In:Relative Clauses in Languages of the Americas: A typological overview
Edited by Bernard Comrie and Zarina Estrada-Fernández
[Typological Studies in Language 102] 2012
► pp. 27–46
The evolution of language and elaborateness of grammar
The case of relative clauses in creole languages
Bernard Comrie | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and University of California Santa Barbara
Published online: 20 September 2012
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.102.02kut
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.102.02kut
Starting from the assumption that creole languages present an opportunity for testing hypotheses on the evolution of complexity in language, we examine the number of markers used to construct relative clauses, more specifically in relativization on subjects. On the basis of a sample of 52 creole languages, we show that such languages more often than not have simply marked relative clause constructions, encoded by no more than one relativization marker. This typological result stands out as particularly significant if we view it against the background of non-creole languages, for which we have been able to identify cases with up to five relativization markers. Keywords: Relative clause; creole languages; language contact; language evolution
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Prescod, Paula
2025. The nature of relativization and free relatives in Vincentian. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
Bakker, Peter
2017. Key concepts in the history of creole studies. In Creole Studies – Phylogenetic Approaches, ► pp. 5 ff.
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