The origin of the copulas (d/n)a and de in the Eastern Maroon Creole

Bettina Migge (1)

1 SeDyL - Structure et Dynamique des Langues

This paper investigates the emergence and development of the copulas in the creoles of Suriname and of French Guiana. It shows important similarities between the system found in the Gbe language and the creoles suggesting that the latter were based of the former. However, they are not direct copy either as other processes such as grammaticalization and the influence from English played a role.

Mots clés: ubstrate influence; creole genesis; Creoles of Suriname and French Guiana; Gbe; copula system

Mots clés: substrat africain; genèse des créoles; créoles du Surinam et de Guyane; gbe; copule

Domaines: Linguistique

Bettina Migge. The origin of the copulas (d/n)a and de in the Eastern Maroon Creole. Diachronica, 2002, 19 (1), pp.81-133. ⟨hal-01498585⟩