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Orphan categories in bilingual discourse: Adjectivization strategies in Wolof-French and Fongbe-French

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Marjory Meechan  and
Shana Poplack
Marjory Meechan
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
Shana Poplack
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
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Abstract

When one language has a grammatical category that is rare or lacking in another, this “orphan” category may constrain the types of structures employed when the two languages are combined in bilingual discourse. We systematically examine the effect of categorial nonequivalence on language mixture in two corpora of spontaneous bilingual speech—Wolof—French and Fongbe—French—exhibiting different typological contrasts in adjectival modification structures. Focusing on lone French-origin items in otherwise Wolof or Fongbe discourse, the most frequent, if the most contentious, type of intrasentential language mixture, our method reveals that superficially identical items pattern in markedly different ways in each corpus. In Wolof, their patterns are consistent with Wolof adjectival elements (i.e., verbs), revealing them to be loanwords, while in Fongbe, they pattern with code-switches. We show that this difference is linked to the degree of categorial mismatch in the languages involved. Where categorial equivalence exists (Fongbe-French), code-switches involving French adjectives may occur, as long as structural equivalence between the two languages is maintained at the switch site. Where categorial equivalence is lacking (Wolof–French), code-switching is inhibited, and language mixture is effected via borrowing. This illustrates how, at code-switch sites, both structural and categorial equivalence are maintained.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , July 1995 , pp. 169 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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