加勒比人所說的克理奧爾語言是由非洲和「新世界」的殖民地化以及奴隸交易等歷史事件在語言上所產生連帶的結果。簡單的說，這些語言是特定社會背景之下的語言習得的結果—也就是由十七、十八世紀在加勒比海殖民地的非洲和歐洲人的接觸所加以定義。克理奧爾語言裡，最著名的也是最多人說的是海地克理奧爾語。它的辭彙和多樣的文法主要是從十七、十八世紀在海地殖民地的種種法語衍生而來。其他文法似乎是由非洲語言的影響而產生，主要從西非和中非。然而還有其他的特性似乎沒和任何語言來源有相似之處。

從海地克理奧爾語詞句的語言個案研究，我們將從認知的、歷史的、和比較的觀點來探究克理奧爾化。我們將會以海地克理奧爾語和一些加勒比海同種語言為測驗案例來詢問以下的問題：

1. 加勒比海的克理奧爾語可以被視為是歐洲語言的「方言」嗎? 舉例來說，海地克理奧爾語是法語的「方言」嗎?
   
2. 或者說，歐洲人對加勒比海的克理奧爾語的貢獻僅限於結合了西非「式」文法的辭彙? 舉例還說，海地克理奧爾語可以被視為是有法語衍生詞彙的西非語言嗎?
   
3. 那們關於普遍認為克理奧爾語為語言上從頭開始的結構，來自無結構性洋涇濱語的語言「拼湊」，也不屬於任何的語系的主張又怎麼說呢？這點來說，克理奧爾語是發展上和結構上特殊的語言。

以這些理論上的問題為背景和代表的資料集為參考基準，我們將會評估關於克理奧爾語言的發展和第一及第二語言習得在這樣發展的角色的各種假說。

我們也會探究克理奧爾化在非語言方面的概念。在這個脈絡下，我們將檢視歷史的背景(所謂的「外在環境」)和在加勒比海裡種族接觸下的種種社會文化分支，以及配合創新和統合的觀點來探討克理奧爾化的結果。後者不但由語言方面來陳述，也會從宗教、音樂、文學等方面來探討。然後我們將藉由檢視一個關於說克理奧爾語的人對於克理奧爾語和對應的歐洲語言的看法，以及他們對他們種族由非洲和歐洲混血的看法的例子，來提出「加勒比海身分認同」的問題，。有趣的是，許多說克理奧爾語的人的看法，包含克理奧爾語是反常而有缺陷的語言的看法，過去三世紀以來，在類似學術的文本裡發現類似之處。我們將針對非裔美國人語言與文化之相關面向加以比較。

分析的工具包括語言上的資料、文本，聲音或影像的紀錄，以及電影。

背景

我假定這門課的所有學生都已經修過24.900 語言學導論 和 24.902 語言學導論二：語法。否則請先取得我的修課許可。

如果你需要任何背景資料，請不要猶豫來尋求我的幫助。而且(這非常重要!) 在課堂上不要猶豫問任何問題，即使那個問題是「你能不能再解釋一遍？」

課程要求

• 準時和良好的出席率(這是必要)
• 課堂參與(希望多參與!)
• 大量的閱讀(理所當然)，大部分的閱讀應該很有趣
• 不定期的作業
• 「期中考」: 學期報告計畫書的草稿(第六課前一天截止)
• 「四分之三學期」: 學期報告計畫書的修訂 (第九課前一天截止) 這是一個會議格式的500字摘要，包括額外一頁的數據資料和參考書目。
• 課堂報告：隨著學期的進展而安排。理想上這些討論將會納入學期報告。
• 這是一個研究報告。最多為十五頁長度，兩倍行高，字型大小為12。

閱讀和課堂參與的方針

這堂課包含了密集的閱讀。閱讀必須要在對應的課之前完成。我們會試著採用問答的方式: 學生在課堂上將被要求分享他們的觀點以及投入於對於先前閱讀的討論。(一個人討論內容的品質將會計算在他的課堂參與分數部分。)

克理奧爾化是一個極複雜的現象，要了解它，須具備對多數學科的熟悉，包括(社會-)語言學(像是構詞法、語法、語言接觸、語言改變研究、後設語言的態度)、歷史 (像是殖民地化、奴隸制、海地革命)、人口學 (像是人口移位、殖民地社會)、人類學 (像是文化、宗教等)。因為克理奧爾語的研究本質是跨學科的，有些閱讀功課包含了一些相當難的段落。原則上這些不會阻礙你理解文章的重點，你不要期待會理解所有的閱讀，當你被困住時，試著跳過那些難點，理解你所能理解的。課外和同伴討論文章也可能對你有幫助。也可以隨時和我約時間討論這些資料。

