Relexification: A Reevaluation  

Oleh:

DeGraff, Michel

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Anthropological Linguistics (ada di JSTOR) vol. 44 no. 4 (Mar. 2002), page 321-414.
Fulltext: Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 321-414.pdf (12.43MB)

Isi artikel

According to one version of the Relexification Hypothesis, creole genesis is an instance of incomplete second-language acquisition whereby substrate speakers systematically fail to acquire the structural properties of their distant target, the superstrate (lexifier) language. The output of relexifica- tion is an "early creole" with substrate-derived grammar and with superstrate- derived phonetic strings. To date, the most thoroughly argued technical imple- mentation of this version of the Reflexification Hypothesis is the study of Haitian Creole by Claire Lefebvre. In this article, I examine and refute the empirical-comparative, theoretical, and sociohistorical bases of the Reflexifica- tion Hypothesis as implemented by Lefebvre and colleagues. Firstly, the basic assumptions and predictions of the Reflexification Hypothesis are inconsistent with well-documented details about the sociohistorical and linguistic profiles of Haitian Creole. Secondly, a systematic comparison of the morphosyntax of Haitian Creole with that of the languages which were in contact during its formation suggests a diachronic scenario that is fundamentally distinct from that envisaged in the Reflexification Hypothesis. Lastly, the foundational prin- ciples and central claims of the Reflexification Hypothesis are mutually incon- sistent, inconsistent with our current knowledge about language acquisition, or inconsistent with the Principles-and-Parameters framework in which Lefebvre couches her analyses. I conclude by sketching an alternative scenario for the diachrony of Haitian Creole that is compatible with the sociohistorical and lin- guistic details of the language and with basic results in language-acquisition research.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali