The Ecology Of Language Evolution (cambridge Approaches To Language Contact)

This page intentionally left blank The Ecology of Language Evolution This major new work explores the development of creoles and other new languages, focusing on the conceptual and methodological issues they raise for genetic linguistics. Written by an internationally renowned linguist, the book discusses the nature and significance of internal and external factors – or “ecologies” – that bear on the evolution of a language. The book surveys a wide range of examples of changes in the structure, function and vitality of languages, and suggests that similar ecologies have played the same kinds of roles in all cases of language evolution. Drawing on major theories of language formation, macroecology and population genetics, Mufwene proposes a common approach to the development of creoles and other new languages. The Ecology of Language Evolution will be welcomed by students and researchers in creolistics, sociolinguistics, theoretical linguistics, and theories of evolution.  .  is Professor and Chair in the Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago. He has written extensively on the development of creoles, genetic linguistics, and language endangerment. He is editor of Africanisms in Afro-American Language Varieties (1993), and co-editor of Topics in African Linguistics (with Lioba Moshi, 1993), and African-American English: Structure, History, and Use (with John R. Rickford, Guy Bailey, and John Baugh, 1998). Cambridge Approaches to Language Contact General editor SALIKOKO S. MUFWENE University of Chicago Editorial board Robert Chaudenson, Université d’Aix-en-Provence Braj Kachru, University of Illinois at Urbana Lesley Milroy, University of Michigan Shana Poplack, University of Ottawa Michael Silverstein, University of Chicago Cambridge Approaches to Language Contact is an interdisciplinary series bringing together work on language contact from a diverse range of research areas. The series focuses on key topics in the study of contact between languages or dialects, including the development of pidgins and creoles, language evolution and change, world Englishes, code-switching and code-mixing, bilingualism and second language acquisition, borrowing, interference, and convergence phenomena. Published titles Salikoko Mufwene, The Ecology of Language Evolution Further titles planned for the series Michael Clyne, The Dynamics of Language Contact Guy Bailey and Patricia Cukor-Avila, The Development of AfricanAmerican English The Ecology of Language Evolution Salikoko S. Mufwene University of Chicago           The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom    The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Salikoko S. Mufwene 2004 First published in printed format 2001 ISBN 0-511-03151-3 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN 0-521-79138-3 hardback ISBN 0-521-79475-7 paperback To the memory of Ntazyel, Ekyey, Osum, Zaki, Sevehna, and Tumunete I am indebted to all of you for courage and determination For Tazie and Embu Together we work for a better world Contents List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2 1 3 10 13 20 The Founder Principle in the development of creoles 25 Introduction The development of creoles: what the histories of individual colonies suggest Evidence for the Founder Principle Conclusions The development of American Englishes: factoring contact in and the social bias out 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 4 1