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'''Relexification''' is a term in ] used to describe the mechanism of ] by which one ] replaces much or all of its ], including basic vocabulary, with that of another language, without drastic change to its grammar. It is principally used to describe ]s and ], which have similar grammars but dissimilar lexicons, and ]s.<ref>P.H. Matthews. 2007. ''Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics''. Second edition. Oxford.<br>Lyle Campbell & Mauricio J. Mixco. 2007. ''A Glossary of Historical Linguistics.'' University of Utah Press.<br>David Crystal. 2003. ''A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics''. Fifth edition. Blackwell.</ref> Relexification is not synonymous with ], which describes the situation where a language merely supplements its basic vocabulary with words from another language. {{Short description|Language change by vocabulary replacement or absorption}}In ], '''relexification''' is a mechanism of ] by which one ] changes much or all of its ], including basic vocabulary, to the lexicon of another language, without drastically changing the relexified language's grammar. The term is principally used to describe ]s, ], and ]s.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Matthews|2007|p=343}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Campbell|Mixco|2007|p=170}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Crystal|2008|p=412}}</ref>


Relexification is not synonymous with ], by which a language merely ''supplements'' its basic vocabulary with loanwords from another language.
The language from which the lexicon is derived is called the "lexifier".<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wardhaugh|2002|p=76}}</ref>


==Language creation and relexification hypothesis==
==New language formation ==
Relexification is a form of ] in which a ], a ] or a ] takes the great majority of its lexicon from a ] or ] while its grammar either comes from the ] or ], or, according to ] theories, arises from universal principles of simplification and grammaticalisation. ], ], and ] are mixed languages which arose through relexification.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bakker|1997}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Muysken|1981}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Wittmann|1994}}</ref> Relexification is a form of ] in which a ], a ] or a ] takes nearly all of its lexicon from a ] or a ] while its grammar comes from the ] or ] or, according to ] theories, arises from universal principles of simplification and ]. The language from which the lexicon is derived is called the "lexifier".<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wardhaugh|2002|p=76}}</ref> ], ], and ] are mixed languages that arose through relexification.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bakker|1997}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Muysken|1981}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Wittmann|1994}}</ref>


Relexification in creole genesis is highly disputed. The hypothesis that ] from the mediaeval ] was widely held at the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s before losing its audience. The same is true for the claim that ] was created when ] speaking African slaves first relexified their language to French, based on "deep structure" similarities between the two languages. {{Harvcoltxt|Wittmann|1994}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Wittmann|Fournier|1996}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Singler|1996}}, and {{Harvcoltxt|DeGraff|2002}} have shown convincingly that common underlying properties of syntax established in the comparative framework of generative grammar reflect the fundamental unity of the workings of principles and parameters of ], not the workings of relexification processes. A hypothesis that ] from the medieval ] was widely held in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, but it fell out of favour. It was later argued, for example, because of underlying similarities between ] and ] that the grammar of ] is a substratum that was created when Fon-speaking African slaves relexified their language with ] vocabulary. However, the role of relexification in creole genesis is disputed by adherents of ]. {{Harvcoltxt|Wittmann|1994}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Wittmann|Fournier|1996}}, {{Harvcoltxt|Singler|1996}}, and {{Harvcoltxt|DeGraff|2002}}, for example, have argued that the similarities in syntax reflect a hypothetical ], not the workings of relexification processes.


==Second language acquisition== ==Second language acquisition==
Spontaneous second language acquisition (and the genesis of ]s) involves the gradual relexification of the ] or ] with ] vocabulary. After relexification is completed, native language structures alternate with structures acquired from the target language.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bickerton|Odo|1976}}</ref> Spontaneous second language acquisition (and the genesis of pidgins) involves the gradual relexification of the native or source language with target-language vocabulary. After relexification is completed, native language structures alternate with structures acquired from the target language.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Bickerton|Odo|1976}}</ref>


==Conlangs and jargon== ==Conlangs and jargon==
In the context of ]s, ]s, and ]s, the term is applied to the process of creating a language by substituting new vocabulary into the grammar of an existing language, often one's native language.<ref>Wittmann (1989, 1994), Brightman (1995).</ref> In the context of ]s, ]s, and ]s, the term is applied to the process of creating a language by substituting new vocabulary into the grammar of an existing language, often one's native language.<ref>Wittmann (1989, 1994).</ref>


