A comparison with Twi: Substrate features in Nicaraguan, Providence and San Andrés Creole Englishes

Bartens, Angela

doi:10.1075/tsl.95.12bar

In:Creoles, their Substrates, and Language Typology
Edited by Claire Lefebvre
[Typological Studies in Language 95] 2011
► pp. 201–224

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Substrate features in Nicaraguan, Providence and San Andrés Creole Englishes

A comparison with Twi

Angela Bartens

Published online: 17 February 2011

https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.95.12bar

This paper investigates the influence of the substrate as represented by the Kwa language Twi on the English-based creoles spoken on San Andrés and Old Providence (Colombia) and on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. Thirty phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical features were selected for scrutiny. In a number of cases, it was impossible to make a case for exclusive substrate influence and it seems preferable to speak of convergence. However, there are also many language structures for which substrate influence offers the most likely explanation.

Keywords: English-based creoles, lexicosemantics, morphosyntax, Nicaragua, phonology, Providence, San Andrés, substrate influence

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