Ekaterina Bobyleva The development of the nominal domain in creole languages A comparative - typological approach Since the early twentieth century , creole studies have been concerned with the question of how these new languages came into being , whether they form a separate class , and whether the study of these languages enhances our understanding of language change and its relation to human knowledge of language . The present study contributes to the discussion on the issue of creole genesis by investigating the development of the nominal domain in a variety of creole languages . It offers a thorough examination of the etymology , morpho - syntactic and discourse - semantic properties of creole nominal markers . Special emphasis is put on the distribution and interpretation of bare ( unmarked ) nominal expressions â a feature that is considered distinctive of creoles . The properties of creole nominal expressions are considered from a comparative - typological perspective : the study is carried out on fifteen creoles contrasted to their European superstrates and their non - European substrates . In addition to superstrate and substrate influence , the study investigates the role of the universals of second language acquisition , grammaticalization , as well as the universal principles of reference marking and discourse organization in the development of the creole nominal domain . The findings of the study pose challenges for a number of contemporarily prominent views on creole genesis as well as for general theories of the structural organization and interpretation of nominal expressions such as DP hypothesis . This study is particularly relevant to linguists interested in language contact , creole studies , language change , language acquisition , and syntax , semantics , and typology of nominal expressions .
