Creole and dialect continua: standard acquisition processes in Belize and China

This work examines the unguided acquisition of a standard language by speakers of nonstandard varieties in two distinct linguistic and geographical situations: in a Caribbean creole situation (Belize); and in a non-creole situation (PRC) in China. In both cases, psychosocial factors, linguistic bias toward non-native renderings of the standard varieties, the social status of their speakers, and related political and educational consequences play an important role in the development of second dialects. The ultimate goal underlying the comparison of specific discourse variables in Belizean and Chinese standard acquisition is to evaluate the relative merits of substratal, superstratal, and universal explanations in language development.