[GRGC] Junior Pierre Eden FÉVRIER (SUNY Buffalo)

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Junior Pierre Eden FÉVRIER (SUNY Buffalo)

Verbalizing Suffixes in Haitian Creole: the case of inflectional allomorphs

Haitian Creole (HC) exhibits a robust system of derivational morphology challenging long-held beliefs that creole languages lack productive word formation processes McWhorter [2001], Parkvall [2008]. We provide an analysis of verbalizing suffixes in Haitian creole (henceforth HC) which attach to noun bases to derive verbs (1).
(1) a. betizN → betizeV
b. kleN → kleteV
c. madichonN → madichonnenV
As (1) shows, the inflectional suffix exhibits allomorphic variation that at first sight seems to be phonologically conditioned. We assume that the case in (1a) constitute the regular form with allormorphs, also considered to be the productive one Brousseau et al. [1989] :/-e/ > [Ce]. The suffix attaches directly to form a new syllable, and the final consonant of the nounserves as the onset for the suffix’s vowel. Furthermore, the suffix -e is added to maintainconsonant-vowel syllabic structure in HC.
In (1b) we insert an epenthetic consonant (-t) to avoid hiatus (vowel-vowel adjacency).
It’s necessary when the noun ends in a vowel or glide. In (1c) the suffix surfaces as -en, an extra /n/ is inserted to prevent the nasal quality of the base from merging with the oral vowel /-e/, ensuring the suffix is pronounced as a distinct syllable, the same ending is required whenthe noun ends in a nasal vowel (õ, ã) or nasal consonant (/m/, /n/). We show that the HC verbalizing suffix /-e/ aligns perfectly with other morphophonological phenomenon of HC such as determiner allomorphy. In addition, these allomorphs encode a range of semantic relations between the base noun and the derived verb. Our findings reveal four primary semantic functions for the HC suffixes:(1) performance, (2) instrumental use, (3) causative action, (4) characteristic action:
1. betize ‘to talk nonsense’ from betiz ‘nonsense’
2. klete ‘to lock with a key’ from kle ‘key’
3. madichonnen ‘to curse (someone)’ from madichon ‘curse’
4. characteristic action djòb ‘job’→ djobe ‘to work’.
The suffixes attach directly to nominal stems via the rule N + suffix → V, yielding new verbs that seamlessly fit into HC syntax. For instance, derived verbs inherently include the meaning of their base noun, allowing sentences like Li klete pòt la ‘He locked the door,’ which implies use of a key without having to state it explicitly. We argue that HC’s verbalizing suffixes exemplify how creole languages can develop complex and systematic morphology, countering claims of exceptional simplicity McWhorter [2001]. The evidence supports the view that creoles, like older languages, utilize derivational processes to expand their lexicon and express nuanced meanings Lefebvre [2003], DeGraff [2001]. We conclude that Haitian Creole’s derivational morphology is not only productive but also aligned with patterns found in other Creoles languages Henri et al. [2020], thereby enriching our understanding of word formation in contact languages.
Keywords: Haitian Creole; derivational morphology; verbalizing suffixes; productivity.
 

References
Anne-Marie Brousseau, Sandra Filipovich, and Claire Lefebvre. Morphological processes in haitian creole: The question of substratum and simplification. Journal of pidgin and creole languages, 4(1):1–36, 1989.
Michel DeGraff. Morphology in creole genesis: Linguistics and ideology. Current studies in
linguistics series, 36:53–122, 2001.
Fabiola Henri, Gregory Stump, and Delphine Tribout. Derivation and the morphological complexity of three french-based creoles. The complexities of morphology, pages 105–135, 2020.
Claire Lefebvre. The emergence of productive morphology in creole languages: The case of haitian creole. In Yearbook of Morphology 2002, pages 35–80. Springer, 2003.
John H McWhorter. The worlds simplest grammars are creole grammars. 2001.
Mikael Parkvall. The simplicity of creoles in a cross-linguistic perspective. In Language complexity: Typology, contact, change, pages 265–285. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2008.