The Making of a Mixed Language (Creole Language Library) - Hardcover

Mous, Maarten

 
9789027252487: The Making of a Mixed Language (Creole Language Library)

Synopsis

The Mbugu (or Ma'á) language (Tanzania) is one of the few genuine mixed languages, reputedly combining Bantu grammar with Cushitic vocabulary. In fact the people speak two languages: one mixed and one closely related to the Bantu language Pare. This book is the first comprehensive description of these languages. It shows that these two languages share one grammar while their lexicon is parallel. In the distant past the people shifted from a Cushitic to a Bantu language and in the process rebuilt a language of their own that expresses their separate ethnic identity in a Bantu environment. This linguistic history is explained in the context of the intricate history of the people. The discussion of the processes that were involved in the formation of Ma'a/Mbugu is extremely relevant for both creole studies and for contact linguistics in general.

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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781588114891: The Making of a Mixed Language: The case of Ma'a/Mbugu (Creole Language Library)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1588114899 ISBN 13:  9781588114891
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2003
Hardcover