduct two years of linguistic research on the role of West African languages in the creation of Sranan Tongo and Paamaka, two creole languages of Suriname. The focus of this investigation is how time (e.g., past and future tense) and aspect (e.g., 'habitual' and 'completed') are expressed in the creoles. The hypothesis is that the West African languages of the Gbe family exerted the primary influence on tense and aspect in the creoles, with some influence from Kikongo and Akan. Other factors (e.g., internal changes in the creoles themselves) were also relevant. If the hypothesis is supported, the project will show that the creole languages were created by African slaves who selectively adapted and restructured materials from English and their own native languages. The data for the project will emphasize conversational speech and native speaker judgements. These will be tape recorded in Benin with speakers of five Gbe languages and in Suriname with speakers of the two creole languages. Data from Kikongo and Akan will be drawn from published studies of their tense and aspect systems. The tense and aspect systems of the languages will be compared, using methods of analysis that can reveal degrees of similarity between the West African languages and the creoles. The blending of different linguistic traditions into a new language is one of the most intriguing manifestations of the human language faculty. The processes by which elements from distinct languages can be restructured and the principles that regulate the processes challenge linguistic theory, especially theories of language mixture and contact-induced change. Creole languages represent an extreme case of such mixture, and the study of their origins can contribute much to our understanding of the cognitive and social factors that regulate this kind of language restructuring. Research on creole genesis provides insight into both language acquisition and language change, since similar processes and principles are involved. Such research can help us better understand the universal principles that regulate the structure of human language. This project will also contribute to greater recognition of creole languages as valid instruments of communication for the communities they serve. The creole communities of Suriname have traditionally suffered the same neglect and disparagement as their languages. This research can help legitimize these neglected languages. Objective analysis and description can provide a basis for their acceptance and instrumentalization in education and other public