Creolistics

Creolistics is the study of both creole languages and the pidgin languages from which creoles develop. Although the study of these contact languages is most often associated with linguistics, it has expanded into related fields such as anthropology, sociology, history and literary studies, because the creation of a creole invariably involves cross-cultural contact.

Linguists who study creole phenomena may be known as creolists, with their work forming a branch of sociolinguistics, which comprises research on language as used in society.

Creolistics has provided some revealing and controversial insights into language evolution and acquisition. For example, the language bioprogram hypothesis of Derek Bickerton claims that creole genesis supports ideas about the nature of language associated with Noam Chomsky; as creole grammars are remarkably similar across the world, this reflects the existence of an innate faculty for language.

References

• Bickerton D (1984) 'The language bioprogram hypothesis.' Behavioral and Brain Sciences 7: 173-222.
• Sebba M (1997) Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-63024-6.
• Siegel J (2005) ' Creolization outside creolistics.' Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 20 : 141-166.

See also

• Pidgin
• Creole language
• Contact language
• Lingua franca