The Emergence of Hybrid Grammars

Language Contact and Change

Inbunden, Engelska, 2015

Av Enoch Oladé Aboh, Enoch Oladé Aboh, Enoch Olade (Universiteit van Amsterdam) Aboh, Enoch Oladé

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Children are extremely gifted in acquiring their native languages, but languages nevertheless change over time. Why does this paradox exist? In this study of creole languages, Enoch Oladé Aboh addresses this question, arguing that language acquisition requires contact between different linguistic sub-systems that feed into the hybrid grammars that learners develop. There is no qualitative difference between a child learning their language in a multilingual environment and a child raised in a monolingual environment. In both situations, children learn to master multiple linguistic sub-systems that are in contact and may be combined to produce new variants. These new variants are part of the inputs for subsequent learners. Contributing to the debate on language acquisition and change, Aboh shows that language learning is always imperfect: learners' motivation is not to replicate the target language faithfully but to develop a system close enough to the target that guarantees successful communication and group membership.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2015-08-27
Mått160 x 237 x 28 mm
Vikt670 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieCambridge Approaches to Language Contact
Antal sidor366
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9780521769983

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Foreword Salikoko S. Mufwene; 1. Introduction; 2. The agents of creole formation: geopolitics and cultural aspects of the Slave Coast; 3. The emergence of creoles: a review of some current hypotheses; 4. Competition and selection; 5. The role of vulnerable interfaces in language change: the case of the D-system; 6. The emergence of the clause left periphery; 7. The emergence of serial verb constructions; 8. Conclusions: some final remarks on hybrid grammars, the creole prototype, and language acquisition and change.

'Enoch Oladé Aboh's book is a tour de force as it weaves together painstakingly documented history, novel and reliable empirical bases and elegant theoretical analyses in order to draw a fascinating and often profoundly satisfying scenario of creole formation. Such a scenario will enliven and enlighten current debates in creole studies. Aboh raises the bar by many notches - way above the quality level of most other hypotheses on the market. This book is a delight as it takes us up close and personal to the theater of creole formation, from Africa to the Americas … original and insightful … This book is a refreshing contribution to creole studies and beyond, with many enriching insights for linguistic theory and for theories of language contact and language change writ large. Bravo!' Michel DeGraff, Massachusetts Institute of Technology