Adding variant subtags 'aluku' and 'nduyka' and 'pamaka' for dialects

Doug Ewell doug at ewellic.org
Fri Aug 14 15:16:37 CEST 2009


Here are proposed records and *very slightly* updated registration forms 
for the variants representing dialects of 'djk', as proposed by Pascal 
Vaillant.  I've copied him in hopes that he will get re-involved in this 
process, now that we are ready to address it.

The updates basically consist of making all the text lines fit in 72 
columns, removing unneeded indentation and line breaks from the 
registration form, and some regularization of spacing.  No substantive 
changes were made; this is what Pascal proposed.  In the next message I 
will propose some modest changes in the Description and Comments fields.

===

LANGUAGE SUBTAG MODIFICATION
File-Date: 2009-08-27
%%
Type: variant
Subtag: aluku
Description: Aluku variant of the Busi Nenge Tongo Creole
Added: 2009-08-27
Prefix: djk
Comments: Aluku (sometimes called Boni), dialect of the "Busi Nenge
  Tongo" English-based Creole continuum in the Eastern Suriname and
  Western French Guiana
%%

===

LANGUAGE SUBTAG REGISTRATION FORM

1. Name of requester: Pascal Vaillant
2. E-mail address of requester: pascal.vaillant at guyane.univ-ag.fr
3. Record Requested:

   Type: variant
   Subtag: aluku
   Description: Aluku variant of the Busi Nenge Tongo Creole
   Prefix: djk
   Comments: Aluku (sometimes called Boni), dialect of the "Busi Nenge
     Tongo" English-based Creole continuum in the Eastern Suriname and
     Western French Guiana

4. Intended meaning of the subtag:

The variant subtag 'aluku' is intended to mean the Aluku dialect
(sometimes also called Boni) of the Nenge English-based Creole
language of Eastern Suriname, mainly spoken along the Maroni river
(border between Suriname and French Guiana), and in some settlements
in French Guiana.

English-based Creole languages have emerged in Suriname among maroon
communities (escaped slaves of African descent) since the early 18th
century.  They depart from the mainstream English-based Creole of
Suriname, Sranan Tongo, by some linguistic innovations (such as
phonetic changes), and by a smaller influence of Dutch, language of
the former colonial power (1667-1975), and official language of the
country.  Some dialects spoken in the Eastern parts of Suriname and
the Western parts of French Guiana are closely related to each other
and have been regarded as one single language with linguistic variants:
aluku, ndyuka, and pamaka.  The Ethnologue language database maintained
by the SIL has an entry for "Aukan" (an alternate name of Ndyuka), and
refers to "Aluku" and "Paramaccan" as dialects.  More recently, Goury
and Migge (2003) have referred to the language as "Nenge" and studied
its three variants.

Among the three dialects, Aluku is the one which is the most deeply
settled in French Guiana (it is spoken in parts of French Guiana and
on the border river Maroni, but hardly anywhere else in Suriname),
and has the highest number of French (or French Creole) loanwords.

At present, the ISO 639 standard (reflecting the structure of the
Ethnologue database) has one three-letter code, 'djk' (from 'Djuka',
a variant name of "Ndyuka") and names the language Aukan.  Leaving
aside the fact that the language code -somewhat inappropriately-
refers to the whole language by the name of its most important variant,
this fits with the widely accepted description of the aluku/ndyuka/
pamaka continuum as one language, distinct from Sranan Tongo or from
some other maroon Creoles (such as Saramaccan). This also leaves open
the possibility to use variant language subtags to refer more precisely
to the three dialects.

With the extension of literacy among the concerned populations, the
emergence of a local literature, and the recent use of digital corpora
by linguists and researchers, it is relevant to ask for the registration
of language tags or subtags able to identify the above-mentioned
language and its dialects.

5. Reference to published description of the language (book or article):

John Holm, 1989. Pidgins and Creoles. Vol. II: Reference Survey. Chapter
10, Section 2 ("Creole English in Suriname"). Cambridge (UK), Cambridge
University Press (Cambridge Language Surveys). p. 432-444.

Laurence Goury & Bettina Migge, 2003. Grammaire du nenge(e):
Introduction aux langues aluku, ndyuka et pamaka. Paris (France),
Éditions IRD.

