Lost siblings: Areal forces in the divergence of Krio and Pichi

Abstract

<p>The evidence is compelling for a close genealogical relationship between the two African English-lexifier creole languages Krio (Sierra Leone) and Pichi (Equatorial Guinea). A close look at specific domains of their grammar however also shows divergence due to differing contact ecologies since their split in the 19th century. Krio is spoken alongside its lexifier English as well as Atlantic and Mande adstrates. Pichi is spoken alongside its Bantu adstrate Bube, and has been in contact with its superstrate Spanish for almost two centuries, but not with English. Differences in contact outcomes transpire in the expression of tense, aspect, and mood, participant marking, and serial verb constructions. In all three domains, the two creoles show transfer from their respective superstrates and adstrates. In some instances, Krio has adverged more with English than Pichi with Spanish because existing overlaps between creole and lexifier forms have facilitated transfer. In other instances, Krio and Pichi have aligned themselves with the Macro-Sudan and Bantu spread zone typological profiles of their respective ecologies. The processes that have driven the divergence of Krio and Pichi are instructive for understanding the differentiation of the entire family of Afro-Caribbean English-lexifier Creoles on both sides of the Atlantic.<br></p>