Book contents
- The Evolution, Acquisition, and Development of Syntax
- The Evolution, Acquisition, and Development of Syntax
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Evolution of Syntax
- Part II The Acquisition of Syntax
- Part III The Development of Syntax
- 11 A Matter of Degree: All Languages are Mixed
- 12 Negative Concord in Creole Languages: Commonality and Variation in the Perspective of Bickerton’s Legacy
- 13 Contrasting the NPs of Indian Ocean French Creoles
- 14 The Nature and Development of the “Quacking Duck”
- 15 Beyond Creole: Reflexive Constructions in Cape Verdean Portuguese
- 16 Decreolization: A Special Case of Language Change?
- Index
- References
11 - A Matter of Degree: All Languages are Mixed
from Part III - The Development of Syntax
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 February 2025
Book contents
- The Evolution, Acquisition, and Development of Syntax
- The Evolution, Acquisition, and Development of Syntax
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Evolution of Syntax
- Part II The Acquisition of Syntax
- Part III The Development of Syntax
- 11 A Matter of Degree: All Languages are Mixed
- 12 Negative Concord in Creole Languages: Commonality and Variation in the Perspective of Bickerton’s Legacy
- 13 Contrasting the NPs of Indian Ocean French Creoles
- 14 The Nature and Development of the “Quacking Duck”
- 15 Beyond Creole: Reflexive Constructions in Cape Verdean Portuguese
- 16 Decreolization: A Special Case of Language Change?
- Index
- References
Summary
Baptista and Sedlacek’s chapter takes Bickerton’s view that admixture is one of the chief characteristics of Creole languages (Bickerton 2008) as a starting point. The objective of their chapter is to bring to light the tight connections between the congruent forms observed across Creole languages (Faraclas et al. 2014; Faraclas 2012; Baptista 2006, 2009, 2020) which have been argued to result from speakers’ perception of similarities between the languages in contact and Weinreich’s notion of interlingual identification. A close review of interlingual identification (as it was laid out in Weinreich 1953) and how the concept has been applied and experimentally tested in situations of both bilingualism (Flege 1991) and multilingualism (Kresić and Gulan 2012) attest to how speakers use their native language as the mold through which they shape differently their interpretation of the same linguistic element in another language. As a result, the chapter argues that interlingual identification is ground zero for language mixing and language change.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Evolution, Acquisition and Development of SyntaxInsights from Creole Languages and Beyond, pp. 193 - 208Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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