Chapter 2. The nominal structures of Saramaccan, Fongbe and English with reference to Haitian Creole

This chapter proposes a comparison of the properties of the definite determiners of Saramaccan (with some reference to Haitian), with those of Fongbe and English. The definite determiners per se, the category Number, the demonstrative terms and the possessive phrases are discussed in turn. It is shown that, except for word order, the detailed properties of the definite determiners that participate in the nominal structure of Saramaccan parallel in a remarkable way those that participate in the nominal structure of Fongbe. Early Saramaccan data from Wietz (1805) are also presented showing that the synchronic properties of the definite determiners of Saramaccan were already established in the early creole.