Contact Linguistics. Chap

Exercise: Compare the structure of the Michif noun phrases in (8) with that of noun phrases containing demonstratives in Arabic/French code-switching (Bentahila & Davies 1983), as discussed in chapter 5. What similarities and differences do you find?


4.5. VP structure.

The VP of Michif is essentially that of Plains Cree, with only minor incursions from French. For instance, some French and a few English verbal stems are integrated into the Cree verbal morphology, while a few French verbs occur with French inflections. An example of the former is the following, from Bakker & Pappen (1997:318):

(9) LÈ pE:r ki:-lÈ-bÈn-w lÈ mûd

ART priest PAST-ART-bless-INF-TA.3->3 ART people
"The priest blessed the people"

In general, though, Cree verbal paradigms are well preserved in Michif. There are four stem classes divided according to animacy and transitivity (animate transitive and intransitive; inanimate transitive and intransitive), each with different inflections for subject/object, and often different stem forms too. The morpheme order of the Cree verb is also faithfully preserved in Michif. For instance, tense/aspect distinctions are expressed by prefixes, while "preverbs" express notions like "start" and "try" as well as adverbial notions like "strongly." Suffixes express distinctions of voice/valency and person/number agreement, among others. Here are some more examples from Bakker (1997:87,93)

(10) Ki:wanIst-a:w li z&wal su liku.

PAST-lose.it-3-->4 the horse his halter
"The horse lost his halter."

(11) Li nasju$ œ$ trœti aja:-w-ak nu sI-nutIn-Ito-c&ik

DEF nation INDEF treaty have-3sobj-PL NEG COMP-fight-RECIP-3pl
"Nations have treaties not to fight each other."

Michif also preserves the Cree distinction between two main orders in the verb complex (that is, different verb forms) - the independent order, used in main clauses, and the conjunct order, used in embedded clauses and in wh-questions. The marking of negation and person agreement differs in these two orders.

Copular-type constructions in Michif are also predominantly Cree in character, lacking copula verbs. Ascriptive constructions (the equivalent of predicate adjective structures) employ stative verbs (as in (12) below or a verbalized French noun to which the suffix -IwI is attached, as in example (13) below (Bakker & Papen 1997:338). Equative constructions consist of a nominal predicate followed by a Cree demonstrative, as in (14) below (op.cit, 379). However, some copula constructions are more French in character, employing a French copula derived from inflected forms of être "to be", with cliticized pronouns, as in (15) below (op. cit, 339).

(12) La bwEt mIs&a:-w

ART box be.big-INAN.INTR-3p.
"The box is big"

(13) La-pusjEr-iw-an lI pOrtma$tu$

ART-dust-be-INTR ART suitcase
"The suitcase is dusty"

(14) Ma tãt ana

my aunt DEM.ANIM.sg.
"That's my aunt"

(15) e:waku la rOb ilI kwarEk

that ART dress COP correct
"That dress is appropriate"

This brief overview fails to convey the full complexities of Michif/Cree VP structure, fuller details of which can be found in Bakker (1997:97-100) and the references he provides.

4.6. Syntax of Michif.

Word order in Michif is based on Cree, and is rather free, though it tends to conform more to French SVO order when more French elements are used. Grammatical relations in the sentence are marked by affixes on the verb. Complex sentences generally follow Cree patterns of subordination, for example in relative clauses, embedded questions and complement clauses. However, adverbial clauses are often introduced by French subordinating conjunctions (e.g., akuz "because", apre "after", etc.) which control a Cree conjunct clause, as in the following example (Bakker & Papen 1997:342):

(16) Nu pe:ht-am akuz e:-pa:kI-paym-IyI-k su zaraj.

NEG hear-TI.3-->4 because COMP-thick-become-PS-II.4 his ear
"S/he doesn't hear it because of an ear infection"

As we saw earlier, Michif has adopted other function morphemes from both Cree and French. Thus prepositions are from French while postpositions are from Cree. Interrogative pronouns and adjectives are generally Cree. Adverbs, negators and coordinators tend to be drawn from both source languages.

4.7. Convergence and innovation in Michif.

It should be clear from the above sketch that Michif is not simply a blend of pure French NP structure with pure Cree VP structure. Both components have been subject to varying degrees of modification, as we would expect in a language contact situation. First, some aspects of the Cree VP have been changed under French influence. For instance, some French (and a few English) verb stems have been incorporated and adapted to Cree verb morphology, while a few French verbs are conjugated as in French (Bakker & Papen 1997:317). Michif also employs French nouns or adjectives to create property-denoting stative verbs (by attaching the suffix -IwI), or transitive verbs (by attaching the suffix -Ihke: "to make"). French copulas have also been incorporated into Michif, as have been a variety of function morphemes, as mentioned above. Finally, French has exerted considerable influence on the system of modality and on impersonal constructions in Michif.

In the second place, the French-derived NP structure of Michif has undergone some modification under Cree influence. While French is the source of most nouns as well as articles and possessives, demonstratives are all Cree and agree in animacy with their nouns according to Cree rules. Quantifiers are derived from both French and Cree. Although many adjectives have been incorporated from French, Michif still favors the Cree strategy of using relative clauses to express property concepts (Cree lacks adjectives). Possessive and genitive constructions follow Cree word order, even when French possessives are used, as in the following example (Bakker & Papen 1997:347):

(17) Joe u-ma:ma:-wa ki:-apI-w dã la s&ãbr

Joe his-mother-OBV PAST-sit-3p in ART room
"Joe's mother was sitting in the parlor"

Michif also distinguishes between alienable and inalienable possession like Cree, and unlike French. Finally, the French NP component of Michif has lost several semantic distinctions made in French, including the count vs mass noun distinction and that between definite and indefinite plurals. Gender distinctions, while retained for nouns, have been lost in pronouns and verb clitics as well as in post-nominal (though curiously not pre-nominal) adjectives. These changes explain why Michif NP structure, while basically French in syntax, is essentially Cree in its semantics (Bakker 1997:239).

To sum up, then, the overall pattern of mixture in Michif is one in which “the grammatical and bound elements are Cree, and the lexical and free elements are French” (Bakker 1997:233). A variety of processes of contact induced change were involved in this language intertwining. In the first place, we have the overall blending of French NP structure with Cree VP structure. Any attempt to explain Michif origins must account for how this particular combination of components occurred. Furthermore, the modifications that each of these components underwent must also be explained. Unfortunately, there is still some disagreement over the mechanisms of change responsible for this outcome.