Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T14:25:26.034Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘Me Tarzan, you Jane!’ Adequacy, expressiveness, and the creole speaker1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

John R. Rickford
John R. Rickford
Affiliation:
Stanford University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Although linguists like to claim that all human languages are equal in a general sense, differing from systems of animal communication in possessing ‘design features’ like arbitrariness and productivity (Hockett, 1958), they sometimes join non-linguists in expressing the view that some languages are inadequate with respect to the cognitive or expressive resources which they offer their speakers. In the Middle Ages, this charge was commonly levelled against the European vernaculars, and it was sometime before Spanish and Italian were recognized as having autonomous grammatical and lexical resources comparable in regularity and power to classical Greek and Latin (Scaglione, 1984). By the middle of the twentieth century, following on the descriptive work of Boas, Sapir and others, the notion that the languages of ‘primitive’ peoples were fundamentally inadequate had also been eroded, at least in linguistics, anthropology, and other academic circles (Kay & Kempton, 1984:65). Yet, as Hall (1966:106) notes, there is still one group of languages which constitutes the ‘last refuge’ of the concept of inadequate grammatical or lexical resources: pidgins and creoles.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , September 1986 , pp. 281 - 310
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allsopp, R. (1980). How does the creole lexicon expand? In Valdman, A. & Highfield, A. (eds) Theoretical orientations in creole studies. New York: Academic Press. 89–107.Google Scholar
Allwood, J., Anderson, L.-G. & Dahl, Ö. (1977). Logic in linguistics. Cambridge: CUP.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Au, T. K-F. (1983). Chinese and English counterfactuals: the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis revisited. Cognition 15, 155–187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bickerton, D. (1973). On the nature of a creole continuum. Lg 49. 640–669.Google Scholar
Bickerton, D. (1981). Roots of language. Ann Arbor: Karoma.Google Scholar
Brennan, P. W. (1983). Issues of language and law in Papua New Guinea. Language Planning Newsletter 9. 1–7.Google Scholar
Broderick, S. M. (1977). The TORI: structure, aesthetics and time in Krio oral narrative-performance. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Brown, R. (1976). Reference: in memorial tribute to Eric Lennenberg. Cognition 4. 125–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chafe, W. (1982). Integration and involvement in speaking, writing and oral literature. In Tannen, D. (ed.), Spoken and written language: exploring orality and literacy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. 35–53.Google Scholar
Corder, S. P. (1981). Formal simplicity and functional simplification in second language acquisition. In Andersen, R. (ed.), New dimensions in second language acquisition research. Rowley, MA.Newbury House. 146–152.Google Scholar
DeCamp, D. (1971). Introduction: the study of pidgin and creole languages. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 13–39.Google Scholar
Decker, T. (1965). Julius Caesar in Krio. Sierra Leone Language Review. 4. 64–78.Google Scholar
Dutton, T. (1983). Birds of a feather: a pair of rare pidgins from the Gulf of Papua. In Woolford, E. & Washabaugh, W. (eds), The social context of creolization. Ann Arbor: Karoma. 77–105.Google Scholar
Ferguson, C. A. (1959). Diglossia. Word 15. 325–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, C. A. (1968). Language development. In Fishman, J., Ferguson, C. A. & Gupta, J. D. (eds), Language problems of developing nations. New York: John Wiley. 27–35.Google Scholar
Gray, B. (1971). Repetition in oral literature. Journal of American Folklore 84(333). 289–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gumperz, J. J. (1983). The sociolinguistics of interpersonal communication. In Gumperz, J. J. (ed.), Discourse strategies. Cambridge: CUP. 9–38.Google Scholar
Hall, R. A. Jr. (1966). Pidgin and creole languages. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Hancock, I. F. (1980). Lexical expansion in creole languages. In Valdman, A. & Highfield, A. (eds) Theoretical orientations in creole studies. New York: Academic Press. 63–88.Google Scholar
Haugen, E. (1962). Schizoglossia and the linguistic norm. Monograph series on languages and linguistics, 15. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. 63–73.Google Scholar
Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words. Cambridge: CUP.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hockett, C. F. (1958). A course in modern linguistics. New York: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hudson, R. (1981). Some issues on which linguists can agree. JL 17. 333–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hudson, R. (1983). Linguistic equality. CLIE (Committee for Linguistics in Education) Working Paper 1. 1–7.Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1964). Introduction to part III: world view and grammatical categories. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Language in culture and society. New York: Harper & Row. 115–120.Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1971a). Preface. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 3–11.Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1971b). Introduction to part III: general conceptions of process. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 65–90.Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1972). Models of the interaction of language and social life. In Gumperz, J. J. & Hymes, D. (eds), Directions in sociolinguistics. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 35–71.Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1973). Speech and language: on the origins and foundations of inequality among speakers. In Haugen, E. & Bloomfield, M. (eds), Language as a human problem. New York: Norton. 45–72.Google Scholar
Hymes, D. (1982). The language of myth. Presidential address, Linguistic Society of America winter meeting, San Diego, Ca.Google Scholar
James, L. (1968). Introduction. In James, L. (ed.), The islands in between: essays on West Indian literature. London: Oxford University Press. 1–49.Google Scholar
Jourdain, E. (1956). Du Français aux parlers créoles. Paris: Librairie C. Klincksieck.Google Scholar
Katz, J. J. (1971). Semantic theory. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Kay, P. & Kempton, W. (1984). What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis? American Anthropologist 86. 65–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, P. & Sankoff, G. (1974). A language-universals approach to pidgins and creoles. In De Camp, D. & Hancock, I. F. (eds), Pidgins and creoles: current trends and prospects. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. 61–72.Google Scholar
Keenan, E. L. (1975). ‘Logical expressive power and syntactic variation in natural language. In Keenan, E. L. (ed.), Formal semantics of natural languages. Cambridge: CUP. 406–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labov, W. (1969). The logic of non-standard English. In Alatis, J. E. (ed.), Monograph series on languages and linguistics 22. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. 1–43.Google Scholar
Labov, W. (1971). The adequacy of natural languages, 1. The development of tense. Manuscript.Google Scholar
Labov, W. (1972). Some principles of linguistic methodology. Language in Society 1. 97–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macaulay, R. K. S. (1980). The rise and fall of the vernacular. Manuscript.Google Scholar
Macaulay, R. K. S. (1986). The narrative skills of a Scottish coal miner. In Görlach, M. (ed.), Focus on Scotland. (Varieties of English Around the World, General Series.) Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Mülhäusler, P. (1979). Remarks on the pidgin and creole situation in Australia. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies Newsletter (new series). 12. 41–53.Google Scholar
Mülhäusler, P. (1980). Structural expansion and the process of creolization. In Valdman, A. & Highfield, A. (eds), Theoretical orientations in creole studies. New York: Academic Press. 19–55.Google Scholar
Mülhäusler, P. (1982). Language and communicational efficiency: the case of Tok Pisin. Language and Communication 1. 105–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, J. J. (1943). The book of pidgin English (Neo-Melanesian). Queensland, Australia: Fortitude Press.Google Scholar
Naro, A. J. (1978). A study on the origins of pidginization. Lg 54. 314–347.Google Scholar
Patterson, O. (1967). The sociology of slavery. London: Me Gibbon & Kee.Google Scholar
Ray, P. S. (1963). Language standardization. Janua Linguarum, Series Minor, nr. xxix. Mouton: The Hague.Google Scholar
Reinecke, J. E. (1971). Tày Bôi: notes on the Pidgin French spoken in Vietnam. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 47–56.Google Scholar
Rickford, J. R. (1980). How does DOZ disappear? In Day, R. R. (ed.), Issues in English creoles. Heidelberg: Julius Groos Verlag. 77–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rickford, J. R. (1981). A variable rule for a creole continuum. In Sankoff, D. & Cedergren, H. (eds), Variation omnibus. Edmonton, Alberta: Linguistic Research, Inc. 201–208.Google Scholar