While this practice is most often associated with novice constructed language designers, it may also be done as an initial stage towards creating a more sophisticated language. A language thus created is known as a ''relex''. For instance, ] began as a relex of ], but the languages' grammars have diverged since then.<ref>] in the Conlang Wikibook</ref> The same process is at work in the genesis of ]s and ]s. Examples of this are: While the practice is most often associated with novice constructed language designers, it may also be done as an initial stage towards creating a more sophisticated language. A language thus created is known as a ''relex''. For instance, ] began as a relex of ], but the languages' grammars have diverged since then.<ref>] in the Conlang Wikibook</ref> The same process is at work in the genesis of ]s and ]s such as ], a ] used by ] that mixes a ] grammar with ] vocabulary.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gamella|first1=Juan F.|last2=Fernández|first2=Cayetano|last3=Adiego|first3=Ignasi-Xavier|date=June 2015|title=The long agony of Hispanoromani. The remains of Caló in the speech of Spanish Gitanos|url=https://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/rs.2015.3|journal=]|language=en|volume=25|issue=1|pages=53–93|doi=10.3828/rs.2015.3|s2cid=141941862 |issn=1528-0748}}</ref>
==See also==
*]


==Notes==
* ] is a jargon used by ]s (Spanish Gypsies), that mixes a ] grammar with ] vocabulary.
{{reflist|30em}}

* A literary example of relexification is the comical quasi-Latin used by a character in ]'s '']'':<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Joyce|1916|p=245}}</ref>

::''Ego credo ut vita pauperum est simpliciter atrox, simpliciter sanguinarius atrox, in Liverpoolio.''
:: I believe that the life of the poor is simply atrocious, simply bloody atrocious, in Liverpool.


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{ref begin|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation * {{citation
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}} }}
* {{citation * {{citation
|last=Bickerton |last1=Bickerton
|first=Derek |first1=Derek
|authorlink=Derek Bickerton |author-link=Derek Bickerton
|last2=Odo |last2=Odo
|first2=Carol |first2=Carol
Line 47: Line 43:
|publisher=University of Hawaii |publisher=University of Hawaii
}} }}
* {{citation
*Brightman, Robert (1995), "Forget Culture: Replacement, Transcendence, Relexification," ''Cultural Anthropology'' 10:4.509-546
|last1=Campbell

|first1=Lyle
*{{citation
|author-link=Lyle Campbell
|last2=Mixco
|first2=Mauricio J.
|url=https://www.academia.edu/10169487
|url-access=registration |title=A Glossary of Historical Linguistics
|year=2007
|page=170
|publisher=Edinburgh University Press
|isbn=978-0-7486-2379-2
}}
* {{citation
|last = Crystal
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|author-link = David Crystal
|url = http://www.mohamedrabeea.com/books/book1_3891.pdf#page=438
|title = A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics
|year = 2008
|page = 412
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160329195910/http://www.mohamedrabeea.com/books/book1_3891.pdf#page=438
|archive-date = 29 March 2016
|url-status = live
|publisher = Blackwell Publishing
|location = Malden, Massachusetts
|series = The Language Library
|edition = 6th
|isbn = 978-1-4051-5296-9
|lccn = 2007-52260
|oclc = 317317506
}}
* {{citation
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|year=1997 |year=1997
|chapter=The Middle English creolization hypothesis revisited |chapter=The Middle English creolization hypothesis revisited
|title= |title=Studies in Middle English Linguistics
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PikuitIBWl4C&pg=PA79
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* {{citation * {{citation
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|first=Michel |first=Michel
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|url=http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/degraff/degraff-anthling-44-04.pdf
|journal=Linguistic Anthropology
|journal=Anthropological Linguistics
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|page=321-414
}} }}
* {{citation * {{citation
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* {{citation
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|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
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* {{citation * {{citation
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|chapter=Halfway between Quechua and Spanish: The case for relexification |chapter=Halfway between Quechua and Spanish: The case for relexification
|title=Historicity and variation in creole studies |title=Historicity and variation in creole studies
|pages=52-78 |pages=52–78
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*{{citation * {{citation
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*Wittmann, Henri (1989), "Relexification et argogenèse," Communication, ''1er Colloque international d’argotologie'', Université de Besançon, Oct. 13-1, 1989 *Wittmann, Henri (1989), "Relexification et argogenèse," Communication, ''1er Colloque international d’argotologie'', Université de Besançon, Oct. 13-1, 1989
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*{{citation * {{citation
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|year=1996 |year=1996
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{{ref end}}


