Introduction. Classes grammaticales et créolisation : la syntaxe des langues créoles

Abstract

Daniel Veronique: Grammatical categories and creolization : creole language syntax Creoles and Pidgins, a source of controversy in linguistic theory, share some properties and, often, analogous sociohistorical circumstances, which, however, do not suffice to assert the existence of a distinct linguistic category. Theories of creole genesis vary in the importance they bestow upon pidginization, creolization, language contact and linguistic creativity. Universalist theories emphasize the role of the bioprogram or of Universal Grammar while other theories insist on the part played by the substratum, the lexifier language or the language acquisition process. The issue of grammatical categories is crucial to various theories of creole genesis, for instance those which favour the substratum or the lexifier. The present issue is devoted to grammatical categories in French Creoles through an analysis of pronouns and adjectives in these languages.