Caribbean Language: SocioHistorical Background (L26B)
Nicole Scott
Course Objectives
This course examines the sociohistorical background to language
contact in the Caribbean and explores
explanations for the development of
the modern language situations of the
region. At the end of this course, you
should be able to:
Course Objectives cont’d
Evaluate the relevance of the study of
language contact to the Caribbean
and vice versa;
Discuss the impact of pre- and postColumbian developments in the
Caribbean on the indigenous
languages of the region;
Course Objectives cont’d
Discuss the factors which led to the
emergence of Creole languages in
Caribbean plantation societies and
maroon communities;
Discuss the factors which led to the
(partial) survival of African and Asian
languages in some Caribbean
territories, and their death in others;
Course Objectives cont’d
Discuss the social background to
multilingualism in the Caribbean
today.
Course Evaluation
In-course test: Short answer test (four
questions, 50 minutes), Monday,
March 20, 2006. ... ... ... ... ... (40%)
Final Examination. ... ... ... ... ... (60%)
Other Course Requirements
Attendance of a minimum of 8
seminar sessions, regular attendance
of lectures, and preparation for and
participation in tutorials. You are
expected to report on your reading in
seminars. Additional tasks and
readings will be assigned for
preparation.
Other Course Requirements cont’d
This course involves a good amount
of reading. It is advised that you read
the suggested materials regularly
since it is not wise to leave all your
reading for the end of the course.
Other Course Requirements cont’d
It is strongly recommended that you
read as many of the publications
marked in bold text. Each student will
have to select at least one of the
publications (chapter/article) so
marked to present on during a
seminar, the rest of the class is also
expected to read the material so that
everyone can participate.
Lecture Times and Venue
Mondays 5:00 – 6:00 pm (03)
Wednesdays 5:00 – 6:00 pm (03)
Tutorial Times
There are five tutorial sessions
Monday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Wednesday
4:00 – 5:00 pm
6:00 – 7:00 pm
3:00 – 4:00 pm
4:00 – 5:00 pm
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Tutorials cont’d
The tutorial venues will be posted on
the department’s notice board.
Next Lecture
Language contact and language
history
What are the social contexts of language
contact?
What is the impact of contact on
languages?
How do new languages emerge?
References
Thomason, Sarah G. (2001) Language Contact: An
Introduction. Edinburg: Edinburg UP. [chapter 1, pp.1-10;
chapter 9, pp. 222-238]
Thomason, Sarah & Terrence Kaufman (1988) Language
Contact, Creolization and Genetic Linguistics. Berkley:
University of California Press [chapter 1, pp. 1-12]
Winford, Donald (2003) An Introduction to Contact Linguistics.
Oxford:Blackwell Publishing. [chapter 1, pp. 1-25]
Hale, Mark (2005) Theory and Method: Five Lectures on
Historical Linguistics. Handout made available at LSA 2005.
(contact lecturer).