Mixed languages: Patterns of lexification of
the сore vocabulary
DOI:10.30842/alp230657371835071
Gridneva Ekaterina M. Mixed languages:
Patterns of lexification of the сore vocabulary. Acta
Linguistica Petropolitana. 2022. 18(3): 50–71.
This paper is an analysis of mixed languages in terms of the
sources of lexicalization of their core vocabulary. Data from the
following mixed languages are considered: Michif, Medny Aleut,
Media Lengua and Gurindji Kriol. Previous studies devoted to the
typology of mixed languages from the combined perspective of
structure and lexicon are also examined [Bakker 2017: 218],
[Meakins 2018: 6], [Muysken 2008: 211]. This paper focuses on the
core lexicon alone. First, I consider claims concerning the whole
vocabulary of mixed languages. Next, using Swadesh 100 and 207 word
lists as the basis of comparison, I examine to what extent the
generalizations about the lexicon of the mixed languages also apply
to the core lexicon. I present the patterns of the lexification of
the сore vocabulary and conclude that the observations about
lexification of mixed languages also hold for their core lexicons.
The comparison leads to some findings with respect to lexical
doublets (i.e., two lexical items from different lexifier languages
corresponding to one concept in the core vocabulary), with more
lexically mixed languages showing a higher number of doublets. I
conclude that focusing on the core vocabulary does not resolve the
problematic status of mixed languages in terms of the conventional
historical comparative analysis. Additionally, this paper presents
and tests the synchronic hypothesis attributing the number of
doublets to the “more mixed nature” of one mixed language. In other
words, there is a direct correlation between the quantity of
doublets and the relevant language’s lexis in terms of even
distribution between the lexifier languages. The more a language is
“mixed”, the more doublets it has.
Keywords
mixed languages, lexifier languages, core
vocabulary, Michif, Medny Aleut, Media Lengua, Gurindji Kriol,
Swadesh list
About the author
Gridneva
Ekaterina͏ M.
National Research University Higher School
of Economics (HSE University) (Moscow, Russia)
egridneva@hse.ru
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Keywords
mixed languages, lexifier languages, core
vocabulary, Michif, Medny Aleut, Media Lengua, Gurindji Kriol,
Swadesh list
