Creole Discourse

Exploring prestige formation and change across Caribbean English-lexicon Creoles

Author
ORCID logoSusanne Mühleisen | J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt
HardboundAvailable
ISBN 9789027252463 (Eur) | EUR 120.00
ISBN 9781588112972 (USA) | USD 180.00
 
e-Book
ISBN 9789027296337 | EUR 120.00 | USD 180.00
 
Google Play logo
Creole languages are characteristically associated with a negative image. How has this prestige been formed? And is it as static as the diglossic situation in many anglo-creolophone societies seems to suggest? This volume examines socio-historical and epistemological factors in the prestige formation of Caribbean English-Lexicon Creoles and subjects their classification as a (socio)linguistic type to scrutiny and critical debate. In its analysis of rich empirical data this study also demonstrates that the uses, functions and negotiations of Creole within particular social and linguistic practices have shifted considerably. Rather than limiting its scope to one "national" speech community, the discussion focusses on changes of the social meaning of Creole in various discursive fields, such as inter generational changes of Creole use in the London Diaspora, diachronic changes of Creole representation in written texts, and diachronic changes of Creole representation in translation. The study employs a discourse analytical approach drawing on linguistic models as well as Foucauldian theory.
[Creole Language Library, 24] 2002.  xiv, 332 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Table of Contents
“While the broad social structure of Anglophone Caribbean societies remains largely unchanged, the functions and treatment of Carribean English-lexicon creoles have shifted perceptibly during the last few decades. Mühleisen has undertaken a detailed study of this shift, focusing on the formation and development of prestige in specific environments and domains. Her dynamic approach contrasts significantly with the traditional static treatments of status, functions and attitudes where these language varieties are concerned. [...] Mühleisen is to be congratulated for her original and perceptive approach to the question of Creole prestige and for the thoroughness, clarity and consistency of her treatment. Her book undoubtedly marks another important milestone in creole studies.”
“For a fresh (i.e. interdisciplinary) look at an old problem, Mühleisen’s book will be welcomed by sociolinguists, discourse theorists, anthropologists, and many others.”
“The book is to be commended not only for the empirical analyses but also for the way it brings together a variety of interesting aspects whose connections have so far not often been considered and its innovative approach to the issue of language prestige. It will be especially valuable for the more sociolinguistically oriented among Creolists but it also addresses questions which ought to be of more general interest in the field, such as the formation of the concept of Creole.”
“Mühleisen's major contribution with this book is to provide a solid rationale for understanding the need for a shift in how research into the complex nature of social prestige for Caribbean English-lexicon Creoles must be conducted.”
Cited by

