Abstract
This chapter brings together the findings of the dual historical and linguistic study of French Guianese Creole’s origins. It concludes that the strong presence of Ewe and related languages is shown in the historical and linguistic record. This presence, as well as the absence of Bantu -speakers, may well explain differences between the creoles of French Guiana and Martinique. The chapter also finds that focusing on the experience of language users shows that creole languages are born from inheritance and innovation through the mechanism of language transfer.
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Reference
Michaelis, Susanne, Philippe Maurer, Martin Haspelmath, and Magnus Huber (eds.). 2013. The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Jennings, W., Pfänder, S. (2018). Conclusion. In: Inheritance and Innovation in a Colonial Language. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61952-1_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61952-1_4
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61952-1
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