Claire Lefebvre, Creole genesis and the acquisition of grammar: The case of Haitian Creole. (Cambridge studies in linguistics, 88.) Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp. xviii, 461. Hb £45.00, $74.95.

2001 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-138
Author(s):  
Adrienne Bruyn
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
West African ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
Nominal Structure ◽  
Present Book ◽  
Essential Contribution ◽  
The One ◽  
Creole Languages

In the continuing debate on the origins of creole languages, Lefebvre has long taken a strong stance in favor of an essential contribution of the West African substratum to the grammatical makeup of Haitian Creole; thus, she opposes both a universalist account along the lines of Derek Bickerton's bioprogram (e.g. 1984), and Robert Chaudenson's superstratist approach (e.g. 1992). Lefebvre's present book summarizes the main findings of two decades of research by herself and others (such as John Lumsden and Anne-Marie Brousseau) through various projects carried out at the Université du Québec à Montréal. The overall aim of this enterprise has been to test the hypothesis that adult speakers of the substratum languages, in creating a new creole language, use the properties of their native lexicons as well as the parametric values and semantic interpretation rules of their native grammars (9). In order to test this hypothesis, Haitian Creole is compared, on the one hand, with its superstratum or lexifier language, French, and on the other hand, with Fongbe (or Fon, belonging to the Gbe cluster of Kwa languages), as a representative of the substratum. Most of the book consists of the presentation of such three-way comparisons in regard to nominal structure (Chap. 4), the marking of tense, mood, and aspect (Chap. 5), pronouns (Chap. 6), clausal operators and the structure of the clause (Chaps. 7–8), the properties of verbs (Chap. 9), derivational affixes (Chap. 10), compounds (Chap. 11), and parametric options (Chap. 12). In all these areas, striking similarities between Haitian and Fongbe are revealed.

Welfare Reform and Sexual Regulation. By Anna Marie Smith. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 297p. $29.99

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-815
Author(s):  
Kathleen R. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Sexual Regulation ◽  
Poor Women ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
The One ◽  
Biological Fathers

In her book, Anna Marie Smith meticulously analyzes the racial and gendered dimensions of the U.S. welfare state and the ways in which it punishes the unmarried and imposes hetero-normative standards on all types of poor families. Smith's aim is to “expand the disciplinary limits of feminist political theory” (p. 6) by drawing on case law, public policy, and social theory. She exposes highly undemocratic practices directed at poor women and men, as well as what amounts to a eugenic project seeking to limit poor people's reproduction. Significantly, individuals of color are targeted by the state for eugenic control and moral policing. In particular, Smith points out how welfare reform and the implementation of “paternafare”—a program that forces poor women to identify biological fathers so that the state can pursue these “deadbeat dads”—do not help the one group who even conservatives agree are “innocent”—children. Very rarely are any party's circumstances elevated by this system, and most often “payers” are forced into deeper poverty. Furthermore, the state's hetero-normative stance marginalizes lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals (LGBTs) in a legal system in which their rights are already deeply compromised.

America and Political Islam: Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests. By Fawaz A. Gerges. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 282p. $59.95 cloth, $18.95 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-256
Author(s):  
K. A. Beyoghlow
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
The Other ◽  
American People ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Negative Images ◽  
Clash Of Cultures ◽  
The One ◽  
The U.S

The central theme of this book is that U.S. strategy in the Middle East is fundamentally flawed but not irreparable. This may be the result of the inherent mismatch between strategy and policy and, more significantly, between America's prin- ciples and interests. In particular, the author argues that the U.S. approach toward Islam is "beset with ambiguities and tensions" (p. 3). Furthermore, he stresses that there is a somewhat dangerous growing gap between the American people and their representatives in Congress, on the one hand, and presidential administrations, on the other, when it comes to dealing with "islamists" (those who espouse greater religious activism in politics). The former lean toward a confrontational attitude that is fed by cultural differences, stereotyping, and negative images of Muslims, whereas the latter strive to accommodate or tolerate a majority of mod- erate or pro-West Islamic forces and states.

Morphological Processes in Haitian Creole

1989 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Brousseau ◽  
Sandra Filipovich ◽  
Claire Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
West African ◽  
African Language ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Morphological Processes ◽  
Creole Languages ◽  
Selection Of

In this paper we examine the morphology of Haitian with respect to two issues widely discussed in the literature on creoles: 1) the substratum issue, formulated in our view in terms of the role played by relexification in the formation of Haitian Creole; and 2) the widespread assumption that creole languages are morphologically simpler than their lexifier language. These two issues are not unrelated. The morphological simplicity assumption is based on a comparison of creole with European languages that have contributed the bulk of their respective lexicons. In order to discuss the two issues, we will compare the productive morphology of Haitian with that of French (the lexifier language), and Fon, a contributive West African language. The major findings of this paper with respect to the issues addressed here are the following: 1) productive affixes of Haitian Creole pattern in a significant way with the model of contributing West African languages more so than with French; and 2) the presumed morphological simplicity of creoles reduces to the selection of the unmarked option with respect to the position of morphological heads.

AN INTRODUCTION TO PIDGINS AND CREOLES. John Holm. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. xxi + 282. $69.95 cloth, $24.95 paper.

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-166
Author(s):  
J. Clancy Clements
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Creole English ◽  
Jamaican Creole

Although the primary focus of this introduction is the Atlantic pidgins and creoles, it contains considerable information on many other pidgins and creoles as well. Chapter 1 includes the definitions of terms, which are clear and concise with the exception of the notions of semi-creole and creoloid, which are somewhat vague, and the notion of interlanguage, which is not necessarily characterizable as unstable, especially if it fossilizes. Chapter 2 largely mirrors its comprehensive counterpart, Holm (1988). New in this volume is the mention of the earliest known attestation of a creole language (Martinique creole in 1671), the shortening, partial rewriting, or both of the monogenesis sections, and the identification of other trends. Chapter 3 succinctly underscores the importance of social factors in the creation and characterization of pidgins and creoles, without which, according to Holm, they cannot be defined. It also includes sociohistorical synopses of seven languages (i.e., Angolar Creole Portuguese, Papiamentu Creole Spanish, Negerhollands Creole Dutch, Haitian Creole French, Jamaican Creole English, Tok Pisin, and Nubi Creole Arabic).

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