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Here's your wiki for Rickford (2006). Have fun!

Copula: a word used to link the [|subject] of a [|sentence] with a [|predicate] (a [|subject complement] ). The word //copula// derives from the [|Latin] [|noun] for a //link// or //tie// that connects two different things. In English, the verb //be// is sometimes referred to as "the copula," but other verbs have a copular function as well.  · Common copular verbs are: //be, seem, appear, look, sound, smell, taste, feel, become, get.//  · // The weather is horrible. //  · // That car looks fast. //  · // The stew smells good. //  · // I do feel a fool. //  · // She became a racehorse trainer. //  · // It's getting late. //

Creole origins issue: Did AAVE's predecessors include creole languages? Divergence issue: Is AAVE diverging or becoming more different from Standard English or "white vernacular"?

Creole origins is the main issue in this paper. Some believe that yes creoles were an influence on AAVE (creolist), while others believe that slaves learned a more British English directly from their slave masters (dialectologist).

Creole continuum: basilect, mesolect. acrolect, or the other way around??

Rickford puts forth 7 different types of evidence that is examinable towards the creolist/dialectologist debate about AAVE (African American Vernacular English):

1. Sociohistorical conditions 2. Historical attestations 3. Diaspora recordings 4. Creole similarities 5. African language similiarities 6. English dialect differences 7. Age group comparisons

Overall Richford seems to lean towards the creolist perspective on the issue, although he does not definitively take sides, just expresses his belief that much of the evidence is in the favor of the creolist's viewpoint. The authenticity of evidence is an issue in determining how said evidence can be applied to the issue.