無論如何你都應該參與所有的課堂， 沒有任何你自己念的可以替代課堂所得到的。

作業和出席方針

這些只是一些將克理奧爾語言和加勒比海身分認同的研究變為有趣的、有助益的、啟發思維的、和相互充實合作成果的方針。有些提示可能是多餘的。

• 所有的書面作業都要打字
• 作業在課堂上繳交而且要在課堂討論之前交，不許遲交!
• 除了正規的作業外，準時、出席率、主動課堂參與都將促成你整體的評分依據。

The Creole languages spoken in the caribbean are linguistic by-products of the historical events triggered by colonization and the slave trade in Africa and the 'New World'. In a nutshell, these languages are the results of language acquisition in the specific social settings defined by the history of contact between African and European peoples in 17th-/18th- century Caribbean colonies. One of the best known Creole languages, and the one with the largest community of speakers, is Haitian Creole. Its lexicon and various aspects of its grammar are primarily derived from varieties of French as spoken in 17th-/18th-century colonial Haiti. Other aspects of its grammar seem to have emerged under the influence of African languages, mostly from West and Central Africa. And yet other properties seem to have no analogues in any of the source languages.

Through a sample of linguistic case studies focusing on Haitian Creole morphosyntax, we will explore Creolization from a cognitive, historical and comparative perspective. With Haitian Creole and some of its Caribbean congeners as test cases, we will ask questions such as these:

1. Are Caribbean Creoles to be considered 'dialects' of European languages? For example, is Haitian Creole a 'dialect' of French?
   
2. Or, rather, is the European contribution to Caribbean Creoles limited to their lexicon, a lexicon that is coupled with a grammar of the West-African 'type'? For example, can Haitian Creole be considered a West-African language with a French-derived lexicon?
   
3. And what about the popular claim that Creoles emerged ab ovo - from the linguistic 'scratch' of structure-less pidgins - and as such do not fit into any language family? In this view, Creoles are developmentally and structurally exceptional languages.

With such theoretical questions as a backdrop and with representative datasets as benchmarks, we will evaluate various hypotheses about the development of Creole languages and about the role of first- and second-language acquisition in such development.

We will also explore the concept of creolization in its non-linguistic senses. In this vein, we will examine the historical context (the so-called 'external circumstances') and the socio-cultural ramifications of ethnic contact in the Caribbean, alongside the innovative and syncretic aspects of creolization's products. The latter are expressed, not only through language, but also through religion, music, literature, etc. Then we will address questions of "Caribbean identities" by examining a sample of Creole speakers' attitudes toward the Creole language and the corresponding European language and toward the African and European components of their ethnic make-up. Interestingly, many of these attitudes, including the belief that Creoles are abnormal and deficient languages, find analogues in (quasi-) scholarly texts from the past three centuries. Comparisons will be made with relevant facets of African-American language and culture.

Material for analysis will include linguistic data, texts, audio and video recordings, and films.

Background

I'll be assuming that all the students in the class have already taken 24.900 Introduction to Linguistics and 24.902 Introduction to Linguistics II: Syntax. Otherwise please see me for permission to enroll.

Please do not hesitate to ask me for help if any time you feel you need some background filled in. Also (and this is extremely important!) do not hesitate to ask questions in class, even if the question is "Could you explain that again?".

Course Requirement

• Punctual and regular attendance (mandatory).
• In-class participation (hopefully lots of it!).
• Readings (of course), lots of it, and most of it should be lots of fun.
• Occasional homework.
• 'Midterm': Draft of prospectus for term paper (due one day before Session 6).
• '3\4 term': Revised prospectus for term paper (due one day before Session 9). This is a conference-style 500-word abstract with one extra page for data and references.
• In-class presentation(s) - to be scheduled as the semester progress. Ideally these discussions will be incorporated in the term project.
• This is a research paper. Maximum length: 15 pages, with double-space interline and 12pt font size.

Reading and Participation Guidelines

This class is reading-intensive. Readings are to be done before the corresponding class. We'll try to follow the socratic method: in class, students will be asked to share their perspectives and engage in discussion on prior readings. (The quality of one's discussion will count toward one's 'participation points'.)

Creolization is an extremely complex phenomenon the understanding of which requires familiarity with issues in a number of disciplines, including (Socio-)Linguistics (e.g., Morphology, Syntax, Language-contact and Language-change studies, Meta-linguistic Attitudes), History (e.g., Colonization, Slavery, The Haitian Revolution), Demography (e.g., Population Displacements, Plantation Society), Anthropology (e.g., Culture, Religion, etc.). Due to, among other things, the inter-disciplinary nature of Creole studies, certain reading assignments will contain passages that may seem quite difficult. In principle, this should not prevent you from getting at the essential points of the paper. Do not expect to understand everything you read. When you get stuck, try skipping over the trouble spot to get what you can out of the readings. Discussing papers with your fellow students outside of class may also help. And always feel free to make an appointment with me to discuss the material.

You should attend all the classes, no matter what. Nothing you could read will replace what goes on in class.

Assignments and Attendance Policy

These are just a few guidelines toward turning the study of Creole Languages and Caribbean Identities into a fun, constructive, intellectually simulating and mutually enriching cooperative effort. Some of these tips may well be superfluous.

• All writing assignments must be typed.
• Assignments are to be turned in class and before class discussion starts. No late assignments!
• Punctuality, attendance and active class participation will all contribute to your overall evaluation, in addition to formal assignments.