Monogenesis and polygenesis in creole studies

[Adrienne Bruyn]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Just a remark in reaction to Benji Wald:
 
On Mon, 2 Feb 1998, bwald wrote:
 
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I once wrote something similar to Histling before, but the use of
> "polygenesis" reminded me of it.  In pidgin/creole studies, "polygenesis"
> usually refers to the descent of a language from more than one natural
> language, contrary to the tree concept of language diversification.  In the
> current discussion, "polygenesis" is being used in a somewhat different,
> but equally valid, way, to suggest that languages evolved "from scratch" in
> different places (at different times is beside the point here).
 
Working in pidgin/creole studies myself, I don't think "polygenesis"  with
regard to pidgins/creoles (PCs) usually refers to their "mixed descent",
even though it can be used in this sense when the problem of
classification is at issue. This, at least on the level of e.g.
 "Is Sranan a Germanic language?"  is something creolists seem to be less
concerned with than historical linguists taking PCs into account (e.g.
Posner) (I'm generalizing).
 
However, classification of PCs among themselves is an issue in PCstudies,
and here the terms "monogenesis" and (less frequently occurring)
"polygenesis" appear to have a sense that is rather similar to the one in
the ongoing discussion on language origins:
 
In the 1960s, early '70s, people adhered to the "Monogenesis theory"
(Taylor, Thompson, Voorhoeve -- see e.g. Holm 1988): all PCs were assumed
to derive from one Portuguese-lexicon pidgin; in different parts of the
world this Portuguese pidgin was relexified with English, French, Dutch,
... words. Nobody believes this to be the correct scenario nowadays.
 
There is a "relativized" variant, however, referred to as "restricted
monogenesis": people have proposed common ancestors for sub-groups of PCs,
e.g. English-lexicon creoles at both sides of the Atlantic (West Africa &
Caribbean) are argued to derive from a West African PC (Hancock 1986,
McWhorter 1997; in these instances it goes hand in hand with Afro-genesis but
that is not necessarily the case).
 
The opposite view (the one defended by Bickerton 1981, 1988 etc) is that
each C originated separately, i.e. "polygenetic".
 
In this sense then "polygenesis" appears similar to the way it is used in
the discussion on the origins of language -- and also raises questions and
debate.
 
 
 
Adrienne
 
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Adrienne Bruyn               Teleph. (+31)  (0)20  525 3862
General Linguistics          Fax     (+31)  (0)20  525 3021
University of Amsterdam      NEW E-MAIL  a.bruyn at hum.uva.nl
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