On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 13:00:17 +0000, tgpedersen <
tgpedersen@...>
wrote:
>Creoles are based on other languages, which do have pronouns. Thus
>the the occurrence of pronouns in them in not a case of spontaneous
>creation based ion the hardware of our brain.
Creole grammar is not based on other languages. It has been argued that
all creole grammars are similar, and that they represent the "innate"
grammar of human language ("language organ", etc.). Whatever one thinks of
that, Creole grammars certainly represent a sort of baseline, minimal
grammar. And they never fail to include personal pronouns.
Sign language is not based on spoken languages at all.
In the case of NicSL, the transition from "signed pidgin" to a real sign
language is illustrated as follows:
(
http://www.indiana.edu/~langacq/E105/Nicaragua.html)
-It was noticeable at once that the younger children used signs in a more
-nuanced way than the older students. For example, the teen-age pidgin
-signers at Villa Libertad had a basic gesture for "speak" -- opening and
-closing four fingers and a thumb in front of the mouth. The younger
-children used the same sign, but modulated it, opening their fingers at
-the position of the speaker and closing them at the position of the
-addressee. To Kegl, this apparently small difference had enormous
-implications. "This was verb agreement," she says, "and they were all
-using it fluently."
=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv@...