==Further reading== ==Further reading==
* Arends, Jacques, Pieter Muysken & Norval Smith. 1995. ''Pidgins and Creoles: an introduction.'' Amsterdam: Benjamins. * Arends, Jacques, Pieter Muysken & Norval Smith. 1995. ''Pidgins and Creoles: an introduction.'' Amsterdam: Benjamins.
* Sebba, Mark. 1997. ''Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles.'' Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press. * Sebba, Mark. 1997. ''Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles.'' Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press.
* Speer, Rob & Catherine Havasi (2004), ''Meeting the Computer Halfway: Language Processing in the Artificial Language Lojban'', Massachusetts Institute of Technology * {{citation |last1=Speer |first1=Rob |first2=Catherine |last2=Havasi |year=2004 |title=Meeting the Computer Halfway: Language Processing in the Artificial Language Lojban |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |url=http://web.mit.edu/rspeer/Public/jimpe.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023083637/http://web.mit.edu/rspeer/Public/jimpe.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2014 |url-status=live }}

==External links==
*{{wikiversity-inline|Psycholinguistics/Pidgins, Creoles, and Home Sign#The Relexification Hypothesis}}


{{Constructed languages}} {{Constructed languages}}


] ]

]
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Latest revision as of 18:42, 18 December 2024

Language change by vocabulary replacement or absorption

In linguistics, relexification is a mechanism of language change by which one language changes much or all of its lexicon, including basic vocabulary, to the lexicon of another language, without drastically changing the relexified language's grammar. The term is principally used to describe pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages.

Relexification is not synonymous with lexical borrowing, by which a language merely supplements its basic vocabulary with loanwords from another language.

Language creation and relexification hypothesis

Relexification is a form of language interference in which a pidgin, a creole or a mixed language takes nearly all of its lexicon from a superstrate or a target language while its grammar comes from the substrate or source language or, according to universalist theories, arises from universal principles of simplification and grammaticalization. The language from which the lexicon is derived is called the "lexifier". Michif, Media Lengua, and Lanc-Patuá creole are mixed languages that arose through relexification.

A hypothesis that all creole languages derive their grammar from the medieval Mediterranean Lingua Franca was widely held in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, but it fell out of favour. It was later argued, for example, because of underlying similarities between Haitian Creole and Fon language that the grammar of Haitian Creole is a substratum that was created when Fon-speaking African slaves relexified their language with French vocabulary. However, the role of relexification in creole genesis is disputed by adherents of generative grammar. Wittmann (1994), Wittmann & Fournier (1996), Singler (1996), and DeGraff (2002), for example, have argued that the similarities in syntax reflect a hypothetical Universal Grammar, not the workings of relexification processes.

Second language acquisition

Spontaneous second language acquisition (and the genesis of pidgins) involves the gradual relexification of the native or source language with target-language vocabulary. After relexification is completed, native language structures alternate with structures acquired from the target language.

Conlangs and jargon

In the context of constructed languages, jargons, and argots, the term is applied to the process of creating a language by substituting new vocabulary into the grammar of an existing language, often one's native language.

While the practice is most often associated with novice constructed language designers, it may also be done as an initial stage towards creating a more sophisticated language. A language thus created is known as a relex. For instance, Lojban began as a relex of Loglan, but the languages' grammars have diverged since then. The same process is at work in the genesis of jargons and argots such as Caló, a natural language used by Gitanos that mixes a Spanish grammar with Romany vocabulary.

See also

Notes

  1. Matthews (2007:343)
  2. Campbell & Mixco (2007:170)
  3. Crystal (2008:412)
  4. Wardhaugh (2002:76)
  5. Bakker (1997), Muysken (1981), Wittmann (1994)
  6. Bickerton & Odo (1976)
  7. Wittmann (1989, 1994).
  8. Section on the term "relex" in the Conlang Wikibook
  9. Gamella, Juan F.; Fernández, Cayetano; Adiego, Ignasi-Xavier (June 2015). "The long agony of Hispanoromani. The remains of Caló in the speech of Spanish Gitanos". Romani Studies. 25 (1): 53–93. doi:10.3828/rs.2015.3. ISSN 1528-0748. S2CID 141941862.

References

Further reading

  • Arends, Jacques, Pieter Muysken & Norval Smith. 1995. Pidgins and Creoles: an introduction. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
  • Sebba, Mark. 1997. Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press.
  • Speer, Rob; Havasi, Catherine (2004), Meeting the Computer Halfway: Language Processing in the Artificial Language Lojban (PDF), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2014

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