37.2568, Books: Grammar and History of Français-Tirailleur: Parkvall (2026)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2568. Tue Aug 04 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.2568, Books: Grammar and History of Français-Tirailleur: Parkvall (2026)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Daniel Swanson
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Daniel Swanson <daniel at linguistlist.org>

================================================================


Date: 04-Aug-2026
From: Rosanna Woensdregt [rosanna.woensdregt at degruyterbrill.com]
Subject: Grammar and History of Français-Tirailleur: Parkvall (2026)


Title: Grammar and History of Français-Tirailleur
Subtitle: A French Military Pidgin from Africa
Series Title: Grammars and Sketches of the World's Languages - Contact
Languages
Publication Year: 2026

Publisher: De Gruyter Brill
           https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en
Book URL: https://brill.com/display/title/69960

Author(s): Mikael Parkvall

Hardback ISBN: 978-90-04-69447-7
E-Book ISBN: 978-90-04-71374-1
DOI: 10.1163/9789004713741

Abstract:

Français-Tirailleur (FT) was a French-lexicon pidgin spoken in the
French African army between 1860 and 1960, and by civilians in contact
with it. Despite their importance, pidgins remain understudied, often
dismissed as mere precursors to creoles. Yet FT, like other pidgins,
was a rule-governed, functional language—streamlined for
communication, stripped of unnecessary complexity, and optimised for
ease of learning. Born in the crucible of colonial encounters, FT’s
history reflects both unlikely solidarities and the harsh realities of
war, exploitation, and racism. This study offers the most detailed
account yet of FT’s structure, background, and enduring linguistic
significance.
Readership: All interested in pidgin and creole languages, linguistic
typology, African languages and linguistics.

Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics
                     Language Documentation
                     Morphology
                     Syntax

Language Family(ies): African Pidgins and Creoles

Written In: English (eng, stan1293)



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Australian Linguistics Society https://als.asn.au/Home

Bloomsbury Publishing http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Cambridge University Press http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

De Gruyter Brill https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en

Edinburgh University Press http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com

European Language Resources Association (ELRA) http://www.elra.info

John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

Lincom GmbH https://lincom-shop.eu/

MDPI Languages https://www.mdpi.com/journal/languages

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com

SIL International Publications http://www.sil.org/resources/publications


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-37-2568
----------------------------------------------------------