A comparison of the nominal structures of Saramaccan, Fongbe and English with reference to Haitian Creole: Implications for a relabelling-based account of creole genesis

Abstract

This paper proposes a comparison of the properties of the definite determiners of Fongbe and Saramaccan. The definite determiners per se, the category Number, the demonstrative terms and the possessive phrases are discussed in turn. It is shown that, except for word order, the detailed properties of the definite determiners that participate in the nominal structure of Saramaccan parallel in a remarkable way those that participate in the nominal structure of Fongbe. Early Saramaccan data from Wietz (1805) are also presented showing that the synchronic properties of the definite determiners of Saramaccan were already established in the early creole. Considering the discrepancy in word order between Saramaccan and Fongbe, as well as the similarity in word order between Saramaccan and English, a revised account of how word order is established in creole genesis is proposed.