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dc.contributor.authorAnsaldo, Umberto
dc.contributor.authorNordhoff, Sebastian
dc.contributor.editorAboh, Enoch O
dc.contributor.editorSmith, Norval
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-26T08:24:59Z
dc.date.available2021-08-26T08:24:59Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85226
dc.identifier.doi10.1075/cll.35.21ans
dc.description.abstract

This paper addresses the issue of complexity in language creation and the time it takes for ‘complex’ structures to emerge in the history of a language. The presence of morphological material is often equated to a certain degree of complexity or is taken to signify a certain time-depth in the history of a language (e.g. Dahl 2004; McWhorter 2005). Though this assumption may be seen as trivial in the absence of a theoretically-based definition of complexity (Muysken 1988), or even misleading (Aboh and Ansaldo 2007; Farquharson 2007), we here put it to a test by looking at morphology in a relatively ‘young’ language, namely Sri Lanka Malay (SLM). SLM is a mixed language which shows considerably more morphological material and other signs of old age than ‘prototypical’ creoles. We explain this by arguing (a) that structural output in language genesis is closely motivated by the typology of the input languages and (b) that our understanding of rate of change needs to be revised to take into account ecological matters.

dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
dc.titleComplexity and the age of languages
dc.typeBook Chapter
dcterms.source.startPage345
dcterms.source.endPage363
dcterms.source.titleComplex Processes in New Languages
dcterms.source.isbn978-90-272-5257-9
dcterms.source.placeAmsterdam
dc.date.updated2021-08-26T08:24:57Z
curtin.departmentSchool of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry
curtin.accessStatusFulltext not available
curtin.facultyFaculty of Humanities
curtin.contributor.orcidAnsaldo, Umberto [0000-0002-5733-0532]


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