This paper compares the conceptualisation and expression of topological relations in Surinamese creoles with that of Gbe languages (which were part of the substrate) and English (the superstrate). It investigates the components of the Basic Locative Construction (BLC), i.e. the most neutral construction that is used to code topology, and the type of situations for which the BLC is used in the languages. It shows that the BLC in the creole and Gbe languages has a locative phrase which is made up of a noun phrase that expresses the Ground and a spatial element that expresses the Search Domain i.e. the specific part of the Ground where the Figure is located. The locative phrase in the creoles also has a preposition but this does not contribute to its spatial meaning. By contrast, English has a locative phrase which is made up of a preposition that expresses the Relation between the Figure and the Ground, and the Search-Domain information. The paper concludes that the Suriname creoles display a strong substrate influence in this spatial domain. There are some differences, which can be attributed to gradual Dutch influence and generalisation on the part of the creoles.
2018. Cultivando a ambiguidade: considerações sobre questões de complexidade no discurso crioulo. Bakhtiniana: Revista de Estudos do Discurso 13:2 ► pp. 6 ff.
2014. Particle Verbs in the Surinamese Creoles. Journal of Germanic Linguistics 26:3 ► pp. 223 ff.
Essegbey, James, Bettina Migge & Donald Winford
2013. Cross-linguistic influence in language creation: Assessing the role of the Gbe languages in the formation of the Creoles of Suriname. Lingua 129 ► pp. 1 ff.
Essegbey, James, Margot van den Berg & Marleen van de Vate
2013. Possibility and necessity modals in Gbe and Surinamese creoles. Lingua 129 ► pp. 67 ff.
van de Vate, Marleen Susanne
2013. An account of the stative vs. dynamic split in Saamáka. Lingua 129 ► pp. 124 ff.
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