Noun Phrases in Creole Languages:  A Multi-faceted Approach 

Edited by Marlyse Baptista and Jacqueline Guéron

Creole Language Library 31

John Benjamins 

From the publisher

This volume offers a thorough examination of the syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and discourse properties of noun phrases in a wide variety of creole (and non-creole) languages including Cape Verdean Creole, Santome, Papiamentu, Guinea-Bissau Creole, Mindanao Chabacano, Réunionnais Creole, Lesser Antillean, Haitian Creole, Mauritian Creole, Seychellois, Sranan, Jamaican Creole, Berbice Dutch Creole and African American English. Comparative studies also consider the determiner systems of Middle and Modern French, European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Ewe, Fon and Gun. This compilation of 16 chapters brings together descriptive, theoretical, diachronic and synchronic studies that focus on the structure and interpretation of bare nouns in creoles. The contributions demonstrate the variety and complex nature of determiner systems in creoles and their widespread use of bare nouns in comparison to their source languages. This volume is evidence of the relevance of creole languages to theories of language creation, language change and linguistic theory in general. 

Kevin and Jen McGowan welcomed their daughter, Nora Evelyn McGowan, to the world at 8:41 am on Monday, Nov. 26.

Kevin reports that Jen and Nora are both doing well and that Nora is “perfect in every measurable way.”  

Congratulations Kevin and Jen and Happy Birthday,  Nora!

Carmel O’Shannessy has been invited to teach a course at the 2009 LSA Institute to be held in Berkeley, CA.  The course will be on the Linguistic Effects of Language Attrition. 

Andries Coetzee presented a talk at NELS in Ottawa.

The title of the  talk was ”Lexical frequency and variation”. Andries proposed a model of how the mental lexicon interacts with phonological grammar. It has been known for a long time that variable phonological processes apply more frequently to words with a higher usage frequency. For, in stance, the shcwa in the second syllable of “memory” is more likely to delete than the schwa in the second

syllable of “mammary”, corresponding to the fact that “memory” is a much more frequent word that “mammary”.  Existing models of phonological variation do not allow a way in which these kinds of lexical properties can interact directly with the grammar.

NELS was heavily dominated by syntax talks, as it is always is. But there was also a semantics workshop on pronouns and binding with Irene Heim (MIT) as invited speaker, and a phonology workshop on “abtractness without innateness” with Bruce Hayes (UCLA) as invited speakers.

The ballots have all been counted and Sally Thomason is the new Vice President/President-Elect of the Linguistic Society of America.  Congratulations Sally!!