The Multiple Facets of Papiamentu ku

Publication date: 2007
Number of pages: 26Creole genesis has long been considered to be a particular case of second language acquisition with variable, though sometimes extremely limited, access to the target language. The aim of this paper is to show how relexification applies to creole genesis, to illustrate the methodology for documenting it, and to show how other processes that play a role in the development of a creole interact with relexification in the further development of a creole. The discussion will be based on the case study of the multiple facets of ku in Papiamentu, a Portuguese/Spanish-based Caribbean creole spoken in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. This paper shows that ku is a multifunctional lexical item that serves the functions of preposition, conjunction, and complementizer. It is argued that two lexical entries are required to account for the properties of Pp ku : one (the result of relexification) that encompasses its functions as a preposition and conjunction, and the other, corresponding to its function as a complementizer.