Özet:

Transparency in a language refers to the existence of isomorphic relations between forms and meanings. Our study is a diachronic analysis of Sranan Tongo, an English-lexicon creole with African, Portuguese and Dutch contributions. Although languages are predicted to increase in opacity over time, we expect that opacity does not increase in Sranan over time due to its lingua franca status. To test this, we checked data sources from the 18c to the 21c for opaque features identified by Hengeveld & Leufkens (2018). Our hypothesis is supported since Sranan generally maintained the same level of transparency. We propose that this is due to the presence of adult learners with different native languages, at its inception (as a creole), and in its subsequent use (as a lingua franca). This is pertinent because adult learning is aided by transparency.

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