Donald Winford & Bettina Migge, 2004. "Suriname creoles". In *A handbook
of varieties of English: Morphology and syntax*, E. Schneider (ed.), p.
482-516. Berlin (Germany), Mouton.

Kenneth Bilby, 2002. "L'aluku: un créole surinamien en territoire
français". *Amerindia*, 26/27, 2001-2002. Paris (France), CELIA/CNRS.

6. Any other relevant information:

===

LANGUAGE SUBTAG MODIFICATION
File-Date: 2009-08-27
%%
Type: variant
Subtag: ndyuka
Description: Ndyuka variant of the Busi Nenge Tongo Creole
Added: 2009-08-27
Prefix: djk
Comments: Ndyuka (sometimes called Aukan), dialect of the "Busi Nenge
  Tongo" English-based Creole continuum in the Eastern Suriname and
  Western French Guiana
%%

===

LANGUAGE SUBTAG REGISTRATION FORM

1. Name of requester: Pascal Vaillant
2. E-mail address of requester: pascal.vaillant at guyane.univ-ag.fr
3. Record Requested:

   Type: variant
   Subtag: ndyuka
   Description: Ndyuka variant of the Busi Nenge Tongo Creole
   Prefix: djk
   Comments: Ndyuka (sometimes called Aukan), dialect of the "Busi Nenge
     Tongo" English-based Creole continuum in the Eastern Suriname and
     Western French Guiana

4. Intended meaning of the subtag:

The variant subtag 'ndyuka' is intended to mean the Ndyuka dialect
(sometimes also called Aukan) of the Nenge English-based Creole
language of Eastern Suriname, spoken in large parts of Eastern
Suriname and in the border regions of French Guiana.

English-based Creole languages have emerged in Suriname among maroon
communities (escaped slaves of African descent) since the early 18th
century.  They depart from the mainstream English-based Creole of
Suriname, Sranan Tongo, by some linguistic innovations (such as
phonetic changes), and by a smaller influence of Dutch, language of
the former colonial power (1667-1975), and official language of the
country.  Some dialects spoken in the Eastern parts of Suriname and
the Western parts of French Guiana are closely related to each other
and have been regarded as one single language with linguistic variants:
aluku, ndyuka, and pamaka.  The Ethnologue language database maintained
by the SIL has an entry for "Aukan" (an alternate name of Ndyuka), and
refers to "Aluku" and "Paramaccan" as dialects.  More recently, Goury
and Migge (2003) have referred to the language as "Nenge" and studied
its three variants.

Among the three dialects, Ndyuka is the one with the largest population
and geographic extension.

At present, the ISO 639 standard (reflecting the structure of the
Ethnologue database) has one three-letter code, 'djk' (from 'Djuka',
a variant name of "Ndyuka") and names the language Aukan.  Leaving
aside the fact that the language code -somewhat inappropriately-
refers to the whole language by the name of its most important variant,
this fits with the widely accepted description of the aluku/ndyuka/
pamaka continuum as one language, distinct from Sranan Tongo or from
some other maroon Creoles (such as Saramaccan). This also leaves open
the possibility to use variant language subtags to refer more precisely
to the three dialects.

With the extension of literacy among the concerned populations, the
emergence of a local literature, and the recent use of digital corpora
by linguists and researchers, it is relevant to ask for the registration
of language tags or subtags able to identify the above-mentioned
language and its dialects.

5. Reference to published description of the language (book or article):

John Holm, 1989. Pidgins and Creoles. Vol. II: Reference Survey. Chapter
10, Section 2 ("Creole English in Suriname"). Cambridge (UK), Cambridge
University Press  (Cambridge Language Surveys). p. 432-444.

Laurence Goury & Bettina Migge, 2003. Grammaire du nenge(e):
Introduction aux langues aluku, ndyuka et pamaka. Paris (France),
Éditions IRD.

Donald Winford & Bettina Migge, 2004. "Suriname creoles". In *A handbook
of varieties of English: Morphology and syntax*, E. Schneider (ed.), p.
482-516. Berlin (Germany), Mouton.

George Huttar and Mary Huttar, 1994. Ndyuka. Descriptive Grammars.
London (UK), Routledge.

Laurence Goury, 2003. Le Ndyuka. Une Langue Créole Du Surinam Et De
Guyane Française. Paris (France), L'Harmattan.

6. Any other relevant information:

===

LANGUAGE SUBTAG MODIFICATION
File-Date: 2009-08-27
%%
Type: variant
Subtag: pamaka
Description: Pamaka variant of the Busi Nenge Tongo Creole
Added: 2009-08-27
Prefix: djk
Comments: Pamaka, dialect of the "Busi Nenge Tongo" English-based Creole
  continuum in the Eastern Suriname and Western French Guiana
%%

===

LANGUAGE SUBTAG REGISTRATION FORM

1. Name of requester: Pascal Vaillant
2. E-mail address of requester: pascal.vaillant at guyane.univ-ag.fr
3. Record Requested:

   Type: variant
   Subtag: pamaka
   Description: Pamaka variant of the Busi Nenge Tongo Creole
   Prefix: djk
   Comments: Pamaka, dialect of the "Busi Nenge Tongo" English-based
     Creole continuum in the Eastern Suriname and Western French Guiana

4. Intended meaning of the subtag:

The variant subtag 'pamaka' is intended to mean the Pamaka dialect
of the Nenge English-based Creole language of Eastern Suriname,
mainly spoken in the valley of the Maroni river (border between the
Suriname and French Guiana).

English-based Creole languages have emerged in Suriname among maroon
communities (escaped slaves of African descent) since the early 18th
century.  They depart from the mainstream English-based Creole of
Suriname, Sranan Tongo, by some linguistic innovations (such as
phonetic changes), and by a smaller influence of Dutch, language of
the former colonial power (1667-1975), and official language of the
country.  Some dialects spoken in the Eastern parts of Suriname and
the Western parts of French Guiana are closely related to each other
and have been regarded as one single language with linguistic variants:
aluku, ndyuka, and pamaka.  The Ethnologue language database maintained
by the SIL has an entry for "Aukan" (an alternate name of Ndyuka), and
refers to "Aluku" and "Paramaccan" as dialects.  More recently, Goury
and Migge (2003) have referred to the language as "Nenge" and studied
its three variants.

Among the three dialects, Pamaka is mainly spoken in some settlements
along the Maroni river (border between Suriname and French Guiana) and
in neighbouring regions.

At present, the ISO 639 standard (reflecting the structure of the
Ethnologue database) has one three-letter code, 'djk' (from 'Djuka',
a variant name of "Ndyuka") and names the language Aukan.  Leaving
aside the fact that the language code -somewhat inappropriately-
refers to the whole language by the name of its most important variant,
this fits with the widely accepted description of the aluku/ndyuka/
pamaka continuum as one language, distinct from Sranan Tongo or from
some other maroon Creoles (such as Saramaccan). This also leaves open
the possibility to use variant language subtags to refer more precisely
to the three dialects.

With the extension of literacy among the concerned populations, the
emergence of a local literature, and the recent use of digital corpora
by linguists and researchers, it is relevant to ask for the registration
of language tags or subtags able to identify the above-mentioned
language and its dialects.

5. Reference to published description of the language (book or article):

John Holm, 1989. Pidgins and Creoles. Vol. II: Reference Survey. Chapter
10, Section 2 ("Creole English in Suriname"). Cambridge (UK), Cambridge
University Press (Cambridge Language Surveys). p. 432-444.

Laurence Goury & Bettina Migge, 2003. Grammaire du nenge(e):
Introduction aux langues aluku, ndyuka et pamaka. Paris (France),
Éditions IRD.

Donald Winford & Bettina Migge, 2004. "Suriname creoles". In *A handbook
of varieties of English: Morphology and syntax*, E. Schneider (ed.), p.
482-516. Berlin (Germany), Mouton.

6. Any other relevant information:

===

--
Doug Ewell  *  Thornton, Colorado, USA  *  RFC 4645  *  UTN #14
http://www.ewellic.org
http://www1.ietf.org/html.charters/ltru-charter.html
http://www.alvestrand.no/mailman/listinfo/ietf-languages  ˆ



More information about the Ietf-languages mailing list