Word prosody of African versus European-origin words in Afro-European creoles.

Autor: Agostinho, Ana Lívia
Předmět:
Zdroj: Linguistic Typology; Jul2023, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p481-507, 27p
Abstrakt: This paper is concerned with word-prosodic systems of Afro-European creole languages that show a correlation between the lexical origin (African vs. European) and prosodic pattern. The discussion is based on the evidence from four languages: Saramaccan, Nigerian Pidgin English, Pichi, and Lung'Ie. I examine how the study of word-prosodic systems of creoles can contribute to phonological typology and to the debate of whether creoles are different from non-creoles. I hypothesize that such systems are the result of extreme language contact and can only be found in creole languages. The existence of these systems further confirms that sociohistorical processes – such as historic contact – can shape phonological systems. Finally, I conclude that the analysis of African-origin words is crucial to further our understanding of creole phonology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index