Boundaries and bridges offers a holistic view of language contact and language change phenomena in the multilingual ecologies of the Guianas, particularly the Suriname ‘Sprachbund’ (401). As stated by the editors, the main goal of the volume is to provide a realistic picture of multiple language contact in communities that involve typologically diverse varieties as well as constantly shifting ‘sociolinguistic configurations’ (5). The volume achieves this goal through unique case studies across the diverse multilingual communities of the Guianas by showcasing their historical and sociolinguistic backgrounds.
The series of case studies begins with Kofi Yakpo's exploration of a Surinamese variety called Sranantongo, a variety created by contact between Dutch and Sranan, addressing the question of whether the structural changes witnessed in the variety reflect an ongoing shift to Dutch or stable multilingualism and language maintenance. Robert Borges offers a comprehensive account of the relatively isolated Maroon groups in the Guianas and the creoles they use; in general, Borges points out the drastic changes in demographics among the Maroons and relates these changes to language contact and eventually the development of the communities’ languages.
The next three case studies then transition to analyses of nonindigenous communities and the nativized varieties they use: Yakpo details Caribbean Hindustani, Sophie Villerius analyses Surinamese Javanese, and Luis Miguel Rojas-Berscia & Jia Ann Shi discuss Hakka as spoken in Suriname by the Chinese. All three chapters examine the interactions between indigenous and nonindigenous varieties, illustrating the impact of the former on the latter.
Sergio Meira & Pieter Muysken contribute their research on a Trio-Ndyuka pidgin in Suriname and discuss its distinctiveness from coastal Kariña pidgin. Next, Eithne B. Carlin decribes the Amerindian Trio and Wayana of Southern Suriname in relation to the different eras, and Konrad Rybka discusses Lokono and its interaction with other varieties spoken in Suriname including Surinamese Dutch. Musyken outlines the sociohistorical background and linguistic features of Suriname Dutch and proposes a model for its study. The volume ends with two chapters that touch on the distinctive structural features of the Guianese varieties and on a framework for studying synchronic language contact. Finally, the volume concludes with the editors’ mindful reminders of the book's ultimate goal. Drawing on both established and contemporary linguistic theories, the editors re-evaluate the sociolinguistic situation in the Guianas.
All in all, Boundaries and bridges presents a valuable contribution to the study of multilingual language contact. Not only is this volume suitable as a complementary course reader for language contact classes, it is useful as a handbook for graduate students and scholars who are interested in language change phenomena across the field of linguistics. In its breadth, this book showcases the multifaceted nature of the Guianas’ language ecology, going beyond bilingual and unidirectional contact, which has thus far been one of the major focuses of language contact research. Consequently, it provides data-driven, cutting-edge accounts of language contact and linguistic change phenomena—analyses that are much needed in the current repertoire of scholarly works on the Atlantic creoles, as research in past decades has focused largely on pidgin and creole genesis.
