Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Manuele Bandeira
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2016-12-13 |
| Examining board members: |
Gabriel Antunes de Araujo;
Wilmar da Rocha D'Angelis;
Thomas Daniel Finbow;
Margarida Maria Taddoni Petter;
Maria Filomena Spatti Sandalo
|
| Advisor: | Gabriel Antunes de Araujo |
| Abstract | |
Abstract: The aim of this study is to present a phonological and lexical reconstruction of the Proto-Creole of Gulf of Guinea (PGG). The emergence scenario of the PGG goes back to the Portuguese colonization period on the island of São Tomé at the end of the fifteenth century and at the beginning of the sixteenth century, when contact between African populations brought to that island as slaves and the Portuguese settlers resulted in the formation of a Portuguese-based Creole. After the formation of the Proto-Creole, the geographical separation of its speakers began: some settlers and their slaves were taken away from São Tomé to the islands of Príncipe and Ano Bom. Thus, within a new environment and with other speakers, the PGG branched into Lung\'ie on the island of Príncipe. Similarly, the PGG developed on the island of Ano Bom, becoming Fa d\'ambô. In São Tomé, in turn, Proto-Creole speakers are divided between those who remained in colonization centers, where Santome arose, and those who formed maroon communities, which became setting for the speciation of PGG into Angolar (FERRAZ, 1974, 1979; SEIBERT, 2004; HAGEMEIJER, 2009). Following the principles of the comparative method of Historical Linguistics (THOMASON & KAUFMAN, 1988; KAUFMAN, 1990, HOCK, 1991, FOX, 1995; CROWLEY, 1997 [1992], CAMPBELL, 2004 [1998]), a corpus was selected from a set of items belonging to the common lexicon of Santome, Lung\'ie, Fa d\'ambô and Angolar, languages derived from the PGG. However, due to gaps in the descriptions of these languages, it was necessary to investigate their phonological systems. Thus, because of its range and scope, this study also offers a contribution to the study of their phonology. Therefore, this study is based on the phonology of the derived languages and on the analysis of 536 sets of cognates. In addition, we present a description and an analysis of the phonological processes observed in the comparison of the sets of cognates. The study of such processes is vital as they shed light on the structural characteristics of the Proto-Creole phonology and also in the modifications on its daughter languages. The PGG consonant system consists of eighteen consonants (*p, *b, *t, *d, *k, *g, *f, *v, *s, *z, *m, *n, *ɲ, *r, *l, *ʎ, *w, *j) . The vocalic system consists of seven vowels (*i, *e, *ɛ, a, *ɔ, *o, *u). The PGG accentual system was predictable, in general, and related to syllabic weight. Therefore, the stress was on the penultimate syllable in nominal words (e.g.: *\'blasu \'arm\'), but moved to the last syllable when it was heavy (e.g.: *bɔ\'tɔN \'button\'). Verbs were stressed on the final syllable (e.g.: *be\'be \'drink\'). Indeed, the phonological processes described for the derived languages provide evidence for the lexical reconstruction of proto-forms. Thus, the reconstruction of PGG shows that the current configuration of derived languages comes from the interaction between the early Proto-Creole linguistic frame and a series of phonological phenomena that acted in the speciation scenario. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 13/08100-4 - Phonological and lexical reconstruction of the Proto-Creole of Gulf of Guinea |
| Grantee: | Manuele Bandeira de Andrade Lima |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |