Review of Valdman & Iskrova (2007): Haitian Creole-English Bilingual Dictionary

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-268
Author(s):  
Bonnie B. Fonseca-Greber
2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN HEBBLETHWAITE

The findings for adverbs and adverbial phrases in a naturalistic corpus of Miami Haitian Creole–English code-switching show that one language, Haitian Creole, asymmetrically supplies the grammatical frame while the other language, English, asymmetrically supplies mixed lexical categories like adverbs. Traces of code-switching with an English frame and Haitian Creole lexical categories suggest that code-switching is abstractly BIDIRECTIONAL. A quantitative methodology that codes the language-indexation of the token in addition to the surrounding lexical items was used for all mixed (e.g. xYx/yXy, xYy/yXx, yYx/xXy) and unmixed (xXx/yYy) adverbs. Discourse position, especially the left-periphery, is found to be a significant factor in adverb code-switching. Sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic analyses which acknowledge the ‘low’ status of one language and the ‘high’ status of the other explain better the frequency of mixed English adverbs in a Haitian Creole frame and the rarity of mixed Haitian Creole adverbs in an English frame than a minimalist approach, such as MacSwan's (1999 and subsequent work), which uses phi-feature valuation and entails asymmetry without bidirectionality. While I provide confirmation for Myers-Scotton's (1993) Matrix Language Frame approach, I emphasize that trace bidirectional data need to be accounted for by a theory that is grounded in the sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic realities.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-166
Author(s):  
J. Clancy Clements

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).


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document