Semiotics in CreoleSpeaking Melanesia
Andrew Livingston
Contact situations
• Different expectations
• Different levels of power
• One thing in common: Everyone wants
something
Communication is the barrier
• To overcome it:
Negotiation
• Accommodation
Both sides compromise
• Even the powerful make concessions
e.g. Foreigner English, shipboard jargon
• Speakers reduce complexity of grammar
and diminish vocabulary
Two inputs? Actually, three.
• Superstrate (dominant group)
• Substrate (may be multiple groups)
• Universals of language (Universal
Grammar)
"Normal" creole genesis
• Vocabulary from superstrate
• Simplest possible grammar from language
universals
• Theoretically, limited influence from
substrates
Melanesian creoles
• Many substrates with similar grammar to
each other
• Surface similarities to the English
superstrate
• Retention of some substrate grammar not
understood by monolingual English
speakers
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Melanesian_Cultural_Area.png
Bislama example:
• Oceanic substrate languages
distinguish: singular, dual, and plural
number
• inclusive/exclusive distinction
• Bislama uses English words as
morphemes to express Oceanic grammar:
yu 'you' + mi 'me' = yumi 'we (inclusive)'
• mi-tu-fala 'we (exclusive dual)'
Bislama example:
• Oceanic substrate languages
distinguish: singular, dual, and plural
number
• inclusive/exclusive distinction
• Bislama uses English words as
morphemes to express Oceanic grammar:
yu 'you' + mi 'me' = yumi 'we (inclusive)'
• mi-tu-fala 'we (exclusive dual)'
Melanesian creoles today
• Monolingual English-speaker attitudes
about Tok Pisin, Bislama:
• "cute" or "silly" but "understandable once
you get the hang of it"
• In reality, they miss out on some grammar
and speak broken creole
• Melanesian creoles serve as lingua
franca to many substrate communities
Permanent collision:
everyone still wants something
• Advertising targets superstrate, substrate
and creole speakers
• Semiotics studies the meaning of signs,
symbols, and cultural meanings
• Advertising success depends on target
and aim
Commoditizing the creole
• Among English-speakers, token uses of
creole establish "local" credibility
http://www.queensu.ca/strathy/Blog/Bislama.html
Commoditizing the culture
• Some advertisements use English, but
with Melanesian visuals:
Targeting creole and substratespeakers
• Use of both creole and Melanesian visuals
Failure to appeal
• Ads with European semiotics often fall short
(personal photo)
Other signs
• Information and public service signs are
better at accommodating
http://kemptonsailing.blogspot.com/
Other signs
• Basic text types can take on new form
http://www.queensu.ca/strathy/Blog/Bislama.html
Worlds stuck together
• In post-colonial Melanesia, relationships
change between superstrate and
substrates
• Negotiation and accommodation are still
necessary between all parties
Worlds stuck together
We need to understand why and how
communication can break down.
More is at stake than advertising:
• Public health initiatives
• Political representation
• Post-colonial policy
Time’s Up!
• About you:
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Name: Andrew Livingston
Department: Linguistics
Contact Information: [email protected]
URL: thelivingstonian.com
Quick bio: Grew up all over the continental USA, raised
on DIY ethic. Experienced historical and comparative
linguistics when switching from Spanish to French in
middle school, discovered Tolkien and his invented
languages not long after that, and my fate as a linguist was
sealed. Now I study linguistics, write music for guitar and
banjo, work on draft 2 of my first novel, and draw a daily
comic at CrustaceanSingles.com.