Spreading the Word: The Issue of Diffusion among the Atlantic Creoles

Striking grammatical similarities among the Atlantic Creoles, particularly those shared by English (such as Jamaican), French (e.g. Haitian) and Iberian Creoles (e.g. Papiamentu) have spawned diverse theories about their origin and development. This book concentrates on two of the most controversial questions relating to diffusion which these theories have raised: do these Creoles derive from a Pidgin which originated in West Africa? and was there once a Portuguese Creole spoken in Brazil w...