Seselwa Serialization and its Significance

Hitherto it has been believed that serial verb constructions were not found in the French Creoles of the Indian Ocean. In fact, there exists a wide variety of such constructions in both Morisyen and Seselwa; extensive examples from Seselwa are provided. However, for less basilectal speakers, such constructions must carry on each verb a tense marker which is identical to that on the matrix verb. This fact, together with the misanalysis of Seselwa i as a reprise pronoun, served to disguise the nature of Seselwa serials. The data surveyed has significant consequences for future studies of creoles and for theories of creole origins.