Rickford, J. R. (To appear). Dimensions of a creole continuum. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Rickford, J. R. & Closs Traugott, E. T. (1985). Symbol of powerlessness and degeneracy, or symbol of solidarity and truth? Paradoxical attitudes toward pidgins and creoles. In Greenbaum, S. (ed.), The English language today: public attitudes toward the English language. Oxford: Pergamon. 252–261.Google Scholar
Robson, B. (1975). Pidgins and creoles as natural languages. Paper presented at the International Conference on Pidgins and Creoles, Honolulu, Hawaii.Google Scholar
Romaine, S. 1984. The language of children and adolescents. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Roy, A. (1960). La grammaire. Cahiers de l'Académie canadienne-française. 5. 107–120.Google Scholar
Samarin, W. J. (1971). Salient and substantive pidginization. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 117–40.Google Scholar
Samarin, W. J. (1980). Standardization and instrumentalization of creole languages. In Valdman, A. & Highfield, A. (eds), Theoretical orientations in creole studies. New York: Academic Press. 213–136.Google Scholar
Sankoff, G. & Brown, P. (1976). The origins of syntax in discourse: a case study of Tok Pisin relatives. Lg 52. 631–666.Google Scholar
Sankoff, G. & Laberge, S. (1974). On the acquisition of native speakers by a language. In De Camp, D. & Hancock, I. F. (eds), Pidgins and creoles: current trends and prospects. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. 73–84.Google Scholar
Sapir, E. & Swadesh, M. (1946). American Indian grammatical categories. Word 2. 103–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scaglione, A. (ed.) (1984). The emergence of national languages. (Speculum Artium 11.) Ravenna, Italy: Longo Edittore.Google Scholar
Schaff, A. (1973). Language and cognition. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Scribner, S. & Cole, M. (1981). The psychology of literacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selvon, S. (1952). A brighter sun. London: Wingate.Google Scholar
Singler, J. V. (1983). Review article on The psychology of literacy by Scribner S. & Cole, M. Lg 59. 893–901.Google Scholar
Slobin, D. I. (1978). Language change in childhood and history. In Macnamara, J. (ed.), Language learning and thought. New York: Academic Press. 185–214.Google Scholar
Slobin, D. I. (1979). Psycholinguistics. 2nd edition. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman.Google Scholar
Stewart, W. (1974). Acculturative processes and the language of the American negro. In Gage, W. W. (ed.), Language in its social setting. Washington, D.C.: The Anthropological Society of Washington. 1–46.Google Scholar
Strehlow, T. H. H. (1947). Aranda traditions. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.Google Scholar
Tannen, D. (1982). The oral/literate continuum in discourse. In Tannen, D. (ed.), Spoken and written language: exploring orality and literacy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. 1–16.Google Scholar
Thomason, S. G. (1982). Chinook Jargon in areal and historical context. Lg 59. 820–870.Google Scholar
Todd, L. (1974). Pidgins and creoles. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Traugott, E. C. (1976). Pidgins, creoles, and the origins of Vernacular Black English. In Harrison, D. S. & Trabasso, T. (eds), Black English: a seminar. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 57–93.Google Scholar
Traugott, E. C. (1977). Natural semantax: its role in the study of second language acquisition. In Corder, S. P. & Roulet, E. (eds) The notions of simplification, interlanguages and pidgins and their relation to second language pedagogy. 132–162. Geneva: Droz and U. of Neuchâtel.Google Scholar
Voorhoeve, J. (1971). The art of reading creole poetry. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 323–326.Google Scholar
Whinnom, K. (1971). Linguistic hybridization and the ‘special case’ of pidgins and creoles. In Hymes, D. (ed.), Pidginization and creolization of languages. Cambridge: CUP. 91–116.Google Scholar
Winford, D. (1980). The creole situation in the context of sociolinguistic studies. In Day, R. R. (ed.), Issues in English creoles. Heidelberg: Julius Gross. 51–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfson, N. (1976). Speech events and natural speech: some implications for sociolinguistic methodology. Language in Society 5. 189–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wurm, S. A. (1980). Standardization and instrumentalization in Tok Pisin. In Valdman, A. & Highfield, A. (eds), Theoretical orientations in creole studies. New York: Academic Press. 237–244.Google Scholar