Cited by 37 other publications

Ardoino, Chiara
2023. Navigating the pitfalls of language standardisation: The imperfect binary ofauthenticityandanonymityin Creole-speaking Martinique. Language in Society  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Brown-Blake, Celia
2014. Expanding the use of non-dominant Caribbean languages: Can the law help?. International Journal of Speech Language and the Law 21:1  pp. 51 ff. DOI logo
Delabastita, Dirk
2019. Translation. In The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare,  pp. 1339 ff. DOI logo
DEUBER, DAGMAR & LARS HINRICHS
2007. Dynamics of orthographic standardization in Jamaican Creole and Nigerian Pidgin. World Englishes 26:1  pp. 22 ff. DOI logo
Durgasingh, Ryan & Nicha Selvon-Ramkissoon
2024. Introduction. In Caribbean Discourses,  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Hackert, Stephanie
2016. Standards of English in the Caribbean. In World Englishes [Varieties of English Around the World, G57],  pp. 85 ff. DOI logo
Kroon, Sjaak & Kutlay Yagmur
2014. Research for language policy in Surinamese education: a study on involvement and detachment. Current Issues in Language Planning 15:4  pp. 443 ff. DOI logo
Laube, Alexander & Janina Rothmund
2021. ‘Broken English’, ‘dialect’ or ‘Bahamianese’?. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 36:2  pp. 362 ff. DOI logo
Léglise, Isabelle, Bettina Migge & Nicolas Quint
2021. Introduction. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 36:1  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Mair, Christian, Susanne Mühleisen & Eva Ulrike Pirker
2015. “Selling the Caribbean: An Introduction”. Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik 63:2  pp. 139 ff. DOI logo
Meakins, Felicity
2023. The third space in the fourth column. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 38:2  pp. 431 ff. DOI logo
Migge, Bettina
2017. Chapter 20. Epilogue. In Creole Studies – Phylogenetic Approaches,  pp. 389 ff. DOI logo
Migge, Bettina
2020. Mediating Creoles. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 35:2  pp. 381 ff. DOI logo
Migge, Bettina & Isabelle Léglise
2015. Assessing the sociolinguistic situation of the Maroon creoles. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 30:1  pp. 63 ff. DOI logo
MOONEERAM, ROSHNI
2013. Literary translation as a tool for critical language planning. World Englishes 32:2  pp. 198 ff. DOI logo
Mooneeram, Roshni
2019. Shakespeare into Creole. In The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare,  pp. 1362 ff. DOI logo
Mühleisen, Susanne
2024. Towards a Discursive History of the Caribbean as a History of Genres. In Caribbean Discourses,  pp. 49 ff. DOI logo
Ato Quayson
2012. The Cambridge History of Postcolonial Literature, DOI logo
Rickford, John Russell & Elizabeth Closs Traugott
2019. Symbol of Powerlessness and Degeneracy, or Symbol of Solidarity and Truth?. In Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies,  pp. 31 ff. DOI logo
Salmon, William
2015. Language Ideology, Gender, and Varieties of Belizean Kriol. Journal of Black Studies 46:6  pp. 605 ff. DOI logo
Salmon, William
2017. Language attitudes, generations, and identity in coastal Belize. African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal 10:3  pp. 299 ff. DOI logo
Salmon, William & Jennifer Gómez Menjivar
2016. Language variation and dimensions of prestige in Belizean Kriol. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 31:2  pp. 316 ff. DOI logo
Schmalz, Mirjam
2023. Mapping perceptions in New Englishes. In New Englishes, New Methods [Varieties of English Around the World, G68],  pp. 201 ff. DOI logo
Schneider, Britta
Schneider, Britta
2021. Creole prestige beyond modernism and methodological nationalism. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 36:1  pp. 12 ff. DOI logo
Schneider, Britta
2023. Posthumanism and the role of orality and literacy in language ideologies in Belize. World Englishes 42:1  pp. 150 ff. DOI logo
Schneider, Edgar W. & Raymond Hickey
2020. Contact and Caribbean Creoles. In The Handbook of Language Contact,  pp. 403 ff. DOI logo
Sebba, Mark & Susan Dray
2007. Developing and Using a Corpus of Written Creole. In Creating and Digitizing Language Corpora,  pp. 181 ff. DOI logo
Siegel, Jeff
2005. Literacy in Pidgin and Creole Languages. Current Issues in Language Planning 6:2  pp. 143 ff. DOI logo
Siegel, Jeff
2010. Bilingual literacy in creole contexts. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 31:4  pp. 383 ff. DOI logo
Westphal, Michael & Guyanne Wilson
2023. Creole and power. In New Englishes, New Methods [Varieties of English Around the World, G68],  pp. 84 ff. DOI logo
WILSON, GUYANNE, MICHAEL WESTPHAL, JOHANNA HARTMANN & DAGMAR DEUBER
2017. The use of question tags in different text types of Trinidadian English. World Englishes 36:4  pp. 726 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Subjects

Main BIC Subject

CF: Linguistics

Main BISAC Subject

LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General
ONIX Metadata
ONIX 2.1
ONIX 3.0
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  2002026206 | Marc record