Constructing new pronominal systems from the Atlantic to the Pacific

Abstract

The earliest attestations of pronouns that deviate significantly from the English system are listed for thirteen English-lexicon contact languages spoken around the world. What these forms tell us about the nature of pidgin and creole genesis is then investigated, including the question of why deviant forms were used at all. Although most of these new FORMS can readily be derived from English, we argue that their new FUNCTIONS cannot, since these were not established characteristics of English dialects. Examination of the relevant non-European languages also suggests that they influenced few of these new functions. After investigating other factors that may have favored the selection of deviant forms - phonological form, frequency and saliency, disambiguity, and semantic transparency - we conclude that the single most significant factor explaining the use of oblique forms in subject position is that Europeans typically used these forms to accompany pointing gestures. Much of the new pronominal systems can thus be explained by the behavior of anglophones in the initial contact situation. We further conclude that Europeans used a special repertoire in their contacts with non-Europeans but consider that this was an inventory of lexical items and pragmatic strategies rather than an established nautical jargon.