This course focuses on the morpho-syntactic properties of creole languages in two primary grammatical domains: noun phrases and tense/mood/aspect markers. We address the recurring controversy in the field that creoles form a type (see more recently Bakker et al. 2012) but also examine the ‘diversity’ of their linguistic properties and how such properties emerge from the contributing source languages. In so doing, we study the processes of convergence, relexification and grammaticalization and will contrast, regarding the latter point, general theories of grammaticalization (Lehmann, 2002; Hopper & Traugott, 2003; Fischer, 2007) with their generative (Van Gelderen, 2004) and usage-based (Tomasello, 2005; Boyer & Harder, 2012) counterparts. Comparing these approaches will allow us to gauge how each framework accounts for specific aspects of creole grammars and assess their contribution to our understanding of how creole languages develop. This close examination will also put us in a better position to contribute in an informed way to the debate of whether one can really argue for a typology of creole features.
LING 111 and LING 315 are strongly recommended as prerequisites but not required