Article published In: Language Change in Contact Languages: Grammatical and prosodic considerations
Edited by J. Clancy Clements and Shelome Gooden
[Studies in Language 33:2] 2009
► pp. 277–311
The contribution of relexification, grammaticalisation, and reanalysis to creole genesis and development
Published online: 15 May 2009
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.33.2.03lef
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.33.2.03lef
The theory of creole genesis developed in Lefebvre (1998 and related work) is formulated within the framework of the processes otherwise known to play a role in language genesis and language change in general, that is, relexification, grammaticalisation and reanalysis. This paper evaluates the respective contribution of these processes to creole genesis and development. The following issues are taken up. Can functional categories undergo relexification? Is the process at work in creole genesis best characterised as relexification or as transfer? Can there be cases of partial relexification? Are grammaticalisation and reanalysis distinct processes? Is keeping them separate useful in studying creole genesis and development? How are these three processes articulated with respect to each other in creole genesis and development?
Cited by (14)
Cited by 14 other publications
Silva, Carlos & Steven Moran
Ponsonnet, Maïa
Kouwenberg, Silvia & Claire Lefebvre
2015. Chapter 8. A new analysis of the Papiamentu clause structure. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 283 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire
2015. Chapter 2. The nominal structures of Saramaccan, Fongbe and English with reference to Haitian Creole. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 17 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire
2015. Chapter 9. The properties of functional categories in the three creoles. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 317 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire
2015. Chapter 3. Coordinating constructions in Fongbe with reference to Haitian Creole. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 69 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire
2015. Chapter 1. Introduction. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 1 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire
2015. Chapter 10. Conclusion. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 345 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire & Virginie Loranger
2015. Chapter 5. On the properties of Saramaccan fu. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 161 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire & Virginie Loranger
2015. Chapter 4. The multifunctionality of Saramaccan táa. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 109 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire & Isabelle Therrien
2015. Chapter 7. On the properties of Papiamentu pa. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 245 ff.
Lefebvre, Claire & Isabelle Therrien
2015. Chapter 6. The multiple facets of Papiamentu ku. In Functional Categories in Three Atlantic Creoles [Creole Language Library, 50], ► pp. 211 ff.
Liu, Meichun & Ruiliang Xu
[no author supplied]
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