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Dutch, Swedish, and English Elements in the Development of Pidgin Delaware
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2008
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This paper investigates the influence of Dutch, Swedish, and English on the syntax of Pidgin Delaware, a contact language used in the Middle Atlantic region in the seventeenth century. Arguments are presented against Thomason's (1980) view that the pidgin predated European contact; instead, the structures of the pidgin are viewed from the perspective of Dutch speakers attempting to learn the Delaware language. The theoretical framework of Van Coetsem 1988 is used to explain which Algonquian features were successfully acquired by the Dutch and where the Dutch imposed features from their native language in the early, formational stage of the pidgin. In addition, subsequent changes in Pidgin Delaware are attributed to its use by Swedish and English speakers.
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- Copyright © Society for Germanic Linguistics 1999
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