Some features of the (Post-)Creole Continuum

Handout for Language Policy

1. The Creole Continuum:
   

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2. Examples from Jamaican Creole:

   Jamaican Creole
   Acrolect	It's my book	I didn't eat any
   Mesolect	Iz me buk	A in nyam non
   Basilect	A fi mi buk dat	Mi na bin nyam non

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3. A Guyanese continuum, Table 3.1: (Source: Bell 1976:136): The sentence I gave him one
   

4. Regional Variation, a continuum?

   Standard Language: He's a man who likes his beer vs. He's a man that likes his beer.

   regional dialect continuum: He's a man who likes his beer:

   He's a man who likes his beer.

   He's a man that likes his beer.

   He's a man at likes his beer.

   He's a man as likes his beer.

   He's a man what likes his beer.

   He's a man he likes his beer.

   He's a man likes his beer.

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5. Guyanese I told him, in different parts of the continuum, acrolect ("high") to basilect ("low").

   Pronunciation of I told him
   1.	ai tOuld hIm
   2.	ai to:ld hIm
   3.	ai to:l Im
   4.	ai tEl Im
   5.	a tEl Im
   6.	ai tEl i
   7.	a tEl i
   8.	mi tEl i
   9.	mi tEl am

   Key:

   [I] = low-high front vowel, such as the vowel in SAE hit.

   [E] = low-mid front vowel, such as that in SAE bed.

   [^] = mid-central vowel, such as that in SAE but.

   [O] = low back lax rounded vowel ('open o'), such as in SAE boy.

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   haroldfs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu