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Article published In:
Language Ecology
Vol. 4:2 (2020) ► pp.202–234

Lexical diversity and the issue of the basilect/acrolect distinction in Lingua Franca

| University of California, Los Angeles

In their typological survey of pidgins, Parkvall and Bakker (2013) observe that pidgin discourse is characterized by an exceptionally low type-token ratio. Taking this observation as its starting point, the present paper examines the type-token ratio in Lingua Franca, a contact language traditionally classified as a pidgin. The study is based on a unique mini-corpus consisting of parallel translations in Lingua Franca and four comparator languages: Italian, Spanish, French and English. The paper shows that the type-token ratio of the Lingua Franca variety reflected in the mini-corpus matches, and in parts surpasses, those of its Romance lexifiers and English. The study expands our knowledge of the basilect/acrolect distinction in Lingua Franca and contributes to the discussion about the role of lexical diversity in the typological categorization of contact languages.

Keywords: Romance languages, pidgins, language contact, parallel corpora, type-token ratio, lexical richness
Article outline
  • 1.Type-token ratio in pidgins
  • 2.Lingua Franca
  • 3.Lexical richness in Lingua Franca
  • 4.Discussion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 7 May 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/le.20009.ope
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