Code-switching and social identities in the Eastern Maroon community of Suriname and French Guiana

ABSTRACT

Sociolinguistic research on Creole communities has so far focused mainly on the social and linguistic distinctiveness of Creoles and on their synchronic interaction with their European lexifier. To date, little work has been done on the stylistic make-up of Creoles and on how these styles are employed in interactions to negotiate social identities and relationships. This paper investigates patterns of code-switching between different Creole varieties in the Eastern Maroon community using Myers-Scotton's markedness model. It demonstrates that such patterns are structurally similar to those found in other bilingual communities and function as an important resource for creating interactional meanings. Moreover, it shows that overall similar patterns of code-switching convey partially different meanings due to their interaction with situational factors.