grantor:
University of TorontoThis thesis examines tense, mood and aspect (TMA) in French-based Caribbean creoles. The goal of the research is to identify certain problems and ambiguities in the verbal systems of these languages in order to contribute to the field of creolistics as well as to accepted TMA theories. Categorizing these notions is challenging since the traditional divisions are rather arbitrary and the semantic fields to which TMA refer overlap considerably. Nevertheless, the thesis begins by defining tense, mood and aspect as notions that refer to a point on the temporal dimension. Tense situates the event in time; aspect characterizes the internal structure of the event; mood describes the reality of the event. The particular TMA system found in French-based creoles is a distinctive feature of these creole languages and their verbal systems give priority to aspectual and modal differences. These languages have little morphological inflection; tense, mood and aspect are thus expressed by free morphemes that are preposed to invariable verbal forms. This thesis sheds light on the ambiguity of TMA categories and analyzes the manifestations of these notions. Through an examination of the nature of preverbal morphemes, we learn that the value of these particles is often but that French-based Caribbean creoles are not homogeneous languages. The thesis has a largely synchronic approach to its comparison of various creoles. Although TMA notions are universal, the results of this study verify that the character of temporal, modal and aspectual functioning is distinct to the languages in question. Despite certain surface similarities, the thesis confirms the existence of several independent creole verbal systems which are specific to each individual language.Ph.D
