Dutch in Suriname: an agent of language change

Abstract

Dutch has been present in Suriname since the mid 17th century. Historical records show that the language was not only used by Dutch colonists and free Africans but also by enslaved Africans from the very beginning of its implantation in Suriname. In the course of its history in the country, Dutch has been an agent of change for the languages of Suriname. At the same time, it has itself been transformed. In my talk, I focus on the former role of Dutch. The most striking consequence of contact between Dutch and the creole language Sranan Tongo is the temporal layering of contact outcomes: Historically early adstratal transfers of Dutch linguistic material into Sranan Tongo are chiefly lexical in nature and are phonologically adapted (e.g. skrifi < ‘schrijven’ ). With the functional expansion of Dutch in Suriname in the 20th and 21st century came its transformation from an elitist medium of communication with roots in the colonial past to its large-scale appropriation as an autochthonous language by the Surinamese population. This is reflected in the increasing lexical and structural influence of Dutch on the languages of Suriname. Presently it appears that Dutch influence on the languages of Suriname is at least as important in dimension as that of Sranan Tongo. A number of socio-political and economic factors have accelerated the influence of Dutch since the independence of Suriname in 1975. The most important factor is increased mobility, both in people, and in cultural and economic goods: Circular migration between Suriname and the Netherlands and between the interior of Suriname and the coast has dramatically increased exposure to Dutch, so has exposure to popular media via internet, TV and music. Conversational interactions in Suriname are characterized by intensive code-mixing involving Dutch and Sranan Tongo, and often a third language, with constant shifts in the base language, back-and-forth calquing, extensive lexical and structural borrowing, and creative adaptations.