Derivation and the morphological complexity of three french-based creoles

Creolistic research persistently asserts the simplicity of creoles, citing as evidence the claimed poverty of creole morphology. Yet, creoles not only exhibit morphology, but evince a surprising degree of morphological complexity. Drawing on the evidence of derivational morphology from three different French-based creoles - Mauritian (Indian Ocean), Haitian, and Guadeloupean (Caribbean) - the current contribution provides new evidence for this claim. It pursues a view of morphological complexity where the interaction of a lexeme’s inventory of forms with its participation in deverbal derivation contributes to the integrative complexity of a language’s morphology. Such a perspective is compatible with psycholinguistic approaches to language acquisition and language change.