THE GENESIS OF A LANGUAGE; Editorial page; Title page; Copyright page; Dedication; Table of contents; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Maps; Chapter 1. Sociohistorical and linguistic background of the Chaul-Korlai area; 1.1. Historical background; 1.2. Formation of the Chaul-area creole language; 1.3. Formation and subsequent history of Korlai village and the Korlai Portuguese (from 1595 to 1995); 1.4. Korlai villagers' attitudes regarding Marathi and their own language; 1.5. Conclusion; Chapter 2. Description of Korlai Portuguese; 2.1. Phonology

Korlai Portuguese (KP), a Portuguese-based creole only recently discovered by linguists, originated around 1520 on the west coast of India. Initially isolated from its Hindu and Muslim neighbors by social and religious barriers, the small Korlai community lost virtually all Portuguese contact as well after 1740. This volume is the first-ever comprehensive treatment of the formation, linguistic components, and rapidly changing situation of this exotic creole. The product of ten years of research, Korlai Creole Portuguese provides an exciting, in-depth diachronic look at a language that is now sh