Outlines three features that render creoles synchronically distinguishable from other languages, all three clear results of a break in transmission followed by a development period too brief for the traits to be undone as they have been in older languages. Shows that an expanded data set reveals flaws in the socio-historical argumentation behind…

The use of the term "Creole" to refer to the Haitian language is discussed, and it is argued that "Haitian" is a more appropriate term. Psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic functions of the term are examined, including its etymological and usage history and images associated with its application in a variety of locations and…

This dictionary is a composite of four Philippine Creole Spanish dialects: Cotabato Chabacano and variants spoken in Ternate, Cavite City, and Zamboanga City. The volume contains 6,542 main lexical entries with corresponding entries with contrasting data from the three other variants. A concluding section summarizes findings of the dialect study…

Explores the possible origins of Malacca Creole Portuguese, and compares and contrasts Papia Kristang with other related creoles. (AM)

Analyzes the use of metapragmatic description in the ethnoclassification of language by native speakers on the Franco-Antillean island of Saint Barthelemy. A prevalent technique for metapragmatic description based on honorific pronouns that reflects the varied geolinguistic and generational attributes of the speakers is described. (Author/MSE)

IN AN EARLIER ARTICLE (ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE FLORIDA FOREIGN LANGUAGE REPORTER) THE AUTHOR CITED EVIDENCE FOR BELIEF THAT THE NEGRO FIELD SLAVES "SPOKE A VARIETY OF ENGLISH WHICH WAS IN FACT A TRUE CREOLE LANGUAGE" AND THAT STRUCTURAL TRACES OF THIS CREOLE PREDECESSOR MAY BE HEARD TODAY IN THE NONSTANDARD ENGLISH SPEECH PATTERNS OF AMERICAN…

The definition of and distinction between two variations of American English, African American English Vernacular (AAEV) and Gullah, the American creole spoken on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, are discussed. It is argued that while these and other varieties are defined typically by their basilects, the reality encountered in the field…

The process by which Irish-speaking regions became English-speaking regions over a period of centuries is examined. The first part argues that schooling played far less of a role in the shift than some scholars have suggested, because schools were not structured to be particularly effective in teaching the second language (English) to…

The materials included in this document concern the theory, objectives, and administrative issues behind the project to describe the languages of the world. The basic objective of the project is to collect a series of language descriptions which achieve an acceptable level of descriptive adequacy without interfering with the freedom of the…

This volume consists of a classification of the world's languages. The book is organized alphabetically in terms of classes. Within each class, the title of each entry is the name of a group of related languages. On the whole, the groups of languages discussed in an entry represent genetic units or purported genetic units. The internal…