15. Comparative perspectives on the origins, development and structure of Amazonian (Karipúna) French Creole

Together known as Kheuol, Karipuna French Creole (KFC) and Galibi-Marwono French Creole (GMFC) are two varieties of Amazonian French Creole (AFC) spoken in the Uaca area of northern Amapa in Brazil. Th ey are socio-historically and linguistically connected with and considered to be varieties of Guianese French Creole (GFC). Th is paper focuses on the external history of the Brazilian varieties, and compares a selection of linguistic forms across AFC with those of GFC and Antillean varieties, including nasalised vowels, the personal pronouns and the verbal markers. St. Lucian was chosen as representative of the Antillean French creoles of the South-Eastern Caribbean, including Martinique and Trinidad, whose populations have had a history of contact with those of northern Brazil since the sixteenth century. Data have been collected from both fi eld research and archival research into secondary sources.