12. Romania Nova and Creoles

Define "Romania Antiqua" vs. "Romania Nova".

Romania Antiqua: The European territories where Romance languages developed directly from Latin (e.g., Italy, France, Iberia). Romania Nova: All territories colonized by European Romance speakers where a Romance language is still spoken today (The Americas, Africa, Asia).

Name the three primary "official" languages of Romania Nova and their main regions.

1. Spanish (Americas, Philippines). 2. Portuguese (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Macau, East Timor). 3. French (Quebec, Haiti, Francophone Africa, Overseas France).

What are the three main theories explaining the origin of Creoles?

1. Substrate Theory: Features derive from the native languages (often African) of the speakers. 2. Superstrate Theory: Features are simplified versions of the colonial "Lexifier" language. 3. Universalist Theory (Language Bioprogram): Creoles reflect innate human linguistic structures triggered when children are born into a Pidgin-speaking environment.

Distinguish between a "Pidgin" and a "Creole".

A Pidgin is a simplified "emergency" language for basic communication with no native speakers. A Creole is a fully developed language that has become the first language (L1) of a speech community, with complex grammar and a full vocabulary.

Define the terms "Lexifier," "Basilect," and "Acrolect."

Lexifier: The dominant language providing the majority of the vocabulary. Basilect: The variety of the Creole furthest from the Lexifier. Acrolect: The variety closest to the official standard language.

What is "Voseo" and where is it most prestigiously used?

Voseo is the use of the pronoun vos (and its corresponding verb forms) instead of tú for informal address. It is most prestigiously used in the Rio de la Plata region (Argentina and Uruguay).

Explain the historical evolution of "vos" from Old Spanish to Modern Argentinian Spanish.

In Old Spanish, vos was a deferential/plural pronoun. In the Americas, it lost its "polite" status and became a non-deferential, informal singular pronoun, displacing tú in certain "peripheral" regions like Argentina.

How does Argentinian Voseo affect verb morphology in the present indicative?

It typically results in a shift of the stress to the final syllable and the loss of the diphthong: e.g., Standard Spanish tú cantas vs. Argentinian vos cantás; tú pierdes vs. vos perdés.

What is "Symmetrical" vs. "Asymmetrical" language contact?

Colonial language contact was asymmetrical, meaning it involved power imbalances, cultural domination, and varying levels of access to education and the "standard" written norm.

Why did Creoles form in some colonies but not others (e.g., Haiti vs. Argentina)?

Creoles typically formed in plantation societies with extreme social disruption and limited access to the "standard" norm. In settler colonies with higher education and closer ties to the European standard (like Argentina), the language remained closer to the Lexifier.

What is the status of Portuguese in Macau today?

It is an official language of the former colony, but its use as a first language (L1) is very low (approx. 0.5%), though it remains important for law and administration.