Surviving the Middle Passage: The West Africa-Surinam Sprachbund

ISBN-13: 9783110555424 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 544 str.

Robert Borges;Pieter C. Muysken;Norval Smith

Opis

The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. The series considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language.

The relation between the Surinam Creoles and the languages of West Africa, where slaves who created the creoles originated, has been hotly debated. This book argues that the close relationship can be viewed in terms of a Trans Atlantic Sprachbund. It brings in new historical and linguistic evidence for an extremely close relationship between the creoles, the Gbe languages, and Kikongo, where bilingual practices led to new language forms.

O autorze

Pieter Muysken, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Norval Smith, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.