Mervyn C. Alleyne
Encyclopedia
Mervyn Coleridge Alleyne (born in Trinidad and Tobago
on 13 June 1933) is a sociolinguist, creolist and dialectologist whose work has focused on the creole language
s of the Caribbean
.
He attended Queen's Royal College
in Port-of-Spain and later won a scholarship to the fledgling University College of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
which he entered in 1953. After graduating from Mona, Alleyne obtained a PhD from the University of Strasbourg
, France
. He returned to Mona as a lecturer in 1959, and was made Professor of Sociolinguistics
in 1982. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Puerto Rico
, Río Piedras.
Upon retirement from The University of the West Indies
, Mona, the title of Professor emeritus
was conferred on him. He was president of the Society for Caribbean Linguistics (SCL) from 1990 to 1992 and was made an honorary member of the SCL in 1998. He also became an honorary member of the Linguistic Society of America
(LSA) in 1996. He is a co-founder of the journal
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. In 1996, a festschrift
in his honour was published: Caribbean Language Issues, Old & New: Papers in Honour of Professor Mervyn Alleyne on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday (edited by Pauline Christie). In March 2007, Alleyne was the Humanities Scholar 2007 at The University of the West Indies
, Cave Hill
, Barbados
.
Studies. He was one of the few Caribbean
-born participants in the second ever International Conference on Creole Languages held at The University of the West Indies, Mona in April 1968, the proceedings of which were published in 1971 in Pidginization and Creolization of Languages edited by Dell Hymes
. His paper “Acculturation and the Culture Matrix of Creolization” elaborated some of the themes which were to characterize his later work. Alleyne disagrees with the idea that creoles necessarily develop from prior pidgins, and he explains the considerable variation among creoles as the result of differing degrees of acculturation among Africans who came in contact with Europe
ans.
Alleyne repudiates the use of the term 'creole', positing that its meaning is unclear. He carefully avoided it in his book Comparative Afro-American (1980), arguably the most quoted source on the relevant varieties. In addition to its detailed comparison of structural aspects of Sranan, Saramaccan, Jamaican Creole
, Guyanese Creole, among others, this work reveals his preoccupation with the Black experience as a whole, and with the autonomy of Black culture. His fascination with the correlations between the linguistic picture and other aspects of culture, such as religion, manifests itself in Roots of Jamaican Culture(1988).
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
on 13 June 1933) is a sociolinguist, creolist and dialectologist whose work has focused on the creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
s of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
He attended Queen's Royal College
Queen's Royal College
Still regarded as the bastion of secondary school education Queen's Royal College is the oldest secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago, referred to for short as "QRC", or "The College" by past alumni...
in Port-of-Spain and later won a scholarship to the fledgling University College of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
which he entered in 1953. After graduating from Mona, Alleyne obtained a PhD from the University of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He returned to Mona as a lecturer in 1959, and was made Professor of Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
in 1982. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
, Río Piedras.
Upon retirement from The University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
, Mona, the title of Professor emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
was conferred on him. He was president of the Society for Caribbean Linguistics (SCL) from 1990 to 1992 and was made an honorary member of the SCL in 1998. He also became an honorary member of the Linguistic Society of America
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America is a professional society for linguists. It was founded in 1924 to advance linguistics, the scientific study of human language. The LSA has over 5,000 individual members and welcomes linguists of all kinds. It works to advance the discipline and to communicate...
(LSA) in 1996. He is a co-founder of the journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. In 1996, a festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
in his honour was published: Caribbean Language Issues, Old & New: Papers in Honour of Professor Mervyn Alleyne on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday (edited by Pauline Christie). In March 2007, Alleyne was the Humanities Scholar 2007 at The University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
, Cave Hill
Cave Hill
-Barbados:* Cave Hill can refer to two areas, located on the island-nation of Barbados. For one of the main campuses of the University of the West Indies located at Cave Hill, St. Michael see below.The Cave Hill are in Barbados can refer to:...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
.
Significance of his work
Alleyne is best known as a pioneer in CreoleCreole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
Studies. He was one of the few Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
-born participants in the second ever International Conference on Creole Languages held at The University of the West Indies, Mona in April 1968, the proceedings of which were published in 1971 in Pidginization and Creolization of Languages edited by Dell Hymes
Dell Hymes
Dell Hathaway Hymes was a sociolinguist, anthropologist, and folklorist whose work dealt primarily with languages of the Pacific Northwest. He was one of the first to call the fourth subfield of anthropology "linguistic anthropology" instead of "anthropological linguistics"...
. His paper “Acculturation and the Culture Matrix of Creolization” elaborated some of the themes which were to characterize his later work. Alleyne disagrees with the idea that creoles necessarily develop from prior pidgins, and he explains the considerable variation among creoles as the result of differing degrees of acculturation among Africans who came in contact with Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans.
Alleyne repudiates the use of the term 'creole', positing that its meaning is unclear. He carefully avoided it in his book Comparative Afro-American (1980), arguably the most quoted source on the relevant varieties. In addition to its detailed comparison of structural aspects of Sranan, Saramaccan, Jamaican Creole
Jamaican Creole
Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patois or Jamaican, and called Jamaican Creole by linguists, is an English-lexified creole language with West African influences spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of...
, Guyanese Creole, among others, this work reveals his preoccupation with the Black experience as a whole, and with the autonomy of Black culture. His fascination with the correlations between the linguistic picture and other aspects of culture, such as religion, manifests itself in Roots of Jamaican Culture(1988).
Publications
- Acculturation and the cultural matrix of creolization. In Pidginization and Creolization of Languages (edited by Dell Hymes), 169–86. Cambridge (1971): Cambridge University Press.
- Comparative Afro-American — An Historical-Comparative Study of English-Based Afro-American Dialects, Ann Arbor (1980): Karoma.
- Theoretical Issues in Caribbean Linguistics (editor), Kingston (1982): University of the West Indies, Mona.
- Studies in Saramaccan Language Structures (editor), Amsterdam (1987): University of Amsterdam.
- Roots of Jamaican Culture, London (1988): Pluto Press.
- Syntaxe Historique Créole, Paris (1996): Karthala/Presses Universitaires Créoles.
- The Construction and Representation of Race and Ethnicity in the Caribbean and the World, Kingston (2002): UWI Press.
- Folk Medicine of Jamaica (with Arvilla Payne-Jackson), Kingston (2004): UWI Press.