Everything about Syntactic Similarities Of Creoles totally explained
The
grammars of creole languages often, though not universally, share a number of structural features, despite the fact that a number of these creole languages don't share a superstrate language, substrate languages, or contact.
Structural similarities in syntax of creoles
Note these features are common in creoles, but don't necessarily apply to a given creole language in particular.
- Sentence structure: Subject Verb Object word order, with similar mechanisms for using word order to apply focus to one of these constituents.
- Articles: definite article applied to specific and identified noun phrase, indefinite article applied to specific and newly-asserted noun phrase, and zero for nonspecific noun phrase.
- TMA (Tense-Modality-Aspect) verb systems.
- distinction of realized and unrealized complements
- relativization and subject-copying
- negation
- existential and possessive
- copula
- adjectives as verbs
- questions
- question words
- passive equivalents
TMA verb system
The verb
conjugation is typically close to an ideal
Tense-
Modality-
Aspect pattern. In this system, the absence or presence of auxiliary
verbs indicate tense (concurrent or anterior), modality (realis or irrealis) and aspect (punctual or progressive), and when present these auxiliaries occur in that order, and typically are based on similar meaning words in the pidgin or superstrate language. Thus anterior tense may be marked by words such as
bin in
English creoles (from
been), or
té in French creoles (from
été), a future or subjunctive tense may be marked by
go (from English
go) or
al (from French
aller), and a non-punctual (non-stative) aspect by a word such as
stei (from English
stay).
Comparison of Creole Grammar>
| Verb Form |
Nonstative |
Stative |
| | Hawaiian Creole |
Haitian Creole |
Sranan |
Hawaiian Creole |
Haitian Creole |
Sranan
|
| Base Form (he walked; he loves) | he walk |
Li Maché |
a waka |
he love |
li rêmê |
a lobi
|
| Anterior (He had walked; he loved) | he bin walk |
li té maché |
a ben waka |
he bin love |
li té rêmê |
a ben lobi
|
| Irreal (He will/would walk;he will/would love) | he go walk |
l'av(a) maché |
a sa waka |
he go love |
l'av(a) rêmê |
a sa lobi
|
| Nonpunctual (he is/was walking) | he stay walk |
l’ap maché |
a e waka |
|
|
|
| Anterior + Irreal (he would have walked/loved) | he bin go walk |
li t'av(a) maché |
a ben sa waka |
he bin go love |
li t'av(a) rêmê |
a ben sa lobi
|
| Anterior+Nonpunctual (he was/had been walking) | he bin stay walk |
li t’ap maché |
a ben e waka |
|
|
|
| Irreal + Nonpunctual (he will/would be walking) | he go stay walk |
l’av ap maché |
a sa e waka |
|
|
|
| Anterior + Irreal + Nonpunctual (he would have been walking) | he bin go stay walk |
li t’av ap maché |
a ben sa e waka |
|
|
|
The above table demonstrates syntactic similarities of creole languages. Stative verbs are those that can't form the
nonpunctual aspect. According to Bickerton, all observed creole languages strictly follow a structure that has the anterior particle precede the irreal particle, and the irreal particle precede the nonpunctual particle, although in certain languages some compounded forms may be replaced by other constructions.
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