Mapping language-internal and 'apparent' grammaticalisation in Cameroon and Nigerian Pidgin English: implications for creole genesis theories

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Grammaticalization is a cross-linguistic language change process, where lexical expressions evolve grammatical uses over time. Research suggests that this process unfolds differently in creole languages compared to non-creole languages. The key differences are the speed of the process, and whether it is language-internal or language-external, mimicking a similar process from an input language ('apparent' grammaticalization). Creoles typically lack historical records, the source of traditional grammaticalization evidence. This project therefore adopts a recent synchronic approach: focusing on Cameroon Pidgin English and Nigerian Pidgin English, a corpus-based method is employed to identify grammaticalization in progress. To assess the likelihood of 'apparent' grammaticalization, evidence from the creole's input languages is considered. The project's significance lies in its contributions to grammaticalization and creole genesis research, as well as to non-academic stakeholders.