The Guyana plateau (French Guiana (FG), Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Northern Brazil) is highly multilingual and multiethnic. Due to arbitrary border-drawing, slavery, indentured labour schemes and recent migration, some languages and ethnic groups are present in several states. However, despite cross-border contacts, the same languages and speaker communities are often conceptualised by the communities themselves, other local communities, the states and researchers in different ways in each country and are characterized by different language practices. The aim of this presentation is twofold: First, it explores identity construction on the Suriname-FG border with respect to the 'Creoles of Suriname', the social, historical and cultural factors conditioning this dynamic and the resulting linguistic phenomena. Second, it proposes a comprehensive analytical approach. The data come from two sociolinguistic surveys, one for FG (2001-2005) and one for Suriname (in progress since 2008) and extensive participant observation. In the western French Guianese towns of St Laurent and Mana Maroons employ different kinds of linguistic practices to project a pan-Maroon identity to unify in the face of other local 'communities' (e.g. Haitians, Europeans, French Creoles) and to assert themselves vis-à-vis up-river Maroons who are traditionally seen as the rightful owners of Maroon culture. Across the Maroni/Marowijne river in the Surinamese towns of Albina and Moengo, allegiance to traditional ethnic communities remains strong for their members, the state and members of other local communities despite increased intermarriage and frequent contacts with Maroons from FG. Unlike France where ethnic identities are officially denied, traditional ethnic identities co-exist with and are not incompatible with or are even an integral part of a post-independence Surinamese identity. Moreover, since the civil war (1980s) eastern Suriname has been predominantly populated and controlled by Ndyuka Maroons making intra-Maroon differences rather than relationships between Maroons and other local communities more salient. As in FG, Maroons engage in code-mixing and code-switching to negotiate 'new' identities. However, Surinamese Maroons use a more Dutch-influenced variety. An urban identity is generally projected by declaring a greater ability and broader use of Sranan Tongo and Dutch. In terms of the analytical framework, the study argues that comprehensive insights into trans-national language and identity phenomena require a comparative approach and the combination of different methodologies such as interviews, extensive participant observation and careful analysis of the socio-cultural and historical context.
Language and identity construction on the French Guiana-Suriname border: Negotiating the Creoles of Suriname