The Richard and Jeannette Allsopp Centre for Caribbean Lexicography, under the auspices of the Department of Language, Linguistics and Literature, held its ninth annual Richard Allsopp Memorial Lecture as both a physical and virtual event this year. The memorial lecture, which honours the late Professor Richard Allsopp, was given by Professor Silvia Kouwenberg of The UWI, Mona Campus.

Professor Kouwenberg’s address titled “African-Origin Lexicon in Caribbean Creole Languages: What Does It Mean?” highlighted the presence of African-origin lexicon in Caribbean creole languages (CCLs) since it has naturally been assumed to indicate the presence of speakers of the languages of origin during the formation of the relevant CCLs.

As Professor Kouwenberg’s research encompasses various aspects of Caribbean creole grammar and the contribution made by substrate languages in the origin of Caribbean creole languages, she also presented several case studies from other scholars to emphasise the crucial need for historical research to clarify the origins of CCLs.

Given her focus on research areas particularly on Berbice Dutch, Papiamentu and Jamaican Creole languages, she also sought to highlight the focus on mismatches between African lexis (vocabulary) and their formative impact especially as it relates to dispersal from one territory to another, and under- and over- representation of some languages, for example, Igbo and Akan, respectively.

This event was attended by members of the university community, Allsopp family members and specially invited guests. The memorial lecture also hosted guests from the Caribbean, North America, and Europe via Zoom.