Competences in contact
Phonology and lexifier targeted change
This article examines phonological changes brought about by creole-lexifier contact, with secondary focus on the distinction of these changes from those occurring in creole formation. It is argued that lexifier-targeted change involves declarative competence: knowledge of what is and isn’t part of a phonological inventory. It is further argued that such changes do not undo the past, but involve historically innovative modifications to grammatical competence, which subsequently inform productive and perceptual knowledge. A formal account of Guadeloupian vowel data is proposed, which also addresses differential outcomes such as instances of apparent hypercorrection.
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