Links between SLA and Creole studies: Past and present

Abstract

This chapter examines the links between adult second language acquisition (SLA) and the genesis of pidgin and creole languages, focusing on two SLA processes: simplification and transfer. Some historical background is presented concerning each process, followed by a discussion of recent developments in pidgin and creole studies that have built upon research in the field of SLA. The chapter concludes that the "simplification" found in restricted pidgins is most likely a consequence of earlier SLA, with various social-psychological factors possibly responsible for the lack of further convergence with the L2. On the other hand, much of the grammatical expansion found in extended pidgins and creoles is the result of functional transfer from the Ll, which occurs with extended second language use.