Event

Title: Reevaluating the Pidgin-Creole Life-Cycle Through Morphological Case Studies

Abstract: The traditional pidgin-creole life-cycle theory, which suggests a linear and evolutionary path from pidginization to creolization, has long been a mainstay in linguistic thought. However, Creolistics has significantly challenged this model, revealing complexities that traditional frameworks fail to accommodate. With deeper insights into the socio-historical contexts of creole communities, advances in understanding cognitive processes, and new perspectives on language change, the pidgin-creole life-cycle appears increasingly unsustainable. In this talk, I present several case studies focusing on creole morphology, an area commonly mischaracterized as "simplified." These examples demonstrate that morphological processes in creoles are far from reductive; rather, they illustrate dynamic, adaptive, and discriminative learning mechanisms. Through these processes, creoles exhibit a continuity with their donor languages, highlighting a more intricate picture of language development and adaptation.