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
,
creole language, and
.
Relexification is not synonymous with loanword, 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 language or a
mixed language takes nearly all of its lexicon from a
superstratum or a
second 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".
,
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 language vocabulary. However, the role of relexification in creole genesis is disputed by adherents of generative grammar. , , , and , 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,
, and
, 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.
[Wittmann (1989, 1994).]
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.[ in the Conlang Wikibook] The same process is at work in the genesis of and such as Caló, a natural language used by Gitanos that mixes a Spanish language grammar with Romany language vocabulary.
See also
Notes
-
Wittmann, Henri (1989), "Relexification et argogenèse," Communication, 1er Colloque international d’argotologie, Université de Besançon, Oct. 13-1, 1989
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.
External links
