Language Contact and Convergence in East Timor:The Case of Tetun Dili

Abstract

Abstract Tetun Dili (TD), an Austronesian language, is East Timor’s main lingua franca and the Wrst language of Dili, the nation’s capital.1 It has been heavily influenced by Portuguese (and to a lesser degree in the past by Malay). There has been since 1999 a resurgence in contact with Portuguese. Yet much remains to be understood about TD, in particular its origins, the extent to which its grammar has been influenced by other local languages, and the extent to which it has in turn influenced them. Tetun Dili is sometimes referred to as a creole (e.g. Ethnologue 351), or a pidgin (e.g. Hage`ge 2002), and for many the assumption is that it first developed as a result of contact with Portuguese. Closer inspection does not support such a position. Contact with Portuguese, albeit substantial, seems to be relatively recent, some time after the rise of Tetum as a lingua franca. Instead, comparison of TD with more conservative varieties of Tetum, as well as with neighbouring languages, in particular Mambae, shows evidence of marked areal influence. To address the issue of the competing sources of contact and the differences in their patterns of impact on TD, the focus of this chapter is on the following