Transatlantic patterns: The relexification of locative constructions in Sranan

Spatial relations in Sranan are expressed through a broad range of constructions. Some of these reflect the influence of the Dutch superstrate, others clearly reflect the influence of the substrate languages of Sranan. These “Niger-Congo” structures are markedly different from equivalent “Indo-European” ones. Pattern relexification is  held responsible for  the wholesale carry-over of substrate semantics plus morpho-syntactic specifications into Sranan locative constructions. The synchronic variation in Sranan is partially explained by the equally broad variety of constructions found within and across the African languages and language families that participated in the creation of Sranan. However, much of the apparent diversity is superficial in nature, for it chiefly concerns constituent order. In contrast, morphosyntactic features like the nature of dependency, as well as the semantic structure of spatial descriptions remain highly similar in Sranan and the substrates.