Grounding via tense–aspect in Tobagonian Creole: discourse strategies across a creole continuum (original) (raw)
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2011
The use of the preterit (Pret) and present perfect (PP) have been of great interest in variationist studies because these exhibit a great deal of variation across Spanish dialects (Hernandez, 2006, 2008; Howe, & Schwenter, 2008; Rojas Sosa, 2008; Sessarego, 2008; Schwenter & Torres-Cacoullos, 2008). Some studies state that the grammaticalization of the PP is a universal process (Schwenter & Torres-Cacoullos, 2008). However, Caribbean dialects are not included in these descriptions. This paper investigates the Pret and the PP in Dominican and Puerto Rican Spanish, with the purpose of providing empirical data on the use of both tenses. To meet this objective, we recorded seventeen (17) participants (six Puerto Rican, six Dominicans, and five Dominicans living in Puerto Rico). We coded each token for the Pret and PP, and analyzed the data using Valbrul. This research has found that the Pret is the default past tense marker in the Caribbean dialect. We also found that the PP is limited ...
Tense, Aspect and Modality in a Radical Creole: the case of Saamáka (Ph.D dissertation)
2011
This dissertation aims to provide an empirically driven and theoretically informed study of the tense, aspect and modality system of Saamáka (or Saramaccan), an English/Portuguese based creole spoken along the Suriname River, Suriname. The ambition of this dissertation is three-fold; First, to explore the semantic interpretations and syntactic distribution of each individual (core) tense, aspect and modality morpheme. Second, to establish the hierarchy of functional projections in the IP domain. Third, to validate whether Saamáka conforms to the universal hierarchy of functional projections as proposed by Cinque (1999, 2001). These goals are intertwined such that in order to validate the universal hierarchy of functional heads, it is necessary to investigate the semantic and syntactic characteristics of each individual tense, aspect and modality morpheme. Once it has been determined what the characteristics of a certain functional item are, it is possible to establish the overt manifestation of clausal functional heads of the language which can be compared to Cinque's universal sequence. A strong semantic and syntactic study of the IP domain of Saamáka not only contributes to the description of an underrepresented language and therefore to the understanding of language structure in general, but also makes a comparison with other languages more accessible. Such a comparison is relevant for the field of linguistics in general in that it will be informative regarding possible language structures which will contribute to the universal grammar debate and it is also relevant for the field of Creole Studies in that a comparison with other creole languages and/or substrate languages contributes to the creole genesis debate.
2012
This thesis deals with the verbal markers of tense, mood and aspect (TMA) in Cape Verdean Creole (CVC), focussing on the influence of context and time adverbials in determining the markers' meaning. It is based on a corpus recorded in Fazenda, a small fishing community in the Tarrafal district of Santiago Island (cf. Appendix). CVC verbal markers have often been described in the literature but the present work shows that context, adverbials of time and intonation must also be considered to determine the verbal marker's semantics. Chapter One outlines the role of Santiago Island in the genesis of CVC and presents the structure and methodology of this thesis. Chapter Two offers a review of the literature on TMA markers in CVC. These previous studies are discussed in chronological order and some new insights are offered. Chapter Three presents an analysis of the meaning of CVC verbs when they are unmarked, showing that stativity is crucially relevant and that many verbs can be stative in one context and non-stative in others. Thus, CVC verbs fall into three groups according to whether their unmarked form indicates present, past or both. Chapter Four presents the range of the functions of the marker ta with particular focus on its role in indicating habitual aspect. Chapter Five examines the following CVC progressive markers: (i) the markers sta ta and sta na focussing on the importance of the particles ta and na; (ii) the inland markers sata and ata; and (iii) the occurrence of ta in certain contexts with perception verbs indicating progressivity. Chapter Six offers a semantic and syntactic analysis of-ba (a suffixed anterior marker), dja (which can also be an adverb) and the least described verbal marker, al. Chapter Seven presents an exhaustive inventory of combination patterns involving all the markers referred to above, showing that there are strict rules concerning the markers' position within verb phrase. Finally, Chapter Eight presents the main accomplishments of this thesis and suggests further research needed to help us better understand the CVC verb system, one of the most complex aspects of the language.
The Zero-Marked Verb: Testing the Creole Hypothesis
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 1993
This paper examines the past temporal reference system in two data sets representing "early" Black English: Samana and the Ex-slave Recordings, with a view to discovering the structure underlying variable use of overt verbal morphology. Extrapolating from proposals in the literature on the behavior of past temporal reference structures in known creoles, as well as in black and white vernaculars, we propose and test an analytical model based on quantitative methodology and making use of the stepwise selec tion procedure incorporated in a variable rule analysis. Competing hypoth eses were operationalized as factors in the analysis and systematically tested on the same data set.
The Acquisition of Tense, Modal and Aspect markers in Jamaican Creole
This work offers an analysis of the development of Tense, Modal and Aspect (TMA) markers as observed in the spontaneous speech of 6 children acquiring Jamaican Creole (JC). In JC, TMA markers overtly show a rich functional hierarchy, which is generally found across creole languages, and is arguably universal. The analyses detail how this functional structure is acquired, revealing that children are knowledgeable of the rules governing TMA combinations and do not entertain target-inconsistent orders. This suggests that children are aware of the articulate cartographic hierarchy as attested in the target language. Additionally, we note that the distribution of the markers in child production is skewed in the same direction as in the input data; however, differences between children's productions as compared to their linguistic environment provide evidence that input alone cannot account for the development of TMA markers in child production.