Chapter published in:
Negation and Negative Concord: The view from Creoles
Edited by Viviane Déprez and Fabiola Henri
[Contact Language Library 55] 2018
► pp. 257–288

Negation in Palenquero

Syntax, pragmatics, and change in progress

This study offers an up-to-date (synchronic) overview of Palenquero predicate negation, and seeks to explain how and why it has recently begun to undergo change, especially among the younger generations. Earlier descriptions (e.g., Dieck 2000, 2002, Schwegler 1991a, 1996a) revealed that Palenquero features a complex variable system in which the negative marker nu ‘not’ can be placed either before or after the verb, or both (embracing negation), as in: (1) nu + VERB, (2) nu + VERB + nu, and (3) VERB + nu. Scholars have been in general agreement that all three strategies express the same propositional content, but there has been dispute as to underlying causes for the variable selection between these strategies. Sections 1 and 2 of this article provide a fresh look at the issue, and defend the hypothesis (pace Schwegler 1991a but contra Dieck 2000, 2002) that subtle contextually-derived conditions rather than morphosyntactic considerations best explain the selection and felicity of a given negation strategy. This discussion in turn will help explain certain aspects of negative concord, including the behavior of Spanish-derived negative polarity items like Pal. nunka ‘never’, tampoko ‘(n)either’, and so forth.
Keywords: language attitudes, language change, Jespersen cycle, negation, negative concord, Palenque, Palenquero, polarity, pragmatics, presuppositions
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Palenquero predicate negation
    • 2.1Early analyses and the relevance of pragmatic factors
    • 2.2A dissenting voice: Alternative thoughts on the analysis of Palenquero predicate negation
    • 2.3Further dissent and additional thoughts about the pragmatics of negation
    • 2.4Suggestions for further study of Palenquero negation
  • 3.Palenque in the new millennium: Ongoing language change and complicating factors for future studies of Palenquero negation
    • 3.1What it all means for future studies of Palenquero negation
  • 4.Summary and discussion
    • 4.1Lessons to be learned from beyond Palenque
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 December 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/coll.55.12sch
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