1.1 Need for a text on the linguistic properties of Krio
The study of pidgin and creole languages is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in linguistics and this text fills an important gap in creolistic studies. It provides information on the linguistic properties of Krio from historical, lexical, morphophonological, morphosyntactic, and sociolinguistic perspectives. Current publications on Krio provide anecdotal information but little or no systematic analysis of the evolution of the linguistic properties of the language.
This book provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the linguistic components of Krio and discusses the effects of language contact on its development, evolution, and usage from diachronic and synchronic perspectives. Proposed features emerging from contact with different languages (and their dialects) contributing to the early linguistic features of Krio are identified and discussed within the context of the historical, social, and linguistic settings in which contact languages emerge. Discussions include comparative analysis of features of Krio and other Atlantic pidgins and creoles as well as contributions of multiple languages (including varieties of lexifier English and West African substrate languages) to the expansion and elaboration of key Krio linguistic properties.
The text discusses the critical role that Krio has played in contributing to our understanding of creole genesis, particularly in relation to the emergence and distribution of English-lexified creoles that trace their origins to the West African coast. It additionally allows for comparative work with other Atlantic-based Englis
