PIDGIN ITALIAN IN ETHIOPIA – Flashcards
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How many Italians are there in present day Ethiopia?
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18000
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Since when have there been Italian missionaries and businessmen in Ethiopia?
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1850
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When was the start of Italian occupation of Eritrea?
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1885
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After which language is Italian the second most important in Ethiopia?
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Tigrinya
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What are the 4 main characteristics of the phonology of SIE?
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1. Simplification /p v ʎ ts dz/ > /b b lj s z/ 2. /i/ sometimes /ı/ /ıjo/ 3. Word final /e/ > /i/ : nenti, cani 4. Clusters broken up by prosthetic/epenthetic vowel e.g. tırobbo, bıranzo, beroberio
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What does Maiden (1995) say about SIE phonology?
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'There is no obvious sense in which Ethiopian Italian is phonologically simpler than the source language' - retains phonological characteristics shared between Italian and indigenous languages, lacks features present in Italian but not the indigenous languages
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What are the 7 morpho-syntactical features of SIE?
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1. Nouns and adjectives are invariable (Occasional reduplication to indicate plural number) 2. Lack of articles 3. Verbal morphology reduced to past participle and the infinitive 4. Non pro-drop : person and number distinction expressed by pronouns 5. Non case distinction in pronouns except /ıjo/ vs /me/ 6. Indirect object expressed by /bɛr/ 7. Little subordination, greater use of parataxis (though kwello can be used as a clause linker)
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Give an example of noun/adjective invariability
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kwesto due mıjo sorella
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Example of the lack of articles in SIE
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rɛgasi mɛnjato (i ragazzi hanno mangiato)
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Example of reduced verbal morphology
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ıjo lɛwrare sɛmbre/domani ıjo lɛwrato
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Example of using bɛr for IOs
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non dire bɛr lui
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Example of kwello as a clause linker
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ıjo berduto soldi kwello tu dato ber me
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What does Maiden (1995) say about the morphology of Pidgins?
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Pidgins' and Creoles' 'claims to being Romance languages often resides almost exclusively in their lexicon: the inflectional morphology, and the associated and sometimes arbitrary grammatical categories, of Romance are often wholly absent' -syntax has a rigid word order and the absence of subordination
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How does Habte-Mariam (1976) describe SIE?
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'a relatively variable form of Italian, slightly modified in pronunciation, limited in vocabulary, and sharply reduced in grammar'
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Give five examples of Standard Italian words that have acquired special meanings in SIE
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bɛdri - priest (padre) rɛgaso - son, daughter (ragazzo) tɨrobbo - very (troppo) ušire - leave (uscire to go out) mɛnjato - draw a salary or spend for living expenses (mangiato